Part of Tales of the Terran Republic, book 1
First published 2014
Caine Riordan discovers a secret project on Earth's Moon in 2105 and pays the price with twelve years in cryogenic sleep. He wakes to find humanity spreading across the stars with faster-than-light travel. The powers that be send him to the Delta Pavonis system on what seems like an archaeological mission. He must determine if a primitive species once possessed the intelligence to build an advanced civilization. But assassins and saboteurs hunt him at every turn. Someone desperately wants his investigation to fail. Riordan realizes his mission connects to something far larger and more dangerous. His intelligence training reveals the truth that changes everything. Humanity stands at the center of an approaching war for control of interstellar space. Earth faces powerful alien forces that view it as a key strategic target. Riordan must convince Earth's leaders that survival depends on direct confrontation rather than hiding from these cosmic threats.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, thriller, action
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: conspiracy, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Earth, Moon, Delta Pavonis
Period: 2105
625 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Baen