Schrödinger’s
Cat
A novel of future war.
“Loved It! Exciting military scifi with truly alien aliens, a peel-the-onion plot with flashbacks, flawed heroes, epic explosions and space battles.” — MJ Silversmith, Reedsy.com
We thought it was gonna be a milk run. What we got was a massacre.
In 2161, humankind prepares to move to a pristine new homeworld, far away in a distant sector of the galaxy. But when a warrior clan of Beta Gumra slaughters the first earther settlements, a quick reaction force of marines races to respond.
It ought to be a walk in the park. The humans bring better weapons and tech than the gomers, as well as help from their enigmatic allies, the Sarkhuli. But when their support fleet is destroyed by treachery, the marines suddenly find themselves all alone and fighting for their lives.
With food and ammo running out, their salvation hangs on a misfit engineer, a clapped-out warship, and a rescue plan that stretches the limits of physics itself.
The engineer
Cliff Miles thought he had a decent life on earth, with his little brother, his antique car, and his quiet gig at the city garage. If you’d told him then that three years later he’d be fighting for his life with 800 marines on a far planet, he’d have laughed in your face. But now, partnered with an ex-felon single mom and a robot with daddy issues, he’s saving the battalion — one power cell at a time.
The commander
When the death of her captain gave Artemis Dawson command of the Alliance destroyer Samuel B Roberts in the middle of a desperate battle, she needed all her wits to save vessel and crew. Now, unjustly accused of wrongdoing, she’s been handed an even more dangerous mission — where the outcome rides on a bizarre new weapon.
The marine
Trapped in a wrecked space station held by hostile aliens, Jamal Jellicoe has carried out a series of ever more daring assignments. Finally, relief is on the way — but now the enemy security chief has twigged to the fact that she’s got a spy in the house. And unfortunately for Jellicoe, he doesn’t have the option to lay low; his final mission must be the boldest one yet.
The warrior
When his brother is cut down in battle, Sh’ra Dja-Kesh inherits leadership of the Dja clan, with the mission to annihilate the earther marines. A reptilian centaur eight feet tall, with powerful limbs to tear his enemies apart, Kesh is no one’s idea of a philosopher king. But he’s got a plan that could reshape the power balance of the known universe — if he can survive long enough.
The regent
With skill and ruthlessness, Sübisz Ilik Crüss Kibim has risen like a rocket from peonage to the rarefied heights of Sarkhuli bureaucracy. Now she possesses the weapon that will assure her place on the ruling Council of Sixteen, if only she can learn to wield it. And if her disloyalty isn’t found out first.
The translator
Taken as a youth from his home planet, the Elim has served his captors dutifully for many years. His plant-like exterior masks a keen intelligence, profound sensitivity to his surroundings… and a shocking capability unsuspected by his masters. Finding himself abruptly in different hands, the translator spies the chance for a long overdue reckoning.
All hands on the quad gazed upward as the lifeboat diminished to a dot far overhead. On the edge of sight, the dot abruptly lit up, expanded to a brilliant flare, and faded out.
“Whoa!” shouted the watchers together.
Miles’ brow furrowed.
“That can’t be good.”
A gritty sci-fi adventure haunted by the ghosts of World War 2, Schrödinger’s Cat launches the Dark Science trilogy with a gut punch of adrenaline.
Snap into your hardpoint, mec. It’s gonna be a sick ride.
Ronald Crittenden 