H2LiftShips - Beyond Luna: Imagine a world, exactly like ours, but different

by Bob Freeman

Overview

It's cold, rocky, and a little dark.

 Solar Sail cargo ships ply the commercial space from Earth to the distant Asteroids. Trading foodstuffs, coal, and nuclear engines for pure steel alloys, ZeroG Wool, and bioGel computers.

 Anti-Dystopian SciFi because we have too much Dystopia right now.

Just regular sentients making a living in the void around our Sun: Earth, Luna, Mars/Phobos, and the Asteroid belt. Gig work is the norm, jumping from job to job, trying to earn enough for air, food, shelter, and waste treatment.

 The ships' crew, Captain Graciela, Jack, Tang, and Octopus, work with a boost crew to cross the empty divide before getting the laser boost at the Lagrangian station.

Meet, barter or run from multiple sentient societies on the asteroids, many a variation on Earth's history.

 Gambling at the Luna Casino and in Las Vegas and a trip across the desert for tasty carne asada burritos round out the journeys.

 Gigging the Void, is this our Asteroid Future?

 Yes: Solar Sail ships, nuclear-powered boost lasers, coal for steel, no aliens, but an Octopus First Mate.

 No: Aliens, Monsters, blasters, pyrotechnic computers, Anti-Grav powered rockets. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781644562390
Publisher:	Indies United Publishing House, LLC
Publication date:	04/02/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	490
File size:	503 KB

Table of Contents

Preamble

Chapter 01 - Imagine a World

Chapter 02 - The Journey

Chapter 03 - Shore Leave

Chapter 04 - Launching from Luna

Chapter 05 - Jose's Taco

Chapter 06 - The Jump, another view

Chapter 07 - Boost Crew/LunaCola

Chapter 08 - Ship's Crew

Chapter 09 - LunaCola's Crew

Chapter 10 - Back to Earth

Chapter 11 - Unloading-The Heat

Chapter 12 - The Party

Chapter 13 - Port Niland

Chapter 14 - Travel on Earth

Chapter 15 - Shopping Trip

Chapter 16 - Happy Camp

Chapter 17 - Yosemite

Chapter 18 - Las Vegas

Chapter 19 - Launch from Earth

Chapter 20 - Escape from Luna

Chapter 21 - The Asteroid Colonies

Chapter 22 - FOBtM

Chapter 23 - Around the Asteroids.

Chapter 24 - Caerus and poker

Chapter 25 - Caerus in the Rear-View Mirror

Chapter 26 - Vesta

Chapter 27 - Sell Time

Chapter 28 - Leaving Vesta

Chapter 29 - Sisyphus in the Apollos

Chapter 30 - Landing on Phobos

Chapter 31 - Gigging the Void

Chapter 32 - Mining

Chapter 33 - The CMU

Chapter 34 - Cleaning

Chapter 35 - Union Meeting

Chapter 36 - Farming

Chapter 37 - Microbiology

Chapter 38 - Chemistry

Chapter 39 - Power

Chapter 40 - Steel

Chapter 41 - Administration

Chapter 42 - Poker

Chapter 43 - Jail

Chapter 44 - Bail

Chapter 45 - Wharfie

Chapter 46 - Black Hornet

Chapter 47 - Route, BlackHornet

Chapter 48 - Pirate Attack

Chapter 49 - Hunting Luna

Chapter 50 - Cards

Chapter 51 - Revenge

Addendums