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In the year 2050, the United States sends the FBI to govern its space station, The Empyrean. Under the command of suave, eighty-year-old director Samuel Lord, the "Zero-G" men are in charge of investigating terrorism, crime, corruption, and espionage and of keeping an eye on the rival Chinese and Russian stations.
NASA is conducting a top-secret project in the agricultural center of the US space station Empyrean, using microscopic robots called nanites to construct a vine that can survive in space. The plan is to grow structural material for an elevator that will reach from the Empyrean and Earth. Unfortunately, a Russian spy inadvertently causes the growth to rage out of control, not only threatening the Empyrean, but the Russian space station Red Giant.
Under the guidance of Director Samuel Lord, Zero-G must identify the spy, help find a way to reverse the fast-replicating vine, and manage a form of "space zombie" birthed by the nanites. The surprising solution takes Lord and a Russian pilot on a dangerous mission to Venus—where a shocking discovery awaits.
"A tightly paced blend of police procedural, military science fiction, and space opera, set in an intriguing near-future world" (Publishers Weekly), Zero-G is an exciting installment from a master of the craft.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
September 20, 2016 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781508230274
- File size: 316510 KB
- Duration: 10:59:23
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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It can't be coincidence that the protagonist at the center of this space opera cowritten by 85-year-old Shatner is 80-year-old Sam Lord. He's the rule-bending chief of the FBI unit on the space station Empyrean in the year 2050. Shatner is the perfect fit for the charismatic action hero. And Shatner proves equally adept at animating a wide range of other characters--from Lord's pansexual deputy to a cyborg Israeli business tycoon and Lord's love interest, a beautiful scientist who is partly responsible for the runaway weapon that is threatening both Earth and space. Those accustomed to Shatner's trademark bombastic roles will be amazed at the nuance he employs in this fast-paced production. Listeners will be eager for the upcoming sequel. D.E.M. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine -
May 30, 2016
Shatner and Rovin have created a tightly paced blend of police procedural, military SF, and space opera, set in an intriguing near-future world. Unfortunately, it is populated by predictable character types—whose racial and gender diversity, though welcome, is presented in a self-satisfied manner and uses a number of unfortunate tropes—and narrated in hackneyed, heavily expository prose. In the year 2050, humans live in space stations, everyone accesses information and communicates through “Individual Clouds,” and pan-gender individuals can switch between male and female aspects at will. On the American space station Empyrean, the head of Zero-G, the space branch of the FBI, is Sam Lord: 80 years old, former pilot, and notorious maverick. The presence of his Cherokee pan-gender second-in-command, Adsila Waters, primarily serves to emphasize Lord’s embodiment of the classic white male SF protagonist. Lord’s newest challenge is to ensure the safety of Dr. Saranya May, a beautiful scientist who approaches the FBI for protection after an unprecedented tsunami strikes the coast of Japan. When links emerge among the tsunami, May’s work, and a mysterious Chinese weapon, Lord, Waters, and May must race against time to stop another disaster. SF readers have sampled this fare before, and it doesn’t improve with reheating. Agent: Ian Klienert, Objective Entertainment. -
July 17, 2017
Shatner and Rovin follow Zero-G with this rousing tale that combines espionage with two of science fiction’s greatest tropes: artificial intelligence and first contact. It is the year 2050, and something has gone drastically wrong with an experiment combining botany and nanotechnology on the U.S. space station Empyrean. Samuel Lord, the director of the Zero-G FBI presence aboard the Empyrean, finds a connection between the agent responsible for the seemingly intelligent nanite vine and the Russians, so he arranges to transport the spy to their station. Once onboard the Red Giant, Sam discovers that the Russians have a sample of a Venusian microbe that exhibits some intelligent behavior. Back on the Empyrean, Carlton works with Lord’s second in command, Adsila Water, whose Cherokee heritage primarily manifests as a generic Native American spirituality. Adsila is also pangender and has the ability to change body shape to reflect different genders; this talent may be key to controlling the nanites. Shatner and Rovin’s fictional science is detailed, lending it an air of reality, and their characters’ awe at their surroundings and philosophic musings give them depth. Action, science, and politics mix in this enjoyable second outing. Agent: Ian Kleinert, Objective Entertainment.
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