Pioneer
A novel by Paul Massey
Frank Bell gave nine years of his life to the engine that took the first crews to Mars. Then the sky fell, the Panel turned down his next idea, and Frank retreated to a workshop on an industrial estate with a kettle, a schoolroom robot called Dave and an AI called Scarlett.
There, out of a second-hand delivery drone, he built a faster-than-light drive.
On Thursday, a fifteen-kilometre asteroid will pass closer to Earth than some of our satellites. With every telescope in the world pointed at it, Frank is going to launch into the middle of the broadcast and prove he was right.
He has promised to be back for breakfast.
Where it's up to
The first printed copies arrive in early November and go straight out to a small group of beta readers.
Hear when it's out
I'll only email when there's something worth saying: the book, the soundtrack, and what's happening in the workshop.
More than a book
Pioneer started as a film. The soundtrack is already written, and a lot of what's in the cockpit is sitting on the shelves in my workshop. The book comes first. You can follow the rest in the posts below.