Harbinger Author P.A. Vasey’s latest is a science fiction thriller revolving around a man’s missing wife and her connection with a meteorite that’s far more than it seems.
The novel begins in 2017 when an interstellar object—assumed to be a massive meteor— is detected speeding through the solar system. Interest in the passing object soon abates, but what’s unknown is that the object was an alien spaceship searching the universe for habitable planets. The object sends a probe resembling an unassuming meteor to the blue planet and continues its journey.
The probe—which contains a radically advanced quantum computer—crashes in the Amazon and inadvertently kills Alex Park, the adventurer wife of William Logan, an Army veteran who owns a coffee and juice bar in Santa Monica.
Two years after Alex’s disappearance and presumed death, the still-grieving Logan is abducted and becomes entangled in a conspiracy; he and his missing wife are believed to somehow be involved in a plot to sabotage a company involved in cutting-edge technology advancements. What Logan discovers is mind-blowing: A semblance of Alex is still somehow alive after merging with the alien tech: “She’s a quantum computer in a human-hybrid body.”
After finding each other imprisoned in one of the company’s secluded facilities, they escape and try to stay alive as the company’s maniacal founder relentlessly pursues them—and the billions of dollars Alex’s secrets could bring. Complicating matters is the aliens’ complex backstory, which includes the looming annihilation of humankind.
This is an utterly captivating read. The premise—while certainly familiar (see Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama)—comes with impressive twists. The pacing is relentless, the action nonstop, and the climactic ending entirely satisfying. Although the characters could have been more deeply developed, this doesn’t impact the overall reading experience, as the aforementioned aspects more than make up for it.
Readers who like smart, well-constructed science fiction thrillers will find Vasey’s latest unputdownable—a page-turner of the highest order.
Also available as an ebook.
