In Jerry Lucas’s science fiction novel, The Lawyer and the Astronaut, a man leaves on a thrilling interplanetary mission while his wife is cryogenically frozen as she awaits his return.
It’s 2446 and Josh, a creative technologist, finds himself unemployed again after being fired from his last job. Several days later, Josh’s former co-worker, Laura, is also fired. Laura asks Josh to lunch, where they discuss their respective situations, and soon they fall in love. Meanwhile, Josh is selected to participate in an interplanetary investigative mission that could last thousands of years. Laura agrees to be frozen throughout the time Josh is gone, hoping they will be reconnected if he ever returns to Earth.
The story brims with captivating scenes set on the planet that Josh is sent to probe. From fighting crocodile people from a different planet to protect the alien planet’s indigenous species to getting attacked by a giant squid, the novel follows Josh’s exhilarating adventures across space. Meanwhile, Laura and Josh’s love story is naturally woven into the plot and adds an emotional layer to the overall story.
The narrative’s pace, however, is bogged down by in-depth scientific information concerning Josh’s experiences. For example, when Josh and his helpful robot, Missy, encounter dinosaurs on the alien planet, the story includes a lengthy explanation regarding dinosaur extinction on Earth. Other details about cryogenics, time dilation, travel time, navigation, and temperature levels appear throughout.
Additionally, descriptions of Earth in the future fall short. At one point in the plot, the storyline jumps more than a millennium ahead. Nonetheless, many details about Earth are similar to the current world. The story also tends to fall into common science fiction tropes such as the disappearance of national governments and the establishment of a common one-world government.
Despite such issues, readers might appreciate The Lawyer and the Astronaut for its well-developed romance subplot and exciting events in outer space.
Also available in hardcover and ebook.