Mercury Rising
by R.W.W. Greene
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Pub Date May 10 2022 | Archive Date Oct 24 2023
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Description
AVAILABLE AS READ NOW TO CELEBRATE THE RELEASE OF THE SEQUEL, EARTH RETROGRADE (24th October)
Even in a technologically-advanced, Kennedy-Didn’t-Die alternate-history, Brooklyn Lamontagne is going nowhere fast.
The year is 1975, thirty years after Robert Oppenheimer invented the Oppenheimer Atomic Engine, twenty-five years after the first human walked on the moon, and eighteen years after Jet Carson and the Eagle Seven sacrificed their lives to stop the alien invaders.
Brooklyn just wants to keep his mother’s rent paid, earn a little scratch of his own, steer clear of the cops, and maybe get laid sometime in the near future. Simple pleasures, right? But a killer with a baseball bat and a mysterious box of 8-track tapes is about to make his life real complicated. So, rot away in prison or sign up to defend the planet from the assholes who dropped a meteorite on Cleveland? Brooklyn crosses his fingers and picks the Earth Orbital Forces. A few years in the trenches and then -- assuming he survives -- he'll get his life back, right? Unfortunately, the universe has other plans, and Brooklyn is launched into a story about saving humanity, finding family, and growing as a person -- while coping with high-stakes space battles, mystery science experiments and finding out the real enemies aren’t the tentacled monsters on the recruitment poster.
Unless they are.
A Note From the Publisher
For publicity enquiries, please contact Caroline: caroline@angryrobotbooks.com
Advance Praise
"The toll difficult moral choices take on families is the core conflict of this clever far-future debut from Greene... Sophisticated worldbuilding and diverse, emotionally-resonant characters make Greene an author to watch. "
– Publishers Weekly
Available Editions
EDITION | Other Format |
ISBN | 9780857669728 |
PRICE | $15.99 (USD) |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
It’s been a long time since I read a book involving alternative timelines and aliens invading earth that I really felt was original and told the story in such a way as not finish with “to be continued” leaving the reader frustrated and at the time wanting more but by the time sequel arrives not so much actually, this book was a delight, it engaged me from the start and held my attention completely, I loved it 😊 and to go back to my earlier comment, would I want another, absolutely but I would also just bask in the pleasure of this book as a stand alone
In an alternate history, earth’s space technology is much more advanced with the Oppenheimer Atomic Engine. Aliens from Venus destroyed cities in the USA and the USSR but Eagle seven and their Russian equivalent manage to stop them from invading Earth. Eighteen years later in 1975, Brooklyn ends up serving in Earth Orbital Forces (EOF) to avoid going to prison and despite his best efforts ends up in spaceships and space battles with a whole load of strange people.
Review
Can I just say how much I loved the opening chapter? The first chapter could be a short story in itself -from the initial tense standoff between the aliens and Earth to the epic space battles to Jet’s (an astronaut) final sacrifice to save Earth.
I received a copy of this book for a free and unbiased opinion.
This is a book of many, distinct parts that all fit together at the end to form a complete story. Some parts may seem a little out of place (and I must admit I wasn’t sure why these chapters were there) but these small details made sense by the end of the book.
The main point of view character is Brooklyn who is one of the most realistic characters I have come across in science-fiction. A young man who at the start of the book isn’t driving his own story- a reluctant hero who has to be dragged into doing the right and who is rightly scared in the situations he finds himself in. But we see his character develop through the book, so when he steps up in a desperate attempt to save Earth, it’s no surprise- we have seen his journey to become a hero.
The plot slowly ramps up in the latter half of the book, featuring space battles and fights, conspiracy theories and aliens.
The author creates an interesting world both on Earth where Nixon has been re-elected following an alien attack on Cleveland and in space where there are space colonies with hotels and spaceships manned by a gay crew.
All plot threads are resolved by the end of the book.
Content warning
Medical Experimentation
Perfect for fans of
Anyone who enjoys reading about astronauts, space and aliens.
I enjoyed this book and I hope there are more books set in this world.
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