"The dazed and bleeding rat backed away from Perez and turned to the downed girl. Without hesitation, Perez stepped between the predator and its prey."
Theories over the origin of mankind, the disappearance of the Neanderthals, and whether life could possibly exist in other parts of our solar system have bounced around within the scientific community for decades and have frequently butted heads with the beliefs of various religious communities. Combining these lines of thought and adding his own twist to them, the author has constructed a science fiction thriller that is both entertaining and imaginative. The novella begins sixty-three million years ago with Master Architect Janus staring out over an orderly but nearly desolate Martian city that has been evacuated in response to the imminent threat of two planets set to collide further out in the solar system. The reader learns that in preparation for the long-anticipated disaster the Martians have been transferring most of their indigenous species to other planets that they have been terraforming such as Venus, Earth, and a hidden planet on the opposite side of the sun from Earth called Terra. The storyline then fast-forwards to 2008 in a time where the U.S. Government is trying to solve the conundrum of disappearing scientists and data that is beginning to hint at a planet-sized but invisible object behind the sun. From there the narrative switches back and forth between Terra and Earth as a group of Earth's scientists and Terran covert units attempt to keep the hidden planet's discovery from Earth's governments and rogue organizations while preparing for the eventual unveiling of its existence.
Well-written and suspenseful, Erickson's story blends scientific theory with fast-paced action in an adventure that should have its fans practically sitting up and begging for a sequel.- John E. Roper, US Review of Books
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