books

Flipspace -- John Steiner

Flight of the Mocking Bird
Branching Out
Sol Side Up

Oh Fortuna
Threshold
When It Rains

Shades of Jade
Astraeus Event (Mission 4-6)
BUY 1-3 in Print

Read Character Interview

#1 Flight of the Mocking Bird

Training for the ISS Mockingbird, Colonel Sumitra Ramachandra and Major Lamarr Fitch find that they're being deployed before certification. The ISS Astraeus, an International Space Organization vessel fails to transmit its latest exploration report in the Gliese 667 System twenty-two light-years away. Colonel Ramachandra learns that the Mockingbird she commands was built for more than intra-solar operation. Three people with complicated and enigmatic backgrounds are added to her crew roster just before launch.

#2 Branching Out

The ISS Mockingbird is ordered to Kepler 22 to check up on a research outpost set up by the Astraeus. Colonel Ramachandra and her crew discover on the planet, Kepler 22B a form of life that doesn't need ships to travel through space. Also present is a base established by Remote Space Conglomerated Industries. Their operations put profit before the concerns of the indigenous life. An unauthorized distress call originates from the RSCI base. Colonel Rama must risk breaching their air defenses to comply with international conventions and save lives.

#3 SOL-SIDE UP

On completion of two missions, the crew of the Mockingbird returns to Earth for Grav Leave. Not everyone welcomes them back as intrepid explorers and peacekeepers. Colonel Ramachandra becomes the target of a kidnapping plot, and the abductors' motives aren't clear. Major Lamarr Fitch struggles with the responsibilities of filling in. He must organize the ship's crew to get Colonel Rama back. Captain Malcolm O'Connell confronts his past and the legacy of being a reincarnated Xerces Protocol patient.

#4 OH FORTUNA

During a deep space rescue, the Mockingbird receives emergency dispatch orders for the Fortuna asteroid. Colonel Rama is warned of Russian Federation and Remote Space Conglomerated Industries vessels. The Fortuna Foreign Relations Office invites Mockingbird's senior officers and Federation command officers to an embassy dinner. The two Earth powers are asked to defend Fortuna from RSCI clandestine ops. Lt. Cipactli Arroyo-Diaz, and his team are invited to a "friendly" game of soccer with Russian security. Stanley Goddard runs into an old nemesis in the form of a Federation Logician.

#5 THRESHOLD

The freeze on FTL exploration is over. Mockingbird is dispatched to the exo-planet, XJ-372495E to relieve an outpost team established by the Astraeus. They discover no response from the base, and fear the same fate befell the station as the FTLV. Col. Rama and crew land to investigate the small wind-blown base. Todd Nathanial Ash, Mockingbird's genetic specialist and Seti team member draws animosity from the science team leader. He and Cpt. O'Connell uncover signs of extinct civilizations, found by the first team, and learn what happened to outpost crew. That's when things get dicey.

#6 When It Rains

Only 42 light-years away, the exo-solar planet, Henry Draper 40307G, has yet to be visited by humanity. That changes, when the Mockingbird arrives with an astronomical survey team. Deploying probes and deep space telescopes, the science team stumbles upon intelligent aliens on sixth planet. Colonel Rama orders the crew onto alert. Captain O'Connell and his Seti team, clash with ISO scientists while studying the surface life. The crew is shocked again, when a derelict spacecraft is found in a Lagrangian Point beyond the planet's moon. How many S.E.T.I. encounters they face is uncertain.

 

 

reviews

Read this blog interview with John on his book here.

Read a n Amazon reader's review of Flipspace here.

Flight of the Mocking Bird -- You can't beat the price or the quality by volume of this story. John Steiner's Flipspace series is short downloadable novels about military sci-fi at its most militaristic. That's a good thing. It has weapons and vehicles with sweet acronyms. That alone is worth a purchase.

Revolution SF Reviews

Brancing Out -- If for some reason you only had time for one starship-based sci-fi short story, go for Branching Out. But sheesh, if you don't have time to read two short stories, you need to go on a break, buddy.

Revolution SF Reviews (Spoiler Alert)