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Trek
Trek is a planet maintained from Earth solely for relaxation of people who have the time and inclination to take a long trip just to get away from it all. Imagine a park over an entire planet the size of Earth. That’s what we have here. If one could design a perfect planet for outdoorsy types, for those who enjoy nature, who like to hike, or for people who want to kick back and enjoy the world, Trek would be it. As long one is not particular about which world they are enjoying.
The weather on Trek is perfect all year long. No seasons, just year-long spring. There are few animals, none dangerous. There are streams and abundant growth that provides fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Everything needed for a healthy diet. Those grow everywhere, literally for the picking. One can roam the planet for years and never worry about food or water. People do just that. Some people stay for a week, or a month, or even a year. All is well until it isn’t.
Some people leave and never return. Some return after being away for years and describe what they did during that time. Unbelievable. There is something in the hinterlands of Trek that is not understood. Investigators from Earth are sent to find out what that is. When those investigators don’t return, one last attempt is made. The best of what Escape can offer, the star investigators who retired so many years ago on Prism are solicited to return to service to solve this problem. If they can’t find out what’s happening, Trek will be closed.
What do you think? You may have some idea, but not a complete one. I guarantee it.
The weather on Trek is perfect all year long. No seasons, just year-long spring. There are few animals, none dangerous. There are streams and abundant growth that provides fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Everything needed for a healthy diet. Those grow everywhere, literally for the picking. One can roam the planet for years and never worry about food or water. People do just that. Some people stay for a week, or a month, or even a year. All is well until it isn’t.
Some people leave and never return. Some return after being away for years and describe what they did during that time. Unbelievable. There is something in the hinterlands of Trek that is not understood. Investigators from Earth are sent to find out what that is. When those investigators don’t return, one last attempt is made. The best of what Escape can offer, the star investigators who retired so many years ago on Prism are solicited to return to service to solve this problem. If they can’t find out what’s happening, Trek will be closed.
What do you think? You may have some idea, but not a complete one. I guarantee it.
235 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 22, 2025
About the author
Jack Verson
3 booksComputer software by education, I started my first company in 1981 writing computer games for the Atari. I then ran a software company for 30 years before retiring. Looking for something to do, I wrote my first book at age 74. A true story about life on other planets humanity has settled. (Not true yet, but it might be one day.) All this for fun, and I hope my books present this underlying theme and are fun for you to read.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 16, 2025
In Verson’s second installment in the Strange Planets We Settle series, a gifted young investigator joins her legendary parents on a planet where peace becomes peril. Sienna, fresh from a philosophy-focused university on the color-shifting planet Prism, receives a twenty-first birthday gift unlike any other: her first real mission with Escape, the interstellar agency that once employed her parents. The assignment? Trek, a lush, Edenic world with perfect weather, abundant food, and no threats. Marketed as a destination for outdoor enthusiasts, Trek has a darker mystery. Visitors vanish. Some return years later, unchanged and disturbingly blank. They aren’t harmed. They’ve simply let go of who they were.
Verson builds this quiet horror with ironic precision. The planet, Trek, invites endless wandering, but leads nowhere. The danger here isn’t death, but dissolution. Sienna remains at the heart of the story. Her introspective arc is compelling. She doesn’t fight villains—she fights numbness. Verson gives her room to feel, reflect, and observe. She doesn’t leap into action, but neither does she drift. Her dynamic with her parents, particularly the quiet reverence and occasional friction between generations, gives the story emotional weight.
The worldbuilding is subdued and unnerving. The PSD drive, which allows interstellar travel via time manipulation, further underscores the story’s obsession with dislocation. At its core, the novel is about identity and purpose. Sienna doesn’t fight monsters; she resists apathy. She questions ease. Her bond with her parents forms a rare intergenerational team dynamic in sci-fi: one rooted in trust, not tension. For readers who value introspective, idea-driven sci-fi, this is a slow-burning, thought-provoking journey.
Verson builds this quiet horror with ironic precision. The planet, Trek, invites endless wandering, but leads nowhere. The danger here isn’t death, but dissolution. Sienna remains at the heart of the story. Her introspective arc is compelling. She doesn’t fight villains—she fights numbness. Verson gives her room to feel, reflect, and observe. She doesn’t leap into action, but neither does she drift. Her dynamic with her parents, particularly the quiet reverence and occasional friction between generations, gives the story emotional weight.
The worldbuilding is subdued and unnerving. The PSD drive, which allows interstellar travel via time manipulation, further underscores the story’s obsession with dislocation. At its core, the novel is about identity and purpose. Sienna doesn’t fight monsters; she resists apathy. She questions ease. Her bond with her parents forms a rare intergenerational team dynamic in sci-fi: one rooted in trust, not tension. For readers who value introspective, idea-driven sci-fi, this is a slow-burning, thought-provoking journey.
Displaying 1 of 1 review