The Asterist

by A.T. Sayre

Otherworldly yet grounded, ominous yet tender, The Asterist is a captivating first contact story that will appeal to readers of Andy Weir and John Scalzi.

Dull days drift by at the dead end of the galaxy for misanthrope Bill Jeffries fulfilling his mundane duties as an Asteroid Station Commander, or “Asterist.” But everything changes when his only companion, the monotone computer he has nicknamed “Nag,” alerts him to an unknown spacecraft that has crashed near the station. Thus begins A. T. Sayre’s science fiction novel with equal parts humor and suspense.

Suddenly thrust into circumstances far beyond his experience or pay grade, Jeffries investigates the puzzling wreckage and makes the shocking discovery of a four-foot-long spider-like being inside. If the alien still lives, Jeffries and his superiors from light years away debate if it should be treated as an ambassador, a test subject, or a threat. But as Jeffries studies the alien and attempts to communicate with it, his cynical exterior begins to shatter and a bond grows.

With the alien’s life in his hands, Jeffries must race against the clock to understand its origins and save it before his superiors arrive to determine their fate. Otherwise, both of them may be forced to commit the ultimate sacrifice.

Genres: Science Fiction

272 pages, Paperback

Expected publication October 20, 2026

Reviews

[Julie]

I received an advance e-book copy from NetGalley and that did not affect my opinion at all.

There are two reasons I gave up on this book at 44% (can't say I didn't give it a fair try).

1) The author ripped off Andy Weir. (Okay there are some slight differences but anyone who's read Weir's books will immediately recognize the basic theme that's going on, plus Weir is a much better writer.)

2) The main character is an annoying, whining asshole.

The MC (I can't even remember his name) is alone on a small one-person station on an asteroid in a solar system empty of human life. The station is like a radio tower that extends signals out to the habitable systems. Something like that. Oh, and there's a non-AI computer voice that is basically an alarm clock/early warning (not that he can do anything if a rogue comet comes zooming his way because his little station has zero defenses) that the MC has named "Nag". (lol)

The MC whines about how he gets crap jobs and has been passed over for promotion, but then tells us that he basically has a bad work ethic and sometimes no work ethic. So, basically he's created his own problems that he whines about and blames upper management for. What a moron!

Then something happens and ah, who cares, I'll spoil it a little for ya, a small alien spaceship crash lands on his asteroid. MC is all excited thinking that this is his moment, that his name will be famous, etc. only to find out that a special first contact team is speeding on it's way to him and for MC to not touch anything. Well MC is having none of that. He's not gonna let them push his to the sidelines and take all the credit for his discovery. So he's goes out to the alien ship and...I won't spoil it anymore except to say he's a frickin' moron! It's like some junior cop walking all over a crime scene trying to find something so they can get credit for it.

I couldn't take it any more. I got to the point where I didn't care what happened and why. So I quit. Sorry author. Next time don't rip off a beloved author (who's books have been made into movies so that even those who don't read know the stories) and make your main character likeable. Don't make him a moron asshole whiner.

[Emily Adams]

Thank you to Net Galley and Diversion Books for the ARC in exchange for a review.

Bill Jeffries is an Asteroid Station Commander (Asterist) trying to fulfill his duties to get his pension and retire. His only companion is his computer, which he lovingly calls Nag.

Nag informs him that there is an incoming asteroid storm but fails to mention the incoming spacecraft that is crashing with it. An Asterist is not equipped with the knowledge to handle combing through the wreckage or any first encounters with a new species, if there happens to be one on the ship. Against the judgement of everyone communicating with him, decides he is going to poke around anyways.

I am a sucker for all things space or alien, so this was a no brainer or me to pick up. The story combines science with empathy and is written well enough that you feel all of the feelings with the characters. I am glad this was my introduction to author A.T. Sayre, and I will be picking up a few of his other books.

[roxygurl74]

The idea of being in outerspace, off-world or space exploration brings in a sense of excitement and adventure for any person who loves and wonders what it would be like beyond earth. However, not all jobs offered in space is as interesting as it sounds. Segway to our MC who has been assigned a post in a asteroid set strategically for a communications post. Our MC, Cmdr Jeffries has is like a glorified guard monitoring and keeping the outpost maintained. Its a very mundane and boring task made more tedious with routines and reports that detail no issues day after day. Until a crash happens next to his outpost which changes everything and turns his boring day into an unforgettable moment of first contact.

The story goes beyond discovery of the crash site and collecting debris for further study. It is first contact and how to deal with this encounter. Do we become hard scientists and focus on data collection or do we do so with some empathy and understanding to learn more of the specie in a different way than lab tests.

I like the fact that the story combined both scientific understanding as well as having heart and learning about the alien. And because of this, it not only paves a way of understanding a different race but creating a friendship with them. It is finding life beyond ours in this vast universe and knowing that friendships can grow between two very different species which will last longer and create alliances.

The writing makes our MC more relatable as he deals with politics, his superiors - making his own judgements and following sense and heart. For an “assumed” nobody like him, he rose to the occasion able to figure and analyze things out with the resources he has. I like the fact that communication wasn’t properly established between them yet still with actions understand that both mean well and are there to help each other. Because honestly if that did happen, it wudnt be realistic.

I greatly enjoyed the book and was hoping for it not to end. I love reading sci fi books and this one did not disappoint. I am actually going to read his other novel because of this. Good ending as well. Im picturing a movie scene of this and felt good.

[Deborah Davitt]

This is not the first A.T. Sayre book I've read; "The Last Days of Good People" was another excellent outing. As in that first book, we have a compelling situation dealing with *genuinely* alien aliens--a rarity! These are not humans with a slightly different forehead; they have intensely different physiology, evolutionary quirks, and come from a strange and deadly-to-humans environment.

In 'The Asterist," as in 'The Last Days of Good People," we begin with a human character who may not be inherently likeable. (Is 'likeability' a necessary quality of a protagonist? Not for everyone!). Jeffries starts off in full-on Robinson Crusoe mode, a hermit in a cell on a distant asteroid, light-years from any other human. He's bored, and going through the motions of a meaningless job, towards an empty retirement. His stagnant existence is shattered when an alien ship crashes on his asteroid, and initially, his involvement in the investigation is little more than a middle finger firmly extended to the bureaucracy that wants to cut him out of the credit for the discovery of a new alien species.

Things take a turn when one of the aliens aboard the ship turns out to be very much alive! And, to take the Robinson Crusoe analogy a little further, the alien *could* be seen as Friday; it comes from a less technologically sophisticated species. But Jeffries comes to empathize more and more with the alien, trying desperately to communicate with it, despite the vast gulf of difference between the two individuals.

And as "Al' (short for 'alien') starts to suffer from cellular degradation, and comes perilously close to death, Jeffries solves the mysteries, one by one--the origin point for these mysterious aliens. Why their ships appear to be 'primitive' in construction. Why his new alien companion is dying--and what he must sacrifice in order to keep Al alive.

It's a cracking good book, well worth the read. Be patient with Jeffries; he's only a jerk on the outside. :P

[Erin Cullen]

One of my favorite questions in sci-fi is whether advanced technology will ever make humans better at managing ourselves and our societies (as historically, it mostly has not). The Asterist provides an interesting answer: in a world of interstellar travel, unlimited 3D printing, and all-but-solved biology and medicine, our protagonist Jeffries spends his days working at what 21st century readers will recognize as a “bullshit job”, and a psychologically devastating one at that. Jeffries is an asterist, which means that he lives alone on an asteroid lightyears away from any other human. What does an asterist do? Not much. His presence on the asteroid is simply convenient for his faraway bosses. Why does he put himself through this? To secure a better pension in his retirement.

Unexpectedly, excitement comes to Jeffries’ asteroid in the form of a crashed spaceship. Jeffries is the only person around, and he is, by his superiors’ design, totally unprepared for the responsibility he faces after the crash. The book goes on to explore how the advanced interstellar society that decided asterists were a good idea might handle first contact.

Jeffries is a fun character to follow, with new layers of his personality revealing themselves as the stakes increase. His humor and, erm, interesting decisions keep the long sections where he has no one but himself and a computer to talk to fast-paced and entertaining. The science was well-considered and worked seamlessly into the story. The cynicism about humanity’s future makes it all the sweeter when it turns out that in this universe, like ours, human individuals have a phenomenal capacity for good. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it for any fan of hard science fiction.

[Sandy S]

THE ASTERIST by AT Sayre is an adult, sci-fi, futuristic, first contact story line focusing on Asteroid Station Commander Bill Jeffries.

Told from omniscient third person perspective (Jeffries) THE ASTERIST follows in the wake of a downed spacecraft found in a debris field that crashed into the asteroid on which Bill Jeffries has been stationed. Well into a solo two year assignment ,housed in an asteroid outpost with only an AI computer for companionship, Bill Jeffries is bored but boredom is about to turn into excitement and curiosity with the unexpected arrival and crash of an unknown spacecraft , wherein Bill Jeffries will rescue, against orders, a small spiderlike creature who will become both his life and his atonement.

THE ASTERIST is a story of survival and sacrifice as Jeffries struggles to assist, communicate and ultimately save a being he knows nothing about. With a language barrier beyond human capabilities, and a potential threat to his own endurance, Jeffries, refusing to adhere to command protocol, finds himself guardian and protector of a creature struggling to subsist on what has been offered by our story line hero. The premise is poignant and heart breaking; our hero is compassionate and empathetic.

copy supplied for review

[Dave Milbrandt]

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest evaluation of its merits.

I liked the premise of this book, to be sure, but the character of Jeffries was hard to connect to until his contact with the Wanderer. I found the use of profanity to be excessive for my tastes. Also, while I get the ending, I was hoping for something other than self-sacrifice. Yes, he gets some praise while alive, he really doesn't get to experience the fullness of what his discovery meant and, in the end, feels just like a useless "Asterist" whose sacrifice is mostly unappreciated in his own lifetime.

[P.A. Cornell]

In The Asterist A.T. Sayre certainly delivers on what you’d expect from the best hard science fiction first contact tales but he’s equally adept at inserting humanity into the narrative. This is a story that will leave readers processing various thoughts and emotions long after the final words.