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Wings of Earth #4
Beyond the Edge
Fifteen hundred light-years from home.
What could possibly go wrong.
Captain Ethan Walker wants to be back in space, instead he’s trapped in an endless bureaucratic battle to get his two interstellar freighters hauling cargo. Driven by frustration, he jumps at the chance to take on an epic run that will send his ships a thousand light years beyond the edge of Coalition Space. Hired by a mysterious corporation and its supernaturally beautiful agent, he soon realizes that no one in his world is remotely as they seem.
When a violent terrorist faction targets Walker and his crew before they begin loading their cargo, he uncovers a hidden reality where everything he thought he understood about human civilization is no longer true.
A secret war looms on the horizon and nothing he counted on can be trusted. Not even his own perceptions.
Far beyond the possibility of rescue, a mind-altering turn of events leaves Ethan fighting to save his crew and ships. His only hope of survival lies in trusting his instincts.
And the genetically engineered passengers asleep in his cargo hold.
Now you can read the exciting fourth book of Wings of Earth and learn how far Beyond the Edge the truth really lives.
What could possibly go wrong.
Captain Ethan Walker wants to be back in space, instead he’s trapped in an endless bureaucratic battle to get his two interstellar freighters hauling cargo. Driven by frustration, he jumps at the chance to take on an epic run that will send his ships a thousand light years beyond the edge of Coalition Space. Hired by a mysterious corporation and its supernaturally beautiful agent, he soon realizes that no one in his world is remotely as they seem.
When a violent terrorist faction targets Walker and his crew before they begin loading their cargo, he uncovers a hidden reality where everything he thought he understood about human civilization is no longer true.
A secret war looms on the horizon and nothing he counted on can be trusted. Not even his own perceptions.
Far beyond the possibility of rescue, a mind-altering turn of events leaves Ethan fighting to save his crew and ships. His only hope of survival lies in trusting his instincts.
And the genetically engineered passengers asleep in his cargo hold.
Now you can read the exciting fourth book of Wings of Earth and learn how far Beyond the Edge the truth really lives.
- GenresScience Fiction
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 31, 2019
67 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Eric Michael Craig
23 books120 followersEric Michael Craig is a "harder-edged" Science Fiction writer living in the Manzano Mountains of New Mexico. He is the former Director of Research for a private consulting laboratory in Phoenix, where he experimented with inertial propulsion and power generation technologies.
Eric is a founding member of the SciFi Roundtable. The SFRT is an active online group dedicated to supporting indie and traditional authors by networking them with other writers and professional resources.
When not writing, Eric is active in Intentional Community Design, plays guitar and bass, occasionally dabbles in art of various forms. He also owns way too many dogs.
Eric is a founding member of the SciFi Roundtable. The SFRT is an active online group dedicated to supporting indie and traditional authors by networking them with other writers and professional resources.
When not writing, Eric is active in Intentional Community Design, plays guitar and bass, occasionally dabbles in art of various forms. He also owns way too many dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 12, 2020
The fourth book in the first season of the Wings of Earth, Beyond the Edge, has Captain Ethan Walker sitting in a good position. He’s acquired a second ship – the Elysium Sun – and is contemplating leasing the Sun out to another captain to increase his earnings. But first Ethan is offered a contract from a mysterious corporation to take a small group of colonists thousand light years beyond Coalition space. It’s too good of a payout to pass up. But as Ethan preps his ships, they are attacked by an equally mysterious terrorist organization – Red Wall – a group of isolationists that have apparently targeted Ethan and his ships. As Ethan and his crew pick up their cargo and get underway it looks like they’ve avoided any more conflict and settle in for a months long journey. That is until the sabotage happens. Now Ethan must use his wits, and a quite a bit of guile and cunning, to save his ships, crew, and cargo from a mysterious attacker determined to stop this delivery.
Once again Eric Michael Craig has delivered a pulse-pounding science fiction adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed Beyond the Edge for many reasons. The characters continue to grow and develop – not just Ethan Walker – who has a lot of changes happen in Beyond the Edge, but we learn many new things about all of the other characters and see them change as well. In the same way that a TV show’s characters start to develop and grow as the season progresses, Craig has been doing the same thing with the different characters in Wings of Earth. We learn more about Kaycee and Ammo especially in this story as the larger, multi-book story arc continues to be developed. And that’s another reason I love this book. On the surface this is a standard story involving a simple plot – deliver a group of colonists and their crew to a destination way far away from everything else and deal with the people trying to stop this. But Craig continues to weave in a larger, multi-book story arc that adds additional layers of intrigue and mystery to the basic plot. As you read, not only are you concerned about how Ethan and crew are going to get out of “this” mess, but you also start seeing that there is a lot more going on, and somehow Ethan and his people are in the center of it.
Eric Michael Craig has given us another thrilling episode with Beyond the Edge. I highly recommend this book (and the entire Wings of Earth series) to anybody who loves science fiction in the vein of Star Trek, Firefly, and Battlestar Galactica. The stories are first rate, the larger story arc deftly woven in, and the characters are real and full of hidden depths and new surprises.
Once again Eric Michael Craig has delivered a pulse-pounding science fiction adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed Beyond the Edge for many reasons. The characters continue to grow and develop – not just Ethan Walker – who has a lot of changes happen in Beyond the Edge, but we learn many new things about all of the other characters and see them change as well. In the same way that a TV show’s characters start to develop and grow as the season progresses, Craig has been doing the same thing with the different characters in Wings of Earth. We learn more about Kaycee and Ammo especially in this story as the larger, multi-book story arc continues to be developed. And that’s another reason I love this book. On the surface this is a standard story involving a simple plot – deliver a group of colonists and their crew to a destination way far away from everything else and deal with the people trying to stop this. But Craig continues to weave in a larger, multi-book story arc that adds additional layers of intrigue and mystery to the basic plot. As you read, not only are you concerned about how Ethan and crew are going to get out of “this” mess, but you also start seeing that there is a lot more going on, and somehow Ethan and his people are in the center of it.
Eric Michael Craig has given us another thrilling episode with Beyond the Edge. I highly recommend this book (and the entire Wings of Earth series) to anybody who loves science fiction in the vein of Star Trek, Firefly, and Battlestar Galactica. The stories are first rate, the larger story arc deftly woven in, and the characters are real and full of hidden depths and new surprises.
March 18, 2020
Absolutely fantastic. This series just keeps getting better and better. If you like good, deep space sci fi with lots of action and tension, you should definitely check this one out. You should also read the previous books in the series as well as they are all amazing.
September 6, 2022
And the series just gets better and better.
The Amazon “blurb” on this book says all that is needed about the plot. I am so grateful that the first five books in this series can be purchased as a box set. I have already read the Shan Takhu Legacy and the novella Wings of Earth-Scatter the Winds (and highly recommend that readers of this series also read those in advance). You don’t have to have read them in order to enjoy Eric Michael Craig’s (eight books so far) Wings of Earth “episodes”. But they provide worthwhile background to all of the “episodes”, and Beyond the Edge in particular.
Just finished Book Five (Stranger Bedfellows) and about to post my review to that.
The Amazon “blurb” on this book says all that is needed about the plot. I am so grateful that the first five books in this series can be purchased as a box set. I have already read the Shan Takhu Legacy and the novella Wings of Earth-Scatter the Winds (and highly recommend that readers of this series also read those in advance). You don’t have to have read them in order to enjoy Eric Michael Craig’s (eight books so far) Wings of Earth “episodes”. But they provide worthwhile background to all of the “episodes”, and Beyond the Edge in particular.
Just finished Book Five (Stranger Bedfellows) and about to post my review to that.
January 20, 2022
The deep dark has many strange happenings.
In book three the Captain and crew ................ The Coalition is embarrassed enough to pay top dollar to cover it up. After the Captain purchases a sister ship to the Dawn he takes a commission to travel passed the limit of settled space.
In book three the Captain and crew ................ The Coalition is embarrassed enough to pay top dollar to cover it up. After the Captain purchases a sister ship to the Dawn he takes a commission to travel passed the limit of settled space.
October 16, 2022
What. Is. Missing.?
That's a good question. What's missing for me is a knowledge of the technical and scientific terms used. Especially the terms referral how a vessel operates and how it moves through the vast distances of space. Other than that, I've enjoyed reading the first four books and am looking forward to reading book five.
That's a good question. What's missing for me is a knowledge of the technical and scientific terms used. Especially the terms referral how a vessel operates and how it moves through the vast distances of space. Other than that, I've enjoyed reading the first four books and am looking forward to reading book five.
June 2, 2021
A great read!
Although the first book started a little slow, by the time I got to to the end and progressed to #4, it has been too good to put down. Mr. Craig writes a great story. Now on to #5!
Although the first book started a little slow, by the time I got to to the end and progressed to #4, it has been too good to put down. Mr. Craig writes a great story. Now on to #5!
April 15, 2021
I have enjoyed this series so much. How one captain get in to much trouble.
September 29, 2021
Ethan Walker becomes a Fleet Captain! He acquires the Elysium Sun as a sister ship to the Olympus Dawn, and as one might expect: more ships, more problems. Walker takes it all in stride as the "more problems" also means "more money." It allows him to take a secretive yet highly lucrative job that pushes him and the crew beyond Coalition space. He catches the eye of a terrorist organization, and well, things get messy.
That's the setup for Beyond the Edge, the fourth entry in Eric Michael Craig's Wings of Earth series. It is a hard shift from Chains of Dawn (book three), which saw the crew split across a jungle planet. Readers will be both relieved and re-stressed, as the narrow escape from the previous story sets up the perilous isolation of this story. The transition may look sudden on paper, but it makes total sense given the ending of Dawn.
Once again, Craig keeps his readers guessing despite the inherent danger of leaving "safe space." The quotes are necessary, being that Walker and the crew are pros at finding trouble wherever they go. This is due to the recurring and relatable flaws of the main characters. And thankfully, they are far from one-dimensional. Craig maneuvers them with care and provides growth opportunities when appropriate. And as they sail beyond the edge, so to speak, their backstories gain depth and their motivations gain focus.
I would say that Beyond the Edge is the most impactful book thus far. Starlight established the arcs, Dust gave them stakes, Chains pushed their limits, and now Edge tests the very bonds that hold it all together. Far too often, long-running series will test a reader's patience with recycled narratives and riskless action. Craig understands this, and he goes to great lengths to maintain a realistic tension. Four books in, I still see each character as expendable to the central plot. It keeps the heart pounding and the pages turning.
At this point, it's easier to recommend the series above individual titles. Wings of Earth is a fun and engaging saga that I keep coming back to. The callbacks to Shan Takhu Legacy are also very rewarding. It's quite obvious that Craig has devoted a lot of time and effort into weaving this all together. I suspect that there are giant whiteboards hanging in his office.
That's the setup for Beyond the Edge, the fourth entry in Eric Michael Craig's Wings of Earth series. It is a hard shift from Chains of Dawn (book three), which saw the crew split across a jungle planet. Readers will be both relieved and re-stressed, as the narrow escape from the previous story sets up the perilous isolation of this story. The transition may look sudden on paper, but it makes total sense given the ending of Dawn.
Once again, Craig keeps his readers guessing despite the inherent danger of leaving "safe space." The quotes are necessary, being that Walker and the crew are pros at finding trouble wherever they go. This is due to the recurring and relatable flaws of the main characters. And thankfully, they are far from one-dimensional. Craig maneuvers them with care and provides growth opportunities when appropriate. And as they sail beyond the edge, so to speak, their backstories gain depth and their motivations gain focus.
I would say that Beyond the Edge is the most impactful book thus far. Starlight established the arcs, Dust gave them stakes, Chains pushed their limits, and now Edge tests the very bonds that hold it all together. Far too often, long-running series will test a reader's patience with recycled narratives and riskless action. Craig understands this, and he goes to great lengths to maintain a realistic tension. Four books in, I still see each character as expendable to the central plot. It keeps the heart pounding and the pages turning.
At this point, it's easier to recommend the series above individual titles. Wings of Earth is a fun and engaging saga that I keep coming back to. The callbacks to Shan Takhu Legacy are also very rewarding. It's quite obvious that Craig has devoted a lot of time and effort into weaving this all together. I suspect that there are giant whiteboards hanging in his office.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews