BattleSpace: An Eccentric Orbits Novella

by Patrick Chiles

“The story moves quickly with elements of both a spy thriller and a space race…Frozen Orbit could make for an impressive movie, one that would stand with greats such as Contact or Interstellar.” -BooklistIn space, the Cold War turns hot.Long before he commanded the Arkangel on its mission to the outer planets, Vladimir Vaschenko was a rookie cosmonaut defending his country from the high ground of space.At the height of the Cold War, the United States and Soviet Union were in a race not only for the Moon but for domination of Earth orbit. Astronauts and cosmonauts, piloting top-secret spacecraft through intricate dances of deception and evasion, ultimately clash high above Earth in a battle that neither side would ever acknowledge. And space combat will test young Lieutenant Vaschenko and his American adversary in ways neither man could expect.In this adventure set in the world of Frozen Orbit, readers will learn how Vaschenko earned his status as a hero cosmonaut, why his exploits remained forever classified, and how he came into possession of a certain piece of beloved English fantasy literature discovered decades later aboard the abandoned Arkangel.

Genres: Science Fiction

Kindle Edition

Published July 6, 2021

About the author

Patrick Chiles began his writing career with the self-published novels PERIGEE and FARSIDE. His subsequent novels with Baen Books, FROZEN ORBIT, ESCAPE ORBIT, FRONTIER, and INTERSTELLAR MEDIC: THE LONG RUN have established him as a rising talent in adventurous, near-future science fiction. Born from the author’s fascination with practical space travel and love for Cold War technothrillers, his novels feature plausible technology that leverage his military and aviation experience to create stories with engaging, relatable characters on astonishing adventures: “ordinary people, doing extraordinary things.”
He also contributed to the 2021 anthology, WORLD BREAKERS, with Larry Correia and David Weber, the 2022 anthology, WORLDS LONG LOST, with Orson Scott Card and Christopher Ruocchio, and was the headline author of 2023’s THE ROSS 248 PROJECT.
Patrick graduated from The Citadel in 1986 and served in the Marine Corps until 1993. After a career in managing airline and business flight operations, he now works for an aviation safety consulting firm when he is not writing. He currently resides in central Ohio with his wife and a lethargic dachshund.

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chiles is one of the best writers of near-time hard scifi. For those of us that grew up in the space race 60's, Battlespace feels very real; let's call it historical fiction (or maybe not?).

[Lee Pfahler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good hard science fiction novella exploring American and Soviet Union space espionage.