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The Spacetime War
A BRILLIANT BLEND OF MILITARY SCIENCE FICTION AND ARTHUR C. CLARKE-LEVEL SPECULATIVE WONDER BY A WORKING SPACE SCIENTIST!
NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT
Humanity has finally made it to the stars. Colony worlds thrive and there is general peace among the settled systems. Until now.
Matte black ships of an advanced design appear in colonial systems. Their drives and weapons are not extremely advanced beyond their Terran counterparts—just superior enough to be utterly devastating. Colonies and their populations are obliterated. Once-settled worlds are rendered radioactive wastelands. Earth herself lies defenseless before the marauding enemy.
DEFEND THE SKIES OF EARTH
Standing against the invasion are two of humanity’s finest starship captains: Winslow Price of the British Space Navy and Anika Ahuja of the Indian Space Forces. Compatriots. Fierce competitors. Former lovers. Now they are on a quest that will plumb the scientific wells of existence, where the primordial knot of spacetime may be unraveling. Price and Ahuja are sworn to do whatever it takes to defend Earth and humanity from ultimate obliteration by an enemy that will not even speak its name. Even if it pushes each to the brink of life and death in battle. Even if it leads each beyond space and time—and to the edge of ultimate possibility!
TAKE THE BATTLE TO THE STARS
“Johnson, a NASA physicist, brings verisimilitude and scientific accuracy to this adventure, and his passion for the details of space travel will undoubtedly please readers looking for old-school hard science fiction.” —Publishers Weekly
About Mission to Methone:
“The spirit of Arthur C. Clarke and his contemporaries is alive and well in Johnson’s old-fashioned first-contact novel, set in 2068. . . . includes plenty of realistic detail and puts fun new spins on familiar alien concepts. . . . There’s a great deal here for fans of early hard SF.”—Publishers Weekly
“With equal parts science fiction and international intrigue . . . an exciting, fast-paced read that you will not want to put down.”—Booklist
About Rescue Mode by Ben Bova and Les Johnson:
“. . . a suspenseful and compelling narrative of the first human spaceflight to Mars.”—Booklist
NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT
Humanity has finally made it to the stars. Colony worlds thrive and there is general peace among the settled systems. Until now.
Matte black ships of an advanced design appear in colonial systems. Their drives and weapons are not extremely advanced beyond their Terran counterparts—just superior enough to be utterly devastating. Colonies and their populations are obliterated. Once-settled worlds are rendered radioactive wastelands. Earth herself lies defenseless before the marauding enemy.
DEFEND THE SKIES OF EARTH
Standing against the invasion are two of humanity’s finest starship captains: Winslow Price of the British Space Navy and Anika Ahuja of the Indian Space Forces. Compatriots. Fierce competitors. Former lovers. Now they are on a quest that will plumb the scientific wells of existence, where the primordial knot of spacetime may be unraveling. Price and Ahuja are sworn to do whatever it takes to defend Earth and humanity from ultimate obliteration by an enemy that will not even speak its name. Even if it pushes each to the brink of life and death in battle. Even if it leads each beyond space and time—and to the edge of ultimate possibility!
TAKE THE BATTLE TO THE STARS
“Johnson, a NASA physicist, brings verisimilitude and scientific accuracy to this adventure, and his passion for the details of space travel will undoubtedly please readers looking for old-school hard science fiction.” —Publishers Weekly
About Mission to Methone:
“The spirit of Arthur C. Clarke and his contemporaries is alive and well in Johnson’s old-fashioned first-contact novel, set in 2068. . . . includes plenty of realistic detail and puts fun new spins on familiar alien concepts. . . . There’s a great deal here for fans of early hard SF.”—Publishers Weekly
“With equal parts science fiction and international intrigue . . . an exciting, fast-paced read that you will not want to put down.”—Booklist
About Rescue Mode by Ben Bova and Les Johnson:
“. . . a suspenseful and compelling narrative of the first human spaceflight to Mars.”—Booklist
- GenresScience Fiction
399 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 5, 2021
5 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Les Johnson
16 books70 followersLes is the author or co-author of both popular science and science fiction. His latest science fiction novel, "Mission to Methone," was released by Baen Books on February 6, 2018. Coincidentally, his latest non-fiction book, "Graphene: The Superstrong, Superthin, and Superversatile Material That Will Revolutionize the World," with co-author Joe Meany, was published the same day (from a different publisher - Prometheus Books)!
By day, Les is Principal Investigator (lead scientist) for NASA's first interplanetary solar sail mission, The Near Earth Asteroid Scout, at the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. In the early 2000's, Les was NASA's Manager for Interstellar Propulsion Research and later managed the In-Space Propulsion Technology Project. He has worked for NASA since 1990 and has served in various technical and management roles.
Les was the featured "Interstellar Explorer" in the January 2013 issue of National Geographic Magazine. He was technical consultant for the movie, Lost in Space. NPR, CNN, Fox News, The Science Channel and The Discovery Channel have all interviewed him. He appeared on the Discovery Science Channel in their Exodus Earth series and the "How to Build A Starship" episode of Michio Kaku's 2010 Discovery Science Channel Series "Physics of the Impossible.
He was the Chief Scientist for the ProSEDS space experiment, twice received NASAs Exceptional Achievement Medal, and holds 3 space technology patents. He has numerous peer-reviewed publications and was published in Analog."
By day, Les is Principal Investigator (lead scientist) for NASA's first interplanetary solar sail mission, The Near Earth Asteroid Scout, at the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. In the early 2000's, Les was NASA's Manager for Interstellar Propulsion Research and later managed the In-Space Propulsion Technology Project. He has worked for NASA since 1990 and has served in various technical and management roles.
Les was the featured "Interstellar Explorer" in the January 2013 issue of National Geographic Magazine. He was technical consultant for the movie, Lost in Space. NPR, CNN, Fox News, The Science Channel and The Discovery Channel have all interviewed him. He appeared on the Discovery Science Channel in their Exodus Earth series and the "How to Build A Starship" episode of Michio Kaku's 2010 Discovery Science Channel Series "Physics of the Impossible.
He was the Chief Scientist for the ProSEDS space experiment, twice received NASAs Exceptional Achievement Medal, and holds 3 space technology patents. He has numerous peer-reviewed publications and was published in Analog."
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 7, 2022
The Spacetime War by Les Johnson is a Military Science Fiction novel written by an actual rocket scientist. This book was a fun fast read that centers around two main characters and an enemy who is attacking mankind for apparently no reason. The story takes several twists and turns and is very well written. I recommend it to all fans of Military Science Fiction and Space Opera.
October 26, 2021
The Spacetime War was really interesting and I'm glad that I read it.
January 13, 2022
Here is a great, fun space opera with exploration, war against an unknown foe, romance and believable characters. The writing style is easy to read and fast paced. It is the type of book where you become invested in the characters and their well-being. The conclusion is satisfying but leaving you wanting more. So, to Mr. Johnson, please pen a sequel. If you love a fun to read space opera, read this book; it is well worth your time.
March 16, 2022
This is an okay space opera. It was surprisingly slow for a novel that is mostly space battles. I was amused by a section where someone went through a door into the airlock. Most people on a spaceship call that a hatch, not a door. There was some sloppy editing where a victim’s name (Kunlun) was used instead of the aggressor’s name to describe the bad guys for several pages. The ending was slightly creepy with the suggestion that the hero might romantically pursue the clone descendant of his One True Love. Still, the central mystery was interesting.
November 2, 2021
Space opera with a nice twist
Okay, the storyline was a little weak, why wouldn't the enemy spy on earth to see if what they were fighting for was true, and why would they totally do what they did, and why they didn't just crush earth. But it was a fun ride!
Okay, the storyline was a little weak, why wouldn't the enemy spy on earth to see if what they were fighting for was true, and why would they totally do what they did, and why they didn't just crush earth. But it was a fun ride!
April 3, 2022
Excellent, thoughtful, very-very hard mil sci-fi work. Fantastic. If only we had more of them..
March 18, 2022
Solid old-fashioned sci-fi with dashing captains, space battles, a mix of fact & wishful fiction. Earth’s small interstellar colonies are being viciously eradicated by an unknown enemy. Can they be stopped? Where are they coming from? Enter dashing captain, his service, and the love of his life. Fine enough but nothing new or innovative; sci-fi for what a non- genre reader thinks all sci-fi is about. Could easily be a tv show.
March 18, 2022
Interesting idea with a good time twist. The book had fairly good pacing, but it felt chopped up because it was split into two distinct acts. It was a major shift that came with an abrupt (maybe rushed?) ending. I'm also not sure how the addition of the IA officer intent on bringing Price down added to the story.
All in all it was entertaining, but I liked The Forever War much better.
All in all it was entertaining, but I liked The Forever War much better.
September 20, 2023
The ending seemed rushed relative to the pacing of most of the earlier parts of the book, but overall a decent space opera read with enough twists and turns to make it worthwhile. In broad terms, I am reminded while reading this book of David Weber's Dahak series, except with significantly faster pacing and somewhat less world-building.
April 23, 2022
A lovely story dealing with the size of space & the time it takes, despite a nearly instantaneous ‘star-drive’, & how that effects the tactics & strategy of inter-planetary war.
March 26, 2023
Johnson does real and speculative science well in this interesting space opera.
August 9, 2023
I think the author must have read The Excaliber Alternative by David Weber.
September 12, 2023
War SF
Black ships that resemble humans
Black ships that resemble humans
October 20, 2022
Good until the end
The ending is terrible but the other 99% was pretty good. This is apparently the second book in a series, the first ... well, I lost interest in. I got both books after they were recommended by an author I really like.
The ending is terrible but the other 99% was pretty good. This is apparently the second book in a series, the first ... well, I lost interest in. I got both books after they were recommended by an author I really like.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews