Jericho Jackson has a ship to build, a sister to find, and a fiancée to marry, along with a priceless store of interstellar jump ship fuel to protect from thieves and murderers. Not bad for a guy who is supposed to be dead. Shanna Percival has a driving need to not only constantly prove herself a mechanical wizard, but to also meet her mother’s expectations, and to tie the knot with Jericho. She has to do it all without tipping off those who might want her and Jericho to stay dead. It wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t have to go back to a troubled Earth, the home of both their problems and their goals. At each step, the mission grows more complex and more dangerous as they encounter mystery, intrigue and betrayal. Through it all, questions surrounding the Polecat Protocol grow. Will it be their beacon of hope, or will it fail them as society crumbles?
John M. Olsen uses writing to harness his burning desire to create, hoping to entertain and enlighten others as well as himself. A love of stories about ordinary people stepping up to extraordinary circumstances permeates his writing. He approaches writing and editing like he approaches his secret lair full of dangerous power tools (aka wood shop), hoping to create something new and interesting with each new project.
As the 2020-2021 President of the League of Utah Writers and as a speaker at several conferences and conventions, he helps other writers to identify and reach their goals to improve and succeed at their craft.
John lives in Utah with his lovely wife and a variable number of mostly grown children and a constantly changing subset of extended family.
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I expected more from this after reading Discovery. The action was good as was the work building the ships and layer the community, but the wedding subplot was disappointing in its execution. I don't care how "old fashioned " Shanna was, her insistence on a fancy wedding in light of what they faced was uncharacteristically stupid.
I already bought book 3. I hope the characters act more intelligently.
But Shanna's fixation on the wedding in the face of the collapse of civilization and impending death got on my nerves. Faith is a wonderful character, as is her doctor. And I enjoyed the crew of Wayside. The story and worldbuilding are compelling, and I'm looking forward to book 3.
Follow Jericho and Shanna and their friends and family as they make breakthroughs and break away from each new challenge that tries to break them apart. Life everywhere is changing and it's fascinating to see how they cope and redirect their efforts to survive.