Breakdown: a novella (2): the Exit Earth series

Exit Earth #2

by Terry Persun

A Shell World is about to collapse!

In this science fiction adventure story, the first Shell World ever build was placed around the Pallas asteroid. It’s old, poorly maintained, and struggling to stay viable.

The former management team for Pallas has evacuated the world, leaving only a recently promoted underling in charge. The project is worse than explained during the bidding process and some subcontractors have already bowed out, leaving George Flanner and his family with untrained crews in many areas.

The Flannery family drama continues as they leave their oldest son and structural engineer onboard the Starlight and won’t see him for over a year. Forced to hire a new graduate, they’re pitched into a dangerous and life-threatening reconstruction of the Pallas Shell World.

Challenged with a crumbling infrastructure, poorly trained subcontractors, and uninformed management, can they salvage enough skill and knowledge to rebuild the Pallas Shell World without causing harm to its inhabitants or its ecosystem?
***
EXIT EARTH is an exploration of self-discovery on several finding inner strength, developing outer skillsets, and determining who and what you are responsible for.

116 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 27, 2022

About the author

Terry Persun is a former airborne navigation equipment specialist and electronics engineer presently freelancing for science and technology magazines. He has won nine awards for his fiction and was a finalist in another seven awards—IPPY, Book Excellence, Foreword Reviews, USABookNews, and others. Terry is a multi-genre author of intelligent, tech-forward fiction with clearly drawn characters and thought-provoking themes. You can find him at www.TerryPersun.com

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LIST OF MY BOOKS
Science Fiction: Biomass series:
BIOMASS: Rewind
BIOMASS: Sky People (coming soon)
BIOMASS: Alive (coming soon)
Science Fiction: Neal and Mavra series:
Revision 7: DNA
Backyard Aliens
Science Fiction: Tempest Eugene Nesbit series:
The Killing Machine
The Humanzee Experiments
Science Fiction Stand-Alones
Hear No Evil
Cathedral of Dreams

Fantasy: Doublesight series
Doublesight
Memory Tower
Fugitives
Gargoyle
Fantasy: Shaman Detective series
The NSA Files
The Voodoo Case
Stealing Childhood

Mystery/Suspense: Stand-Alones:
Coming Clean
Mistake In Identity
Man Behind the Door

Historical Novel: Stand-Alones:
Sweet Song
Ten Months in Wonderland

Magical Realism: Stand-Alones:
The Witness Tree
Wolf's Rite
Giver of Gifts
To Our Waking Souls

General Fiction: Stand-Alones:
The Perceived Darkness
Deception Creek

Poetry:
Horse Logic
Balancing Act
Navigating Wind
Broken Fingers
Beautys Run Road
Sentences
And Now This
Every Leaf
Barn Tarot

Reviews

[Brian Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Breakdown, author Terry Persun continues his Exit Earth series begun in his novella Blowout. Like the earlier novel, the action centers on the Flannery family. Most of the family has taken on the task of directing the rebuilding of the first-ever Shell World which is placed around the asteroid Pallas—which has been poorly maintained and is in imminent danger of catastrophic failure. Meanwhile, eldest son Jacob remains aboard the Starlight promoted to a new and more responsible position. But it is not only his new duties that are occupying young Jacob. He is being pursued by the daughter of a friend whose death Jacob feels responsible for while at the same time strongly attracted to the daughter of the ship’s doctor.

As always, Persun is able to describe the technology in an understandable and approachable manner, but it is the interwoven human relationships that form the heart of the story. Well-written and insightful, Persun gives the reader a fully-formed future world where a hundred-year-old recession has forced most into massive debt which they can only climb out of by banding together, taking on dangerous jobs, and unfortunately, having to look out for self-interested motives of those with whom they work.

Breakdown is a splendid second chapter in this excellent series. Now, on to the third and final chapter—Declaration.