Lifeboat: A First Contact Technothriller (Earth's Last Gambit Book 2)

Stranded on Europa, a broken crew of astronauts must defeat an alien menace to get home.

After two years aboard the Spirit of Destiny, tensions among the elite international crew are at breaking point. Despite the obvious need to stay professional and united, as they approach the mysterious alien spaceship orbiting Europa, pilot Jack Kildare is acutely aware that not all the members of the crew may wish the best for the mission. There may be a saboteur on board, and he knows of at least one spy: the astrophysicist Skyler Taft.

An attack from long-range alien weaponry cripples the Spirit of Destiny, forcing Jack to disobey orders to save the ship. Now he has to face the fact that the broken crew is the least of his worries. With the risky maneuver that saved the ship putting him dead center of the commander's crosshairs, and the crew attempting to hold together the tattered remnants of their unity to investigate the alien spaceship, Jack finds himself selected for the most dangerous mission of all... descending to Europa's surface to find out what lurks under the ice.

As the voyage of discovery unravels into a desperate battle for survival, Jack races the clock to decode the secrets behind the alien intrusion. Will he find the truth in time to save the crew? Or will the thin threads of companionship snap under the strain of Skyler Taft gunning for his knowledge… or his blood?

ABOUT LIFEBOAT: Lifeboat is the second book of a fast-paced trilogy of technothrillers. It contains hard science fiction elements in the tradition of The Martian and other science-based thrillers. You won't need a calculator to follow the story, but if you'd like to build a spaceship to the Spirit of Destiny's specifications, it really will take you to Jupiter! ($300 billion budget not included.)

Shiplord, the third book in the Earth's Last Gambit Trilogy, will be published soon.