Zero-G

May 30, 2016
Shatner and Rovin have created a tightly paced blend of police procedural, military SF, and space opera, set in an intriguing near-future world. Unfortunately, it is populated by predictable character types—whose racial and gender diversity, though welcome, is presented in a self-satisfied manner and uses a number of unfortunate tropes—and narrated in hackneyed, heavily expository prose. In the year 2050, humans live in space stations, everyone accesses information and communicates through “Individual Clouds,” and pan-gender individuals can switch between male and female aspects at will. On the American space station Empyrean, the head of Zero-G, the space branch of the FBI, is Sam Lord: 80 years old, former pilot, and notorious maverick. The presence of his Cherokee pan-gender second-in-command, Adsila Waters, primarily serves to emphasize Lord’s embodiment of the classic white male SF protagonist. Lord’s newest challenge is to ensure the safety of Dr. Saranya May, a beautiful scientist who approaches the FBI for protection after an unprecedented tsunami strikes the coast of Japan. When links emerge among the tsunami, May’s work, and a mysterious Chinese weapon, Lord, Waters, and May must race against time to stop another disaster. SF readers have sampled this fare before, and it doesn’t improve with reheating. Agent: Ian Klienert, Objective Entertainment.

July 17, 2017
Shatner and Rovin follow Zero-G with this rousing tale that combines espionage with two of science fiction’s greatest tropes: artificial intelligence and first contact. It is the year 2050, and something has gone drastically wrong with an experiment combining botany and nanotechnology on the U.S. space station Empyrean. Samuel Lord, the director of the Zero-G FBI presence aboard the Empyrean, finds a connection between the agent responsible for the seemingly intelligent nanite vine and the Russians, so he arranges to transport the spy to their station. Once onboard the Red Giant, Sam discovers that the Russians have a sample of a Venusian microbe that exhibits some intelligent behavior. Back on the Empyrean, Carlton works with Lord’s second in command, Adsila Water, whose Cherokee heritage primarily manifests as a generic Native American spirituality. Adsila is also pangender and has the ability to change body shape to reflect different genders; this talent may be key to controlling the nanites. Shatner and Rovin’s fictional science is detailed, lending it an air of reality, and their characters’ awe at their surroundings and philosophic musings give them depth. Action, science, and politics mix in this enjoyable second outing. Agent: Ian Kleinert, Objective Entertainment.