The Gone World

December 1, 2017
Sweterlitsch's latest (Tomorrow and Tomorrow, 2014, etc.) is a mind-blowing fusion of science fiction, thriller, existential horror, and apocalyptic fiction.Initially set in 1997, the story revolves around Shannon Moss, a federal agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service who is assigned to track down a missing girl whose family has been brutally murdered in their home in southwestern Pennsylvania. When Moss realizes the potential killers are missing astronauts whose spaceship vanished while on a black ops mission called Deep Waters, involving time travel, she must figure out how members of a lost crew are now suddenly living clandestinely as domestic terrorists in America. An undercover time traveler herself for the Naval Space Command--she even lost part of her leg exploring a far-future Earth--Moss must track down the killers as the looming darkness of the Terminus, the death of humankind that is at the end of almost every Deep Waters journey, moves ever closer. The power of this novel is twofold: Sweterlitsch's intricately plotted storyline will keep readers on the edges of their seats until the very last pages, and his extended use of bleak imagery coupled with his lyrical writing style make for an intense and unforgettable read. When Moss leaves Earth on another time-traveling mission, for example, the author describes it like this: "[I] watch the lights of cities as they recede below, turning into skeins of light as delicate as illuminated webs, as they disappear from my view, replaced by the vast blackness of the ocean at night." Additionally, the subtle use of the Black Sun mythology adds an occultlike undertone to the story.This darkly poetic and profoundly disturbing glimpse into the potential last days of humankind will surely haunt readers' dreams long after the book is finished.

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December 18, 2017
This chronological pretzel of a science fiction thriller embeds a murder investigation into an alien mystery that could end humankind. In 1997, NCIS Special Agent Shannon Moss is on the trail of a missing Navy SEAL who may have murdered his family. She ends up tracking him through her own past and into the near future, thanks to a secret military project that travels through time and space. Unfortunately, the futures to which she travels aren’t guaranteed to come about, so they’re inadmissible as evidence. Worse, she finds increasing signs that all possible futures are doomed by an alien intrusion called the White Hole. Bouncing back and forth in time, Shannon pieces together how the crew of a missing spaceship are linked to a terrorist conspiracy, and looks for ways to disrupt the chain of events that leads to the White Hole. Sweterlitsch (Tomorrow and Tomorrow) invests the reader in Shannon’s struggles to save the world and rescue those trapped in the “thin space” where time loops endlessly. Unfortunately, the well-plotted resolution that unravels the knotty time puzzle also undoes everything that makes Shannon worth following through this complex story. Agent: David Gernert, Gernert Co.

Starred review from December 1, 2017

In 1997, Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) agent Shannon Moss is called to a crime scene where the family of Navy SEAL Patrick Mursult was killed. She quickly realizes this will be no simple case of domestic violence. While NCIS agents are often involved in unpacking crimes involving naval personnel, Shannon usually only gets called in when they touch on the top-secret military secrets of the program to explore deep space and time. The prime suspect in the murder investigation is Mursult, who was presumed lost on a space mission years before. That he is back means that he and the rest of the crew of the USS Libra are a national security threat. The plot requires careful attention, but the rewards are a fascinating blend that doesn't skimp on the criminal investigation or the sf. Not surprising that it's already being made into a film. VERDICT Describing much more than this simple setup would rob the reader of the trippy experience of navigating the time-travel intricacies of this nail-biting speculative thriller from Sweterlitsch (Tomorrow and Tomorrow). [See Prepub Alert, 8/28/17.]--MM

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2017

In 1997, Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) agent Shannon Moss is called to a crime scene where the family of Navy SEAL Patrick Mursult was killed. She quickly realizes this will be no simple case of domestic violence. While NCIS agents are often involved in unpacking crimes involving naval personnel, Shannon usually only gets called in when they touch on the top-secret military secrets of the program to explore deep space and time. The prime suspect in the murder investigation is Mursult, who was presumed lost on a space mission years before. That he is back means that he and the rest of the crew of the USS Libra are a national security threat. The plot requires careful attention, but the rewards are a fascinating blend that doesn't skimp on the criminal investigation or the sf. Not surprising that it's already being made into a film. VERDICT Describing much more than this simple setup would rob the reader of the trippy experience of navigating the time-travel intricacies of this nail-biting speculative thriller from Sweterlitsch (Tomorrow and Tomorrow). [See Prepub Alert, 8/28/17.]--MM

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2017

In this genre-bending debut, a family is found murdered in 1997 Pennsylvania, and Shannon Moss of the under-the-radar Naval Criminal Investigative Service knows that the husband, a U.S. Navy SEAL, served aboard a spaceship assumed lost somewhere in Deep Time. Does that have anything to do with the violence that has transpired, and where's the missing daughter? Optioned by Fox.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.