Adam Gaffen is the author of the near-future, hopepunk science fiction universe that starts with "The Cassidy Chronicles, continues with the series "The Artemis War," and the follow-on adventures launch with "The Ghosts of Tantor" and the newest Cassidyverse novel, "Tracking Tantor." Two collections of short fiction, a technical manual, and a MG novel round out the universe for now.

He's also venturing into fantasy/romance with the Godsfall trilogy, and into heist novels with "The Vault & the Vixen," all of which inhabit the Cassidyverse.

He's been honored with awards from Writers of the Future, Colorado Authors League, the Go Indie Now network, AllAuthor, Read Free.ly, and the Drunken Druid.

He lives in Colorado with his wife, five dogs, five cats, and wonders where all the time goes.

Winner of the Top 25 Indie Books of 2023 (The Heart of Space), 2022 (The Ghosts of Tantor), and 2021 (Triumph's Ashes)

Adam Gaffen is the author of the near-future, hopepunk science fiction universe that starts with "The Cassidy Chronicles, continues with the series "The Artemis War," and the follow-on adventures launch with "The Ghosts of Tantor" and the newest Cassidyverse novel, "Tracking Tantor." Two collections of short fiction, a technical manual, and a MG novel round out the universe for now.

He's also venturing into fantasy/romance with the Godsfall trilogy, and into heist novels with "The Vault & the Vixen," all of which inhabit the Cassidyverse.

He's been honored with awards from Writers of the Future, Colorado Authors League, the Go Indie Now network, AllAuthor, Read Free.ly, and the Drunken Druid.

He lives in Colorado with his wife, five dogs, five cats, and wonders where all the time goes.

Winner of the Top 25 Indie Books of 2023 (The Heart of Space), 2022 (The Ghosts of Tantor), and 2021 (Triumph's Ashes)

The Road to the Stars by Adam Gaffen

Kendra and Aiyana Cassidy's dreams are coming true. Aiyana's teleportals are growing in popularity, and Kendra's starship is nearly complete. But the Artemis Colony is throttling the planet's supply of rare earth metals. If Artemis isn't stopped soon, in twenty years ¾ of the population will be dead. They don't want a war, but if Artemis insists, Kendra's never learned how to back down.

 

REVIEWS

  • "The book strikes a fine balance between action and dialog and provides a very exciting and satisfying ending."

    – Reader review
  • "Still as inclusive as ever, with a cast of all ages, sexes, sexualities, everyone can enjoy this book! I was hanging on to every word."

    – Reader review
  • "I think I read it in only a couple or three days, only stopping to sleep, eat, work, and other essentials."

    – Reader review
 

BOOK PREVIEW

Excerpt

"Last stop," announced Kendra, commanding the doors to remain shut. "I think you'll appreciate this."

The doors opened.

Before them was the bridge, fitted out in cool shades of grey and blue. Around the perimeter were bank upon bank of monitors and workstations, with rugged-looking chairs firmly attached to the floors. Towards the back, facing forward, was a console with a single seat. The circular center was a half meter lower than the surrounding deck. Backing up to the console above were a pair of seats, with complex controls and screens on both sets of arms. Further forward were a trio of seats arranged behind a banked array of controls.

None of this is what caught Alley's eye.

Instead, she focused on the broad and clear expanse at the far side of the bridge, allowing them to look out at the dock and space beyond.

"Tell me that's a screen."

"Yes, and no."

"That's not reassuring."

"It is a screen. You can have it display virtually anything the computer can generate, whether that's a view of the surroundings, tactical information, sensor readings, whatever. But the screen is embedded in a slab of optical aluminum, eighteen centimeters thick."

"It's a window?"

"Yes."

"On a starship."

"Yes."

"You put a window. On a starship."

"Yes. You seem a little stuck on this."

"You put a goddess loving window on a starship!"

"We put lots of windows on this starship. You should see the one in the observation lounge on deck eight; it's bigger than this one."

"Are you totally out of your mind?"

"This seems to be really bothering you."

"Why isn't it bothering you? It's a window on a starship!"

"Because I know it's perfectly safe. It's nearly as hard as sapphire, stable at temperature extremes, and resists shattering. That doesn't begin to get into the other tricks we've tucked into it."

"Okay, it's strong. But a window?"

"When better? This is the first starship; what we do here sets a design standard for all future ships, and I wanted a window!"