Vivan Carter, the electrifying hero from Hot Moon, returns to lead a lunar geological survey team comprised of both Americans and Soviets.
Their journey takes them across the harsh and barren lunar surface as they chart the moon and collect samples for this grueling mission. It is dangerous enough, but the stakes become much higher when an ambush threatens the entire mission.

The crew must navigate a treacherous path where survival requires ingenuity, courage, and an uneasy alliance with their Soviet counterparts. As the stakes grow higher, the mission becomes a test of skill, endurance, and trust in an era defined by suspicion and rivalry.

Dive into an electrifying alternate history where space rivalry takes center stage. Radiant Sky is a thrilling continuation of the highly acclaimed hard science fiction novel that will captivate fans of NASA fiction books, near-future adventures, and hard science fiction series. Set in a meticulously crafted world where the Cold War extends far beyond Earth's atmosphere, humanity's reach into space creates a new frontier of tension and exploration.

With breathtaking accuracy from a retired NASA director and an immersive look at the untold stories of space rivalry, Radiant Sky brings hard science fiction alive, capturing the imagination and the thrill of space exploration. Prepare for a pulse-pounding experience that redefines what it means to venture into the unknown.

ACCLAIM FOR THE SERIES

Smale's latest will delight and enthrall.--Library Journal *starred review*

A nail-biting thriller set in a plausible alternate 1979.--Publishers Weekly

Hot Moon is a provocative science fiction novel set in an alternative but plausible reality. It follows a war in space with original, imaginative flourishes.--Foreword

I loved it. Great 'hard' science fiction with convincing space battles.--Larry Niven

Alan Smale is one of the brightest stars in the hard-SF firmament, and Hot Moon is his best novel yet. --Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author

Intriguing, adrenaline-fueled, and engaging, author Alan Smale's Hot Moon is the perfect sci-fi meets political thriller.--Anthony Avina's Blog

A frightening glimpse into what the future may hold. This unforgettable journey takes readers to the very edge of reality, and possibly, our future.--Mostly Mysteries' and Other Books Too

This is the much-anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed Hot Moon (A nail-biting thriller-Publishers Weekly) by two-time Sidewise Award-winning author Alan Smale.

Vivan Carter, the electrifying hero from Hot Moon, returns to lead a lunar geological survey team comprised of both Americans and Soviets. Their journey takes them across the harsh and barren lunar surface as they chart the moon and collect samples for this grueling mission. It is dangerous enough, but the stakes become much higher when an ambush threatens the entire mission.

The crew must navigate a treacherous path where survival requires ingenuity, courage, and an uneasy alliance with their Soviet counterparts. As the stakes grow higher, the mission becomes a test of skill, endurance, and trust in an era defined by suspicion and rivalry.

Dive into an electrifying alternate history where space rivalry takes center stage. Radiant Sky is a thrilling continuation of the highly acclaimed hard science fiction novel that will captivate fans of NASA fiction books, near-future adventures, and hard science fiction series. Set in a meticulously crafted world where the Cold War extends far beyond Earth's atmosphere, humanity's reach into space creates a new frontier of tension and exploration.

With breathtaking accuracy from a retired NASA director and an immersive look at the untold stories of space rivalry, Radiant Sky brings hard science fiction alive, capturing the imagination and the thrill of space exploration. Prepare for a pulse-pounding experience that redefines what it means to venture into the unknown.

ACCLAIM FOR THE SERIES

Smale's latest will delight and enthrall.-Library Journal *starred review*

A nail-biting thriller set in a plausible alternate 1979.-Publishers Weekly

Hot Moon is a provocative science fiction novel set in an alternative but plausible reality. It follows a war in space with original, imaginative flourishes.-Foreword

I loved it. Great 'hard' science fiction with convincing space battles.-Larry Niven

Alan Smale is one of the brightest stars in the hard-SF firmament, and Hot Moon is his best novel yet. -Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author

Intriguing, adrenaline-fueled, and engaging, author Alan Smale's Hot Moon is the perfect sci-fi meets political thriller.-Anthony Avina's Blog

A frightening glimpse into what the future may hold. This unforgettable journey takes readers to the very edge of reality, and possibly, our future.-Mostly Mysteries' and Other Books Too

Two-time Sidewise Award-winning author, Alan Smale, brings us an exciting alternate 1979 where the US and the Soviets have permanent Moon bases, orbiting space stations, and crewed spy satellites supported by frequent rocket launches.

Apollo
32, commanded by career astronaut Vivian Carter, docks at NASA's Columbia space station en route to its main mission: exploring the volcanic Marius Hills region of the Moon. Vivian is caught in the crossfire as four Soviet Soyuz
craft appear without warning to assault the orbiting station. In an unplanned and desperate move, Vivian spacewalks through hard vacuum back to her Lunar Module and crew and escapes right before the station falls into Soviet hands.

Their original mission scrubbed, Vivian and her crew are redirected to land at Hadley Base, a NASA scientific outpost with a crew of eighteen. But soon Hadley, too, will come under Soviet attack, forcing its unarmed astronauts to daring acts of ingenuity and improvisation.

With multiple viewpoints, shifting from American to Soviet perspective, from occupied space station to American Moon base under siege, to a covert and blistering US Air Force military response, Hot Moon tells the gripping story of a war in space that very nearly might have been.

Forced to watch his vaunted force massacred by a surprisingly tenacious enemy, Marcellinus is spared by his captors and kept alive for his military knowledge. As he recovers and learns more about these proud people, he can't help but be drawn into their society, forming an uneasy friendship with the denizens of the city-state of Cahokia. But threats--both Roman and Native--promise to assail his newfound kin, and Marcellinus will struggle to keep the peace while the rest of the continent surges toward certain conflict.

Praise for Clash of Eagles

That rarest and best of alternative histories: the one you believe, the one that makes sense. Alan Smale has a storyteller's flair for character, and presents an ensemble cast with a depth of detail of which George R. R. Martin would approve. It works as a novel, as historical speculation, and as cultural extrapolation. But its real value is singular: It's a ripping good yarn, and one that will keep you reading long past your bedtime.--Myke Cole, award-winning author of the Shadow Ops series

Just when it seems there is nothing new in alternate] history comes this debut.--Library Journal (starred review)

An intriguingly original alternate history.--Kirkus Reviews

Smale] breathes life into the New World civilizations and offers up a compelling view of what might have happened had these two continents collided. . . . I found the New World of 1218 AD fascinating.--Historical Novels Review

Authoritatively researched, compellingly told, and with pleasing echoes of L. Sprague de Camp, Clash of Eagles is a modern masterpiece of what-if speculation.--Stephen Baxter, Philip K. Dick Award-winning author of The Time Ships

Smale has done remarkable work with the worldbuilding in Clash of Eagles, dropping the sole Roman survivor of a massacre into the complex civilization of the Cahokian Native Americans in the thirteenth century.--Harry Turtledove, New York Times bestselling author of How Few Remain

My favorite kind of alternate history: epic, bloody, and hugely imaginative.--John Birmingham, author of Without Warning

Epic in its sweep, exciting in its narrative, and eyeball-kick sharp in its details.--Nancy Kress, Nebula and Hugo Award-winning author of Beggars in Spain

The first book of Alan Smale's trilogy introduces the series with a lightning bolt. Bracketed between two breathtaking and meticulously strategized battles is a sensitive evocation of a lost culture, an act of literary archeology like no other I've read.--James Patrick Kelly, Nebula Award-winning author of Burn

A Romp Through Time, Space, and Ancient Rome

Two award-winning writers take us on an alternate-history adventure-a 1940s barnstorming baseball team, led by retired baseball player and spy Moe Berg, is transported from rural Illinois to Ancient Rome, just after the death of Emperor Septimius Severus.

The Romans-who actually played a game called small ball-put the captured team to work teaching baseball to the gladiators for a major Colosseum event...that turns into an over-the-top, life or death finale.

Baseball hijinks, a wild ride through Rome in a careening team bus, a hint of romance, and some viciously good hitting and fielding.

Will the Wandering Warriors make it home? Will the widowed empress escape the fate her evil son has in mind for her? Will the rattletrap team bus make it way through time and space (and Roman roads) back to Illinois?

Will Chicago White Sox owner Grace Comiskey show up to make an unlikely offer to the team's best player?

Wilber and Smale (are) two literary tricksters who present for your reading pleasure a fantastical romp featuring two cultures nobody but Rick and Alan had ever thought to let clash: barnstorming baseball players and Imperial Romans. You will believe in doubleheaders in the Coliseum. You will marvel at gladiators flailing at curve balls. And you will be tickled by the historical celebrities who take part in America's ... um ... Rome's Pastime. Fun is hereby decreed.-James Patrick Kelly, winner of the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards

A Romp Through Time, Space, and Ancient Rome

Two award-winning writers take us on an alternate-history adventure-a 1940s barnstorming baseball team, led by retired baseball player and spy Moe Berg, is transported from rural Illinois to Ancient Rome, just after the death of Emperor Septimius Severus.

The Romans-who actually played a game called small ball-put the captured team to work teaching baseball to the gladiators for a major Colosseum event...that turns into an over-the-top, life or death finale.

Baseball hijinks, a wild ride through Rome in a careening team bus, a hint of romance, and some viciously good hitting and fielding.

Will the Wandering Warriors make it home? Will the widowed empress escape the fate her evil son has in mind for her? Will the rattletrap team bus make it way through time and space (and Roman roads) back to Illinois?

Will Chicago White Sox owner Grace Comiskey show up to make an unlikely offer to the team's best player?

Wilber and Smale (are) two literary tricksters who present for your reading pleasure a fantastical romp featuring two cultures nobody but Rick and Alan had ever thought to let clash: barnstorming baseball players and Imperial Romans. You will believe in doubleheaders in the Coliseum. You will marvel at gladiators flailing at curve balls. And you will be tickled by the historical celebrities who take part in America's ... um ... Rome's Pastime. Fun is hereby decreed.-James Patrick Kelly, winner of the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards

After successfully repelling an invasion by the fearsome Iroqua tribes, Marcellinus realizes that a weak and fractured North America won't stand a chance against the returning Roman army. Worse, rival factions from within threaten to tear Cahokia apart just when it needs to be most united and strong. Marcellinus is determined to save the civilization that has come to mean more to him than the empire he once served. But to survive the swords of Roma, he first must avert another Iroqua attack and bring Cahokia together. Only with the hearts and souls of a nation at his back can Marcellinus hope to know triumph.

Praise for Alan Smale and Eagle in Exile

In Alan Smale, speculative fiction has been dealt a winning hand. Part historian, part anthropologist, part scientist, Smale is a Renaissance man with a storyteller's gift for letting tireless research inform the narrative without overwhelming it. Smale entertains, educates, and enraptures.--Myke Cole, author of Javelin Rain

Eagle in Exile] has the pace and scope of a Michener or Uris epic. . . . Smale's action scenes slash across page after page, intense and bloody. . . . Grab your dagger and sword, for the battle continues.--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Warfare, political conflict, family strife--these are all presented in an epic scope where any decision or wrong move can forever change society.--Tech Times

Thoroughly believable . . . Marcellinus is a complicated man, a hero we can all get behind.--Historical Novels Review

Roman Praetor Gaius Marcellinus came to North America as a conqueror, but after meeting with defeat at the hands of the city-state of Cahokia, he has had to forge a new destiny in this strange land. In the decade since his arrival, he has managed to broker an unstable peace between the invading Romans and a loose affiliation of Native American tribes known as the League.

But invaders from the west will shatter that peace and plunge the continent into war: The Mongol Horde has arrived and they are taking no prisoners.

As the Mongol cavalry advances across the Great Plains leaving destruction in its path, Marcellinus and his Cahokian friends must summon allies both great and small in preparation for a final showdown. Alliances will shift, foes will rise, and friends will fall as Alan Smale brings us ever closer to the dramatic final battle for the future of the North American continent.

Praise for Eagle and Empire

Smale delivers in spades . . . the best of the trilogy. Highly recommended.--Historical Novels Review

The pace . . . is breathless and the action relentless. . . . A satisfying culmination to the adventures of a Roman warrior in the New World.--Kirkus Reviews

The final volume of Smale's Clash of Eagles trilogy is relentless, with characters and readers hardly getting a breath before the next threat comes crashing down. . . . Smale's hard-hitting and satisfying conclusion will be a must for his readers, as the trilogy will be for any fan of alternate history.--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Eagle and Empire] had awesome worldbuilding, worthy and interesting characters, and a great plot. . . . Altogether, a very satisfying journey.--The Nameless Zine

A nail-biting thriller.-Publishers Weekly

I loved it. Great 'hard' science fiction with convincing space battles. -Larry Niven

Will delight and enthrall.-Library Journal

A provocative science fiction novel.-Foreword Reviews

Hot Moon, the first book in the highly acclaimed Apollo Rising Series, is set in an alternate 1979, where the United States and the Soviet Union have permanent Moon bases, orbiting space stations, and crewed spy satellites-all supported by frequent rocket launches. In this thrilling, hard science fiction novel, the near future of the Cold War extends beyond Earth, creating a tense and action-packed space rivalry.

Commanded by career astronaut Vivian Carter, Apollo 32 embarks on a NASA fiction mission to dock at Columbia, a NASA space station, before heading to the volcanic Marius Hills region of the Moon. But when four Soviet Soyuz craft suddenly appear and attack the station, Vivian is caught in the crossfire. In a desperate move, she spacewalks through the hard vacuum back to her Lunar Module just in time to escape, as the station falls into Soviet hands.

With their original mission canceled, Vivian and her crew are redirected to Hadley Base, a NASA scientific outpost on the Moon. Soon, this unarmed base, home to eighteen astronauts, also comes under attack, forcing Vivian and her colleagues into a series of daring acts of ingenuity and improvisation as they face the full brunt of the Soviet threat.

With multiple viewpoints shifting from American to Soviet perspectives, Hot Moon tells the gripping story of a near-future alternate history filled with high-stakes space rivalry, hard science fiction, and NASA fiction adventures. If you love hard science fiction novels that blend real-world technology with alternate history scenarios, Hot Moon will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Alan Smale is one of the brightest stars in the hard-SF firmament, and Hot Moon is his best novel yet. --Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author.

Intriguing, adrenaline-fueled, and engaging, author Alan Smale's Hot Moon is the perfect sci-fi meets political thriller.--Anthony Avina's Blog.

A frightening glimpse into what the future may hold. This unforgettable journey takes readers to the very edge of reality, and possibly, our future.--Mostly Mysteries' and Other Books Too.

A superb mind-expanding sci-fi novel!-Grady Harp (Amazon Hall of Fame Top100 Reviewer).

Hot Moon is a stunning alternate history novel where space rivalry takes center stage, ideal for fans of NASA fiction books, near-future adventures, and hard science fiction series

With breathtaking accuracy from a retired NASA director and an immersive look at a possible untold stories of space rivalry, Hot Moon brings hard science fiction alive, capturing the imagination and the thrill of space exploration.