The Apollo program, which President Kennedy began, is continued by President Nixon with a vengence. A story of high adventure and low intrique, Children of Apollo climaxes at the Lunar South Pole with the fate of two astronauts and the world in the balance.
July 20, 1969. Apollo 11 has landed men on the Moon, fulfilling the great dream of generations. It was to be the start of a new, glorious age of space exploration that would take humanity to the planets and ultimately to the stars.
But just three years later the great dream was over and the last men to explore the Moon returned to Earth. Thirty years later no one has been back. The hope of space settlements and expeditions to the planets was deferred, perhaps for a generation, perhaps forever.
But what if history had taken a different path? That question is answered in a novel by the co-author of Nocturne: A Novel of Suspense. Children of Apollo tells the story of a space age that never was, but could have been.
The cast of characters include:
Paul Kawaski - An analyst for the CIA, who discovered how the space race had affected the Soviet economy. His discovery would change the course of history.
Wendy Pendleton - A research geologist, she dreamed of being the first woman to walk on the Moon. She would get her chance as part of the crew of Apollo 23, whose mission would be to find water at the Lunar South Pole.
Lew Jacobson - He had dedicated his life to the expansion of humanity into space. But one fateful morning, more than his ambitions would voyage to the Moon.
Desmond Thomas - He was the first black American in space. He left NASA to build the first space shuttle, not realizing that the lives of two fellow astronauts and the future of space exploration would depend on the vehicle he would create.
Cal Lauren - A politician with great ambition, who believed that humanity should turn its back on the stars and devote itself to social justice. He would stop at nothing to make that happen, no matter what the cost.
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Reviews for "Children of Apollo"
Reviewed by Molly Welch
7/25/2003
Hi Mark, I used to work in the Independent Journal Library in San Rafael, CA in 1977-78 and since then have always wondered if I would ever see the names of any of the reporters who worked there. So, it was a great surprise to pick up the Arkansas Democrat Gazette yesterday and see your name on the column about space travel and I certainly enjoyed reading it. As I remember, you were always one of the nicest most polite of the regulars who came in requesting clippings. Guess most of the research is done online now. What a change!
I will order a copy of your book "Children of Apollo".
Best wishes,
Molly Welch
Cherokee Village, Arkansas
Reviewed by David Engler
12/3/2002
Interesting idea, and great story. You can Mark did some research on the NASA programs that never made it to reality. Nice work on developing the non-space events going on in this alternative world. He makes you wish that things would have gone the way he detailed it. Enjoyable
MONSTROSITY n. 1. That which deviates greatly from the norm in appearance or structure. 2. The quality or character of being abnormal; hideous; frightful; shocking.
In the third book in the Ember Reign series, the android Orion is missing and the spaceship Orion is malfunctioning. The MIBs are hot on the trail of Megan and her friends. As Megan and her crew try to figure out how to fix Orion, an unknown spacecra
