Doctor Joseph Belisar discovers anomalous twenty-first century artifacts buried for two millenia at an ancient Anasazi site and suspicion falls on his friend, Mike Angel.
Two years after returning from Mars, Dr. Belisar and a group of graduate students uncover several of Mike's "one-of-a-kind" personal effects buried three meters below the surface of Mesa Verde, Colorado.
When Dr. Medvedev discovers that a 2000-year-old mummy they find at the site has a surgical pin implanted in its leg, the crew suspects that they had traveled through time and had also been there.
So begins a saga of Vesna and her crew as they discover the lives and times of the ancient Anasazi, forefathers of the modern Hopi, Zuni, and Navajo peoples in the desert Southwest.
Excerpt
“Vesna?” Mike said.
Chirp, he hated that more than anything else she did to annoy him. The computer knew it.
“Is this about what you and I have been discussing?”
Chirp.
Sharon’s head whipped around, “So you are in on this! What have you been discussing with that machine that has my daughter lost in space?”
“Tomorrow. I promise, proof or no proof, I’ll tell you all tomorrow.”
If looks could kill, Mike would have been vaporized to plasma. Sharon got up and stormed away, stopping where Svetlana was seated, “I honestly don’t understand what you see in that man. I have never met anyone so infuriatingly stubborn!”
Lana looked up and half-smiled, “I’ve seen him worse. His stubbornness, secrecy, surprises and bad jokes I can put up with. That is not what bothers me.”
That took Sharon by surprise and she sat down next to her fellow journalist and meteorologist, “What is it then that bothers you?” Now she was really worried. Lana was the one person who seemed to be able to handle Mike up to a point. If she was bothered, they should all be worried.
“It is just that in everything that has happened, have you ever seen Mike anything but calm and carefree? He can talk to world leaders like they were children and force them to respect him while he remains cool and collected.”
Sharon thought a moment before shaking her head.
“Nothing seems to bother him; he just takes whatever happens in stride, am I right?”
Sharon nodded.
“Look at him now,” she waved at Mike’s back. “He is beyond worry. There is something even more important than when we went to Mars on his mind. To me, I would say he looks frightened. I have never seen this. That is why I am bothered.”
Sharon looked at Mike who was lost again in his own thoughts and realized that she had probably been worried for the wrong reason, and possibly for the wrong person.
Professional Reviews
A Fantastic Read!!! Ben W. Gardner Has Done It Again!,
Ben W. Gardner's second book, JUST IN TIME, is a fantastic mix of speculative fiction, suspense, Native American history, Russian and American culture, modern politics, and romance. JUST IN TIME is a beautiful example of how people can work together regardless of culture. Like his first book, 'In The Beginning' JUST IN TIME lets readers use their imagination, while it challenges their minds, and once again, Mr. Gardner leaves his readers wanting more.
Again, he'll grant our wish, with his soon-to-be-released THIRD BOOK, 'Ad Astra,' soon to be available on Amazon.
To see where it all started, don't forget to read 'In The Beginning' available from Amazon.
Great Read!!!
This is a great book! I can only compare Gardner's writing to that of Robert Heinlein in his earlier years.
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