Dirt is for heroes.
Mara Duval, a spacer born on Tombaugh Station, came down to Earth prepared to endure six weeks of exile on the disease-ridden, war-torn wasteland that spacers call dirt. Instead, she discovered the Space Service’s stranglehold on access to space is built on lies, and people who deserve to be part of humanity’s reach for the stars are denied their birthright. Mara got the word out, and for her crimes was “disappeared” without warning.
But the Space Service desperately needs people to explore and colonize the outer worlds, young people who can be molded in the spacer tradition. To attract national attention, they launch the first Boot Camp competition: a months-long contest, with the top twelve finishers earning a coveted spot in Space Service Junior Officer Training. And because of Mara, Boot Camp is open to everyone.
Jael Alden has always known her future lies among the stars—but decades of Space Service discrimination stand in her way. Boot Camp gives her a chance to take the Space Service head on, to make one of those spots her own. She doesn’t care the contest will be rigged against her, designed to make all minority challengers fail. Jael has wanted the stars all her life—and she’s willing to risk everything to prove the best will always rise from dirt.
“Kevin Killiany’s delightfully immersive writing sucks you right into the characters, their situation, their location, and their lives. A most compelling read.” ~ Keith R. A. DeCandido, Author of Novels in “Star Trek,” “Supernatural,” “Sleepy Hollow,” and More
Evolved Publishing presents the third book in Dirt and Stars. This young adult science fiction series features an alternative history/future adventure sure to keep you glued to the page. [DRM-Free]
"Dirt and Stars" Series by Kevin Killiany:
Genre: JUVENILE FICTION / Science Fiction
Sales have been limited thus far, but we're preparing a big marketing and advertising push to coincide with the release of Book 4 in early 2019. This will include aggressive AMS ads and Facebook ads.
Unless the Space Service decides to go against thirty years of safety protocols just for me, I’m going to spend the rest of my life living on dirt.
The last sentence of my journal’s final entry—written 22 November 2021.
It was hard to remember who I was then. And I had to remember how I’d been, what I’d believed was right, before I’d spent six months trapped on dirt, alone and surrounded by people who never dreamed of space. Because now I was on a United States Space Service base—surrounded by Space Service personnel and living under Space Service protocols. I was, in a sense, home. Which made it essential I shed the behaviors, the language, and the habits of thought I had fallen into among dirts. Remember that I am a spacer.
“Operations Support was able to reconstruct most of your data,” said the Office of Special Investigations agent seated across from me. “We had them load all your personal files onto that noteputer.”
I pulled my eyes from the words I thought I’d never see again to look at the OSI agent. As far as I knew, OSI Agent Sinclair had neither first name nor rank. His eyes were gray, and his brown hair was gray at the temples, but other than that his face was just average. Beyond his status as an earther, a member of the Space Service born and raised on Earth, nothing suggested he was anything remarkable at all. But four Space Service enlisted—crewmen first class in duty uniform—had escorted me down several empty halls and delivered me to him with a formality that suggested he was in charge.
We were sitting opposite each other in the middle of a heavy wooden conference table surrounded by wooden chairs padded with what I hoped was not leather in a room as forgettably nondescript as everything else I’d seen in the past ten days.
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Portuguese
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Already translated.
Translated by Juliana Scheffer
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Author review: Juliana did a terrific job again, as always. She also one of the rare (in our experience) translators who doesn't make a mess of the formatting. |
