Beyond Cloud Nine

Spry’s debut, which kicks off his Beyond saga, is a fast-paced, old-fashioned space opera that effectively draws readers into his created universe. In 2247, Lt. Brooke Davis is serving as an Aerospace Defense pilot in the Jupiter orbit, with dreams of becoming the “first human to fly faster than light.” Complications in her prenatal gene therapy have given her “upper-percentile spatial awareness,” which she’s supplemented with nanorobotic narcotics. Brooke needs all her skills to survive an explosion on Europa that claims 50,000 lives and may have been the work of terrorists—or previously unknown aliens. The truth behind the attack is also being probed by Brooke’s estranged sister, Marie, a reporter in Chicago. The mystery unfolds against an interesting backdrop; advances in biology allow for “mental pathway reconfiguration” and the prevention of birth defects. Despite scientific progress, humankind is still at war with itself. Brooke, who’s haunted by guilt over the circumstances of her father’s death, is a nicely flawed lead, and the ending makes the prospect of the sequel intriguing. (BookLife)