Minrs

Sylvester’s (the Neil Flambé series) grim SF adventure is set on Perses, a large planetoid that wandered into the solar system. It posed a threat to Earth until it was maneuvered into a safe orbit by scientist Hans Melming, whose company now has exclusive rights to mine Perses for desperately needed metals, while terraforming its surface to support a colony. Christopher Nichols, the son of one of Melming’s mining supervisors, is an enthusiastic supporter of Melming’s “Great Mission,” but just as Perses enters a month-long communications blackout due to solar interference, the colony is hit by a deadly attack by “Landers,” out to steal the mine’s ore. With casualties high on the surface, Christopher and a few other children escape deep within the mine. Scarred by PTSD, they attempt to survive the attack and make unsettling discoveries about Perses and the Great Mission. Brainy and somewhat naïve, Christopher makes for a solid, earnest narrator, and the other kids, especially his enthusiastic friend Elena, are similarly believable. An ominous and inconclusive ending points toward future books. Ages 8–12. (Sept.)