Sixteenth Watch

Hard sci-fi fans will appreciate this norm-bucking near-future military tale from Cole (the Shadow Ops series). As a woman nearing retirement age, Cdr. Jane Oliver of the U.S. Coast Guard is an unlikely action hero. Oliver recently witnessed the death of her husband in a fight between the Americans and Chinese on the moon and is still coping with her grief. The skirmish presages an escalation of tensions between the countries as a lunar war looms. Meanwhile, rival U.S. services work to exclude the Coast Guard from any extraterrestrial role, but the Guard will have a chance to prove themselves by competing in a televised military sports competition. Oliver is promised a promotion to admiral and a waiver that would allow her to retire to the moon with her daughter if she agrees to train members of the Coast Guard to compete. The vicissitudes of this training make up the bulk of the book, as the Chinese threat grows in the background. Cole’s capable portrait of a plausible future leaves the door open for a welcome sequel. Agent: Joshua Blimes, Jabberwocky Literary. (Mar.)