Crisis at Proxima

This cozy hard-science-fiction mystery, the fascinating sequel to 2021’s Saving Proxima, finds two spaceships full of Earth scientists and military personnel attempting to make sense of the lack of female births among the newly contacted humans of Proxima Centauri b. Cooperation with the Proximans is complicated by their knowledge base being a century behind the Earthers and their taboos surrounding legends of the Atlanteans, ancient visitors who ruled them before vanishing. Earther curiosity leads to political friction but also to discoveries about the Atlanteans that make them a threat to Earth as well. Aerospace scientists Taylor and Johnson nicely integrate the contributions and concerns of the less advanced Proximans, keeping this from being an “Earth first” show. They also layer their story with much technical detail (“In BSPK, a phase shift of 180 degrees or π radians was typically used to encode one binary state”), which will please science-minded readers but tends to dissipate the narrative tension. Still, the authors make a valiant effort to restore the suspense by withholding clues from their scientist characters on the way to a cliffhanger ending. Series fans will be eager for the next installment. (Nov.)