The Star Machine and Other Tales
The O'Ryans are an odd, restless lot. Generations of this enterprising Irish family find opportunity in America as an itinerant blacksmith, a resourceful tradesman, a college professor, an eccentric
industrialist. The family's lifelong pursuits seem peculiar; likewise, the upshot of their ventures often alarms many. But, it is the latter O'Ryan's founding of a band of ingenious scientists, technicians and engineers, the Travelers, who cause the greatest unrest. Advancing 21st-century industry with fabulous and fearsome machines, the Travelers launch an entrepreneurial blitz on behalf of humanity but malicious rivals frustrate their efforts at nearly every turn.
One in the band turns traitor and the O'Ryans must hide, unable to quell a rising tide of tyranny seeking the Travelers' marvelous inventions for evil's own advance. To thwart his foes, Ian Kilroy, a faithful
though furtive friend of the O'Ryans, must discover what links a rash of devastating earthquakes, the startling destruction of a pilot fusion reactor, and the secret sabotage of the Travelers' own trial starship. Time isn't on his side. A starry amulet, more accursed than lucky as the O'Ryans' family heirloom,
seems the unlikely prize Kilroy's enemies madly seek to keep the mystery unsolved and seize the Travelers' legacy.
industrialist. The family's lifelong pursuits seem peculiar; likewise, the upshot of their ventures often alarms many. But, it is the latter O'Ryan's founding of a band of ingenious scientists, technicians and engineers, the Travelers, who cause the greatest unrest. Advancing 21st-century industry with fabulous and fearsome machines, the Travelers launch an entrepreneurial blitz on behalf of humanity but malicious rivals frustrate their efforts at nearly every turn.
One in the band turns traitor and the O'Ryans must hide, unable to quell a rising tide of tyranny seeking the Travelers' marvelous inventions for evil's own advance. To thwart his foes, Ian Kilroy, a faithful
though furtive friend of the O'Ryans, must discover what links a rash of devastating earthquakes, the startling destruction of a pilot fusion reactor, and the secret sabotage of the Travelers' own trial starship. Time isn't on his side. A starry amulet, more accursed than lucky as the O'Ryans' family heirloom,
seems the unlikely prize Kilroy's enemies madly seek to keep the mystery unsolved and seize the Travelers' legacy.
Published by Xlibris, a subsidiary of Random House, Inc. and a partner in Random House Ventures, LLC.
Order your hardcover edition or paperback copy today from a libris or Barnes & Noble
or Amazon.com.
Believe it or not, the perfect book for science-fiction enthusiasts and fans of western historical romance!
Order your hardcover edition or paperback copy today from a libris or Barnes & Noble
or Amazon.com.
Believe it or not, the perfect book for science-fiction enthusiasts and fans of western historical romance!
Look for this book's sequel The Last Star in the Night Sky at an online book source near you.
The sequel offers an engaging sweep at the O’Ryans rise to prominence, details the heroic work of the globe-trotting group of entrepreneurs known as the Travelers, exposes a darker side of the chaos their inventions cause, picks up the mystery of an accursed crystal amulet in the engaging story first told years ago in The Star Machine and Other Tales, and then rushes headlong toward its frenzied finale, where an uncertain world either teeters at the brink of destruction or stands at the threshold of renaissance.
The sequel will be released, sometime in 2024.
The sequel offers an engaging sweep at the O’Ryans rise to prominence, details the heroic work of the globe-trotting group of entrepreneurs known as the Travelers, exposes a darker side of the chaos their inventions cause, picks up the mystery of an accursed crystal amulet in the engaging story first told years ago in The Star Machine and Other Tales, and then rushes headlong toward its frenzied finale, where an uncertain world either teeters at the brink of destruction or stands at the threshold of renaissance.
The sequel will be released, sometime in 2024.
By the way, if you're interested in a well received, finely detailed coffee-table book on antique astronomical artifacts, click on the red link at the end of this sentence to examine The Universe Unveiled by Bruce Stephenson et al, also at Amazon.com. I prepared the pen-and-ink illustrations in its Astronomical Appendix.
Recommended resolution for viewing this site is 1280 by 800.