What is "Per Astra Ad Aspera?"

Space fascinates us. For as long as anyone can remember, mankind has fantasized about what lies beyond the stars, and if we could ever go there ourselves. Countless works of science fiction have entertained the idea of what space has in store for us. However, over time the world of fiction has changed the cosmos into something it is not. Part of what always fascinated me about space is the incomprehensible size of it all. Earth and Mars are, at their closest, 56 million kilometers apart from each other. You could travel across the world a hundred times and still only cover the scarcest fraction of that distance. It's difficult for the human mind to imagine anything of such size exists, and yet it does. And this is just the distance between two planets. The distance between two stars, or even two galaxies, is even more astounding. It seems almost disrespectful to the grandeur of the universe to have a character cross such tremendous space instantly.

"Per Astra Ad Aspera" may take place in outer space, but its setting is one of realism. There is no faster-than-light travel, and with that, no aliens. The novel takes place entirely within our own solar system, and all space travel must be done the slow way. Mankind has long since set up colonies throughout the solar system, with a government organization called the League of Interplanetary Relations managing affairs between the colonies and Earth. The problems that come with extraterrestrial colonization plays an important role in the novel, as the concept raises not only many scientific quandaries (What do we do about heat? How do we adjust to the lower gravity?), but political ones as well (How would Earth react to colonial independence? Is Earth responsible for an independent colony's well-being?) The book's plot begins when the colony on Saturn's moon of Enceladus threatens to declare war on Earth. The League sends a ship to carry out negotiations with the Enceladeans...a trip that will take two years to complete.

However, at its core, "Per Astra" is a work of drama as much as it is science fiction. Early works of science fiction often envisioned a utopia where intellect, through science and technology, would cure the evils of the world. Yet no matter how far our technology advances, it seems unlikely that we will ever create a machine that can change human nature.

Caught in the middle of this saga of a war against Earth is Timothy Clear, a new recruit for the League who's dreamt of going into space and becoming a great hero ever since he was a child. Tim begins the novel cheerful and optimistic, so eager to achieve his dreams that he gladly leaves everything he knew on Earth behind for it. However, spending two years trapped in the isolation of the League's ship gradually takes its toll on Tim's mind. Humanity has never ventured farther out into space than the Moon, and even that was just a brief visit. If man were to travel deeper into the void of space, what would it do to his mind? What happens when he feels each of the millions of miles separating him from home? What happens when he stares Jupiter in the face? Among other questions, "Per Astra" attempts to imagine what long-term space travel could do to a person psychologically.

Stuck with a crew of hostile strangers, Tim's sole sources of comfort are his mentor, a bitter, elderly science officer named Arthur Kane, and a shy communications officer named Christine Williamson. Each of them have their own reasons for coming aboard the ship, their own dark stories to tell. If long-term space travel existed, who would agree to do it? What motivation would one have to leave the planet? The League is a group for the world's pariahs, and Tim has unknowingly been destined to be among them. As Tim spends two years being spent through emotional hell, he anxiously awaits when the ship reaches its destination, hoping the long trip will finally pay off by the time they reach Enceladus.

"Per Astra Ad Aspera" will be coming to Kindle later this year. It's a title fans of both science fiction and character-driven drama should be sure not to miss.