Einstein's Planetoid

Beyond the ecliptic, the Columbia carries Nick Hartnett, Dorothy Gilbert, and a small, tightly knit crew into the first true reach for the stars, chasing faint signals from the vanished Hartnett expedition on a mission to Alpha Centauri. Their ship is the most powerful ever built, driven by secret contracel technology that shields humans from crushing acceleration, yet its promise is shadowed by uncertainty, secrecy, and the ache of family history—especially Nick's search for his lost father. When distorted bursts of transmission suggest the missing crew may still be alive, the Columbia turns toward a tiny, nearly invisible planetoid and the strange world of Hastur. There, the crew battles deadly rotation, baffling physics, and the limits of their own nerves before locating the stranded Orion. Inside, they find only Steve Hartnett alive, alone after years of isolation, and hear the terrible story of how the landing became a trap: radiation, damaged fuel, volatile propellant, and desperate repairs that cost the others their lives. Blending hard science fiction, suspense, and poignant loss, the novel follows a rescue that becomes a reckoning with courage, sacrifice, and the loneliness of deep space. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.