A Book Set In Space Novels & Stories

It felt real. “What’s it about?” I asked softly, glancing down at the cover of the book. He took a small step back, his gaze flickering to the ground. “It’s about a boy who gets lost in space and… he has to find his way home,” he explained, his voice quieter now, the words coming slower.

Cassius said with a smirk, likely mistaking my gaze on the bookshelves as me restraining myself from browsing them. Despite not feeling as enthusiastic as he assumed, I still went for the books. I let my hands trail across the spine of the books, stopping on the thickest one. I carefully pulled it out, afraid to even scratch the cover. “That’s the novel section of the books. There’s really no title on the cover because it’s printed on the first page,” Cassius explained from his bean bag. I nodded at his explanation and opened the book. My heart nearly dropped upon reading the title. Was this just a coincidence? Written in an elegant font was ‘The Second Time Around: Chronicles of Ava Midgen’

the ten men repeated solemnly, placing their palms over their hearts. A moment later they gathered around inside a small spaceship. The spaceship was not as technologically designed as the facilities of the Al Coalition Building. Instead of metal, wood decorated the inside and giving it a unique homey feeling. Two sofas sat facing a fireplace, above which was a glass and through the glass, one could see the boundless stars some distance away.

The next thing would arrive when the space was empty enough, when Don had been outside the book long enough that the book's gravitational pull had lessened and the next thing's gravitational pull could begin. "Give it time," Ernest said. "Yes," Don said. He returned to the novel. The afternoon continued. The January light moved across the east wing floor. The county was quiet. The book was in a box on a courier's truck, traveling toward the publisher's office, traveling toward its readers. The building continued. ---

The solidification of Aethel-9 in the Sahara had turned the desert into a sanctuary of glass and sound, but the L1 Lagrange point was already pulsing with a different frequency. The "Second Book" was arriving, and it didn't look like a geometric dodecahedron or a city of light. It looked like a Spore-Cloud.

By the next afternoon, the quiet tension is practically humming in my ears. Lounging on the far end of the couch, I have my legs stretched out and resting over the armrest. I’m wearing comfortable grey sweatpants that leave absolutely zero doubt about the current, frustrated state of my anatomy. A paperback sci-fi novel rests open on my chest. It’s a space opera about rogue smugglers, supposedly heavy on the action. Turns out, it’s even heavier on the smut. Scanning a particularly graphic paragraph on page two-hundred-and-four, a wicked idea forms in my mind.

Maya threw the silver fire at its chest. The fire vanished on contact. The black stone just swallowed it whole. “You can’t burn the sun with a match, Maya,” the Keeper said. Suddenly, the walls cleared like glass. Maya gasped. They were in space. Earth hung below—a tiny blue marble. But it didn’t look normal. Gold and silver lines wrapped around the planet, tangled like a web. “The network,” she whispered.

Kays laughs, and I settle comfortably against his chest and begin my story: “Evening fatigue settles on the shoulders like an unbearable weight. Gently swaying, and unpleasantly jolting over potholes, the passengers in the overcrowded minibus sat in gloomy silence, counting the stops until theirs…” _________ Thank you to everyone who read my book. I’m truly grateful to you all. If you enjoyed this story, please join me in reading the second book set in this world. It’s Fisa’s story and is titled When Fate Changes Plans.

The stories, however fragmented, painted a portrait of a richer, fuller existence, one vastly different from the harsh reality of our own. The stark contrast between the world depicted in the book and our current surroundings was palpable. The book’s vivid descriptions of lush forests, clear skies, and bustling cities were a world away from the radioactive ruins that surrounded us. It was a reminder of the potential of humanity, a testament to what we had lost, and a beacon of hope for what could still be.

I climb and jump to get books off of shelves and Aidan has to catch me a couple of times when I fell. We eventually sit at one of the nooks in the grande room. It's small and cozy with 2 big chairs and a large desk between them. We spread books out on the desk and floor around us. "Anything catch your eye?" I ask him as he stares down at the collection. He looks up at me bewildered. "How do you choose? How do you know which ones will make you escape, make you feel?" He asks with something in his voice I can't quite identify.