The Shiva Encounter

It's 2044. The Earth is suffering from global warming, overpopulation, and the threat of global extinction. Shiva, a one hundred kilometer diameter dwarf planet has a one-in-fifty chance of impacting the Earth in the year 2079 with four hundred times the impact energy of the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. The Vishnu ship, hope for survival launched in 2035, will impact Shiva soon with a 10 gigaton nuclear device to attempt to divert the 'killer from the Kuiper Belt'. The outcome could deliver salvation or turn the remains of Shiva into a graver threat than the one presently stalking Earth. Should Vishnu be aborted?

The effort to settle Mars as a second home for humanity has taken root. Settlement ships from Earth are now launched almost faster than the Martian infrastructure can assimilate them. Survival is a constant struggle. Commander Paula Jennings comes to grips with governing a new planet. Just as art, architecture, and interplanetary economy are blossoming on Mars, the Shiva threat now encompasses the red planet.

Progeny of the Aquila Mission crew, Oleg and Alex Ivanov, Sofi Brewster, and Jacob Petrov lead a trade mission to the nascent Ceres colony. Along the way they rediscover the mystery on comet 125P, with the potential to reshape the future of space exploration.

The Shiva Encounter, the third book in the Second World Series, explores state-of-the-art science packed into a thrilling hard sci-fi adventure.