Crossline By Russ Colchamiro
Genre: Science Fiction/ Space Opera
Age category: Adult
Blurb:
Perfect for fans of Firefly, Flashcience Gordon, Stargate, and Escape from New York...
Hotdog pilot Marcus Powell has been selected to test Taurus Enterprises' Crossline prototype craft and its newly developed warp thrusters, which, if successful, will revolutionize
space travel as we know it.
But during his jaunt across the stars, Powell is forced into a parallel universe -- including a parallel Earth -- where he finds himself at the center of an epic battle he may have been destined for all along.
Meanwhile, back home, reclusive oil tycoon and Taurus CEO Buddy Rheams Jr. -- who sent Powell on that very mission -- has a mysterious past and a secret agenda, one that could prevent Powell from ever making it back to his wife and little girl.
From author Russ Colchamiro, Crossline is a psychedelic, action-packed romp across time, space, and dimension that asks the question: once you cross the line, can you ever really go back?
You can find Crossline on Goodreads
You can buy Crossline here on Amazon
Excerpt
The warp engines were ready for the first of six return blasts it would take to get him back to Earth, when a blip came across the screen. Powell shifted toward the incoming message, but his short-range sensor interrupted him. Something in the Saturn rings. Video amplification revealed that among a cluster of particles was an odd-shaped fragment, with sharper, more reflective edges than he would expect. But he supposed that after debris crashed around over millions if not billions of years, who knew what was really out there? He looked again. Probably nothing of consequence. Just some lagging hallucination from the multiple warps.
As suspected. Just ice particles swirling around the planet. Billions of frozen blue ice particles floating in space that—
Powell focused his monitor on the third ring layer. Studying it more carefully, his sensors revealed that the particle cluster wasn’t in the Saturn ring, but among it. The fragment wasn’t ran- dom, a collection of dust, or some anomalous asteroid fragment.
It was another ship. Looking just like Crossline. And headed his way.
GUEST POST
I love alternate worlds and was intrigued to know how Russ came up with his 'parallel worlds' idea for this book. This is his reply:
When I first envisioned CROSSLINE in the late 1990s, it was going to be a comic book mini-series, although I eventually turned it into the novel.
My initial idea was a simple space adventure where a pilot is testing out new warp thrusters and, for reasons I won’t explain here, winds up getting forced through a wormhole. So the next natural question became… what’s on the other side?
From there the narrative quickly came together, where our hero Marcus Powell ends up on a parallel Earth, one that looks a lot like the one he’s from, but with significant differences. While there he ultimately finds himself caught between two distinct and contradicting ideas.
The more time he spends with these ‘other Earthers’ the more he sympathizes with their plight—they’re in a civil war of sorts—and feels compelled to help them, even though it puts his life in danger. Aiding their cause also physically takes him farther and farther from what he also wants—to get back home to his Earth, immediately, where he can be reunited with his wife and daughter.
What I found most compelling was a man caught between worlds, unsure in which one he truly belongs. Several other characters find themselves in similar situations, which made CROSSLINE all the more exciting to write.
Marcus Powell is the ‘hero’ of the story, but this Universe is rich in characters, most of whom get their own arcs, all challenged to decide what they believe in most, and what they’re willing to do in order preserve those beliefs, or, in some case, change their minds in radical ways.
I didn’t intentionally start out to write a parallel Universe novel, but that’s where the story wanted to go. I’m glad it took me there.
About the Author:
GUEST POST
I love alternate worlds and was intrigued to know how Russ came up with his 'parallel worlds' idea for this book. This is his reply:
When I first envisioned CROSSLINE in the late 1990s, it was going to be a comic book mini-series, although I eventually turned it into the novel.
My initial idea was a simple space adventure where a pilot is testing out new warp thrusters and, for reasons I won’t explain here, winds up getting forced through a wormhole. So the next natural question became… what’s on the other side?
From there the narrative quickly came together, where our hero Marcus Powell ends up on a parallel Earth, one that looks a lot like the one he’s from, but with significant differences. While there he ultimately finds himself caught between two distinct and contradicting ideas.
The more time he spends with these ‘other Earthers’ the more he sympathizes with their plight—they’re in a civil war of sorts—and feels compelled to help them, even though it puts his life in danger. Aiding their cause also physically takes him farther and farther from what he also wants—to get back home to his Earth, immediately, where he can be reunited with his wife and daughter.
What I found most compelling was a man caught between worlds, unsure in which one he truly belongs. Several other characters find themselves in similar situations, which made CROSSLINE all the more exciting to write.
Marcus Powell is the ‘hero’ of the story, but this Universe is rich in characters, most of whom get their own arcs, all challenged to decide what they believe in most, and what they’re willing to do in order preserve those beliefs, or, in some case, change their minds in radical ways.
I didn’t intentionally start out to write a parallel Universe novel, but that’s where the story wanted to go. I’m glad it took me there.
About the Author:
Russ Colchamiro is the author of the rollicking space adventure, Crossline, the zany SF/F backpacking comedy series Finders Keepers: The Definitive Edition, Genius de Milo, and Astropalooza, and is editor of the new SF anthology Love, Murder & Mayhem, all with Crazy 8 Press.
Russ lives in New Jersey with his wife, two ninjas, and crazy dog Simon, who may in fact be an alien himself. Russ has also contributed to several other anthologies, including Tales of the Crimson Keep, Pangaea, Altered States of the Union, Camelot 13, TV Gods 2, They Keep Killing Glenn, Camelot 13,
and Brave New Girls.
He is now working on the first novel in a new series featuring his hardboiled private eye Angela Hardwicke, and the first of three collaborative novella projects.
Russ is repped by The Zack Compnay.
For more on and Russ’s books, you can visit www.russcolchamiro.com, follow him on Twitter @AuthorDudeRuss, and ‘like’ his Facebook author page www.facebook.com/RussColchamiroAuthor.
You can find and contact Russ Colchamiro here:
- Website
- Goodreads
- Amazon
Giveaway
There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Crossline. These are the prizes you can win:
- one physical copy of Crossline by Russ Colchamiro (US Only)
- three e-copies of Crossline by Russ Colchamiro (INT)
For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:
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