The story of the early days of space colonisation, following ace pilot Johnny 'TC' Beggs and his indifferent son Jupe, as they battle unforeseen problems, and each other. Rival groups compete to be dominant, including the government-backed DSE (Deep Space Exploration), various gangsters such as Lars Best, and the shadowy Tanner Group.

 

Too often the view portrayed of future space exploration is that of a perfect and sanitised “Star Trek” fantasy. It will never be that easy. Even if humans can live away from Earth for any significant time, the vast distances between stars make it impossible to travel anywhere much beyond our solar system. To get to our nearest star would take over four years if a vessel could travel near to the speed of light. Even if such a speed could be achieved, and it need to be if the stars are to be reached, there is little chance of humans surviving at wherever they end up, let alone being able to establish and colonise a new world. To find an Earth-like world amongst our closest neighbouring stars is similar to winning a lottery. If such a world could be found, it is conceivable that robotic building machines could be sent to distant planets to create living environments, and then the human colonists arrive later, but again, the chances of their survival would still be remote.

 

But there are other factors that would make early space colonisation very difficult. The main obstacle is the nature of man. If a speed technology greater than light speed was found then three distinct groups would emerge to seek to control space. First, the governments of the world, perhaps uniting, would launch secret missions and create as many secret galactic bases as they could. Second, private companies would pull their resources and both work with government missions and begin their own. Third, crime syndicates would take their chance to make money, by working with the other two. In truth, there is little difference between all three, and all three will represent mankind’s first foray into the galaxy. Aliens beware.

 

This series of novels is set during such times, as a man and his son try to go their own way, and find problems at every turn. Such problems are magnified by the fact that they don’t like each other. The story is also about the nature of the hero, about what kind of man risks his life to help others, that he never does it to seek glory. He is also not necessarily a nice person, although everyone thinks he must be.