By Sorrow Increased

Knowledge is power. The kind of power that can either hold the universe together – or blast it apart. That truth is one of the few things in life pilot Nick Pike believes in. A hero in a whole other life, he has since made it on to all the wrong lists – with his name right at the top of God’s To Stomp list. He’s found, however, his own Garden of Eden in the form of an intergalactic cargo-hauling business he runs with his friend and former teammate, Darby. But, like any Eden, this one comes complete with a snake. When his sorely-in-need-of-repairs ship, the Pike’s Pique*, makes an emergency landing on a planet straight out of the Ming Dynasty, that snake appears in the guise of a former – and definitely to be avoided – business partner. And the apple he holds out is a fast and easy job of transporting an accused killer to a local warlord. The bounty offered for his capture and delivery, he promises, will be more than enough to get the* Pique**up and flying again. With creditors hounding them and with no other prospects in sight, Nick gives reluctantly in to temptation and takes a bite out of that apple. All, however, is not quite as it seems. In fact, nothing**is at it seems. Nick and Darby must then band together with an unlikely crew as they attempt to hold the universe together. (Science Fiction / Action Adventure – 95,000 words) Contains Christian themes