The Chronicles of Henry Harper by Jacen Aster
When Henry was coerced into writing his memoirs by a pretty face and a vicious pair of puppy dog eyes, he wasn't expecting anything to come of it. He certainly wasn't expecting to be thrust into galactic prominence. Nor was he expecting the fan mail, death threats, marriage proposals, or people doubting his sanity. Well…maybe he half-expected that last one.
He might be 'just' an engineer...but Henry has seen some nearly unbelievable things in his decades of service. From humanity's first faster-than-light experiments to plants that try to eat colonies and planets that rove from star system to star system with the help of alien technology. He might not believe he's seen it all, yet, but he's come far closer than most. Come, sit down and let him tell you about it...
------------------------------------------------------From the author:------------------------------------------------------
The Chronicles of Henry Harper was first imagined when I thought to myself the following: "Why are sci-fi novels always about ship captains and action heroes? Where are the riveting memoirs of Star Trek's Montgomery Scott or the fascinating adventures of James Bond's Q? I mulled the idea over for months, recognizing the inherent problems in telling a story from the perspective on an engineer, quickly realizing why it wasn't a thing really done. Not only did an author have to get around the issue of the engineer not being in command much of time, not being the guiding/driving force of his ship or equivalent, but engineering solutions had to be kept down to something the layman (and the poor author for that matter) could actually understand...while being interesting to boot!
Eventually, I wrote the short story that became the basis for the first chapter of this novel. It was so well received by everyone that read it, that I gained the courage to tackle a much larger work, featuring the engineer I'd created. I settled many of the issues quickly, by giving the book a rather unique structure...but it still took me the better part of 18 months to finish the massive undertaking! In the end, however, I've been gratified to see my efforts pay off with quite a few positive comments and reviews. Here's hoping that you enjoy my book just as much as they did!
-Jacen Aster
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