The Long Way Home - (Interstellar Medic) by Patrick Chiles (Paperback)

About the Book

"Everything is relative. Einstein said so. After years of traversing the galaxy as an emergency medic, Melanie Mooney is learning this in a personal way. With each run to a far-flung star system, she is taken ever farther from her former life, and not only in distance. The penalty for zipping around the galaxy at light speed means time is moving slower for her than it is back home, and the difference is adding up. If Melanie ever hopes to return, she must do so before the Earth she knew becomes as unrecognizable to her as the alien worlds of the Galactic Union. Intergalactic travel is expensive, far beyond anything Melanie can afford with her Medical Corps pay. There may yet be a way to not only get a free ride home, but in a manner that would avoid the pernicious effects of relativity. It's risky, and will force Melanie to place her trust in some unsavory characters, including the last person in the galaxy she wants to be caught dead with. The trick will be not getting caught dead or hopelessly lost in dimensions of the universe where no human or alien belongs. That's a lot for a woman who just wants to go home"--

Book Synopsis

Interstellar medic Melanie Mooney races against time to save her patients while unraveling cosmic mysteries and navigating the dangers of space, all while longing for the Earth she left behind.

Find a Way Home

Everything is relative. Einstein said so.

After years of crisscrossing the galaxy as an emergency medic, Melanie Mooney is learning this in a personal way. Each run to a far-flung star system takes Melanie ever farther from her former life, and the incomprehensible distances are the least of her problems.

The penalty for zipping through space at light speed means time is moving slower for her than it is back home. If Melanie ever hopes to return, she must do so before the Earth she knew becomes as unrecognizable as the alien worlds of the Galactic Union.

Interstellar travel is far beyond anything she can afford on Medical Corps pay, and finding a ride home that avoids the merciless effects of relativity is risky. Melanie will have to place her trust in unproven technology and some unsavory characters, one of whom happens to be the last person in the galaxy she wants to be caught dead with.

The trick will be not getting hopelessly lost in dimensions of the universe where no human or alien belongs. That's a lot for someone who just wants to get back home.

Review Quotes

Praise for Frontier:

"Reading through the book, it is very clear just how ripped-from-the-headlines this book really is . . . Frontier is an enjoyable near-future science fiction thriller, a lightning-fast plot that feels like something that could be seen within the next hundred years." --Warped Factor

Praise for Frozen Orbit (Eccentric Orbits, book one):

"The story moves quickly with elements of both a spy thriller and a space race . . . Frozen Orbit could make for an impressive movie, one that would stand with greats such as Contact or Interstellar." --Booklist

". . . hard science fiction and an entertaining and gripping plot. . . . Chiles nails the atmosphere of a NASA-run human spaceflight mission in the 21st century, the jargon of the mission controllers and astronauts, and the bureaucratic infighting characterizing today's NASA. . . . The scenario and background . . . are the scaffolding on which a gripping tale is formed. Readers experience the wonder the astronauts feel on a remarkable voyage, groan as the Earth goes crazy as the expedition progresses, and thrill to a powerful conclusion . . . science fiction at its best." --The Galveston County Daily News

Praise for Farside by Patrick Chiles:

"The situations are realistic, the characters interesting, the perils harrowing, and the stakes could not be higher." --John Walker, Ricochet.com

". . . a fast-paced and exciting story that bounces between the borders of technological thriller and science fiction. . . . an impressive effort." --The Galveston County Daily News

Praise for Patrick Chiles:

"Chiles puts his military and aviation experience to good use writing science fiction with a hard edge of realism . . . Technology we could build now and situations we're likely to face when we use it combine to give Chiles' worlds and characters a verisimilitude that draws you in." --Rick Partlow, best-selling author of the Drop Troopers series

Praise for Interstellar Medic: The Long Run:

"[T]he adventure and alien culture encounters power a vivid tale that blends wry humor with action that sci-fi readers will find refreshingly different from traditional genre reads, and hard to put down." --Midwest Book Review

About the Author

Patrick Chiles is a graduate of The Citadel, a Marine Corps veteran, and a private pilot. In addition to his novels, he has written for magazines including Smithsonian's Air & Space.