Firestar: Firestar Saga, Book 1

Mariesa van Huyten inherited and expanded a financial empire in a world where security, education and innovation are all in decline. She rebuilds Earth's space capabilities ship by ship and contract by contract. She is driven by fears and plans she reveals partially and to only a few around her. There is even a certain distance between her and her new husband. She sacrifices a great deal to build Earth's capability to... what exactly she does not completely disclose.Ned Dubois is an aging astronaut without a space program and a lost man without his estranged wife and daughter. Also without much information, he signs on to fly experimental aircraft for an obscure Brazilian company. There he encounters old friends and rivals from the U.S.--Soviet space race. And he competes for a position on a new space mission. Destination unspecified.This is the first book in a four-part series. It feels a little less complete than the first of a four-act play usually does. There is some action, some intrigue, and some romance. There is a lot of character development. Some pays off in this book; hopefully less will be necessary in the next three. The characters range in complexity, but are mostly interesting. There is at least one readers will enjoy hating.The author's politics seem a little further to the right than those of most science fiction writers. His story celebrates initiative, achievement, and private enterprise. And he pokes fun at several politically-correct sacred cows. My favorite tongue-in-cheek moment is when an anti-space coalition struggles to hold a meeting while representatives of various factions condemn one another's un-PC word choices. It's a refreshing change from the overly-righteous greenness in some contemporary science fiction.It's a good story, even if it doesn't match your politics. But make the commitment up front to read the next three books:  Rogue Star , Lodestar  and  Falling Stars . The first book will leave you with unscratched itches if you walk away from the rest. You can't read just one.