Robin Parrish, Offworld

Thanks to Bethany House for the review copy through their blogger reviewer program.

An elite team of four astronauts returns to earth from a three-year mission to Mars to discover the planet deserted. No people, no animals. They are all alone. An eerie start to this intriguing sci-fi drama. Chris Burke and his team, puzzled by their situation, set out to find some answers. They discover that everyone on the planet appears to have vanished at the same precise moment about two months before their return. And there is a huge beacon of light emanating from near Houston, Texas. Something strange is going on. Their journey to Houston to discover the nature of their plight proves to be treacherous, first as they discover one lone survivor, Mae, wandering along the road. But the journey becomes dangerous as they begin to experience disasters that are both natural and that seem orchestrated to slow them down. Finally, as they head through Louisiana, they are cornered by what appears to be a group of elite military troopers, who are set on preventing Chris and his group from reaching Houston or interfering with whatever is happening. But Chris, Trish, Terry, and Owen are able to narrowly escape, driven by the knowledge that they may be humanity's only chance of survival. They finally discover the source of the light, a monstrous and experimental computer powered by a mysterious box. This cutting edge machine appears to have developed the capability of not only knowing the future but of manipulating it, allowing Colonel Roston and his team to program in a future where all of humanity is absent from the planet, allowing them ostensibly to force the world into a situation where peace is possible, as they try to dismantle the instruments of war around the globe. But this seeminly altruistic motive has with it some huge dangers, the biggest being that the machine may fall apart before a new future that includes all of humanity back on Earth is programmed in. And Chris and his team hurry to prevent that disastrous future from coming about, with the knowledge that even despite Roston's designs, some force has kept them in the game.

Parrish's Offworld brings the reader into an interesting mystery, with good action and believable characters. In some ways it is a playful and fun challenge to think beyond the bounds of the everyday to a world where greater powers are at work. A fun read.