Encounter with Timber

An Apollo 11 astronaut and the Nebula Award–nominated author of Directive 51 present a novel that “conveys the wonder and promise of space” (Publishers Weekly). Born the year of the Moon landing, Chris Terence spends his life fighting to return humanity to that pinnacle. An engineering student with dreams of spaceflight, he finds upon graduation that the United States no longer has need for astronauts. Years of bureaucratic meddling have reduced the space program to a shell of itself, and it will take the greatest scientific find in history to send humanity skyward once more. After years battling budget hawks, Chris finally gets his chance to walk on the Moon. While there, he finds evidence of an ancient alien civilization, the Tiberians, who visited Earth’s satellite eight thousand years before. Understanding what happened to those long-forgotten travelers will define the lives of Chris and his son, as they fight against all odds to unlock the secrets of the universe. “The collaboration of the first man to pilot a moon lander (Aldrin) with a major voice in contemporary science fiction (Barnes) has produced a fascinating chronicle of man’s first encounter with alien intelligence” (Booklist). It is a chronicle of two grand quests, two dynasties of heroes. A new space race is sparked by a bitter feud between scientist-astronaut Chris Terence and visionary entrepreneur Sig Jarlsbourg: two enemies determined to claim the frontier blazed by the Apollo pioneers. But a radio beacon from deep space, from a world called Tiber, will bring both men together - and lead one to his doom. Solving the Tiberian mystery becomes a legacy, driving Chris's son and Jarlsbourg's heir, Jason Terence, to found the first city on Mars, and leading their descendants beyond the confines of the solar system. Encounter with Tiber is the saga of another family as well. Its heroes were brave, desperate, ancient beings who learned all too well the precious fragility of lives and worlds. Beings who did indeed come to our ancestors in chariots of fire - and who proved to be anything but gods...