"CARETAKER," by Josi Russell, Future House Publishers, $12.95, 298 pages (f)
Ethan and Aria Bryant are part of a group of settlers bound for the planet Minea in the novel “Caretaker.” Although they’ll have to leave Earth and travel over 50 years via spaceship to get there, they aren’t too worried. Traveling in stasis, a drug-induced sleep that will almost completely slow down any aging, is easy and their 50-year journey should feel like a nap.
At least, that’s what their plan was. But then the ship’s original caretaker dies and Ethan is assigned to take his place. He is the only human awake on the traveling vessel and the few years he’s already been alone have made the future look pretty bleak. He knows that by the time he and his fellow passengers reach Minea, he will have lived his life and they will just be starting theirs.
But just when Ethan has accepted his fate, he is surprised when another passenger, Kaia Reagan, wakes up. As the two strike up a friendship and explore the ship, they discover a sinister secret, one that affects not only every person on the ship but also the entire population of the Earth.
Josi Russell’s wonderful science fiction novel shows the sacrifices one lonely man is willing to make for the lives of his wife and unborn baby. Along the way, he’s faced with a beautiful intelligent woman who tempts him with infidelity and a superior alien race that will stop at nothing for its cause. Russell’s novel has romance, loyalty and adventure, and it all takes place in a spell-binding world 200 years in the future.
“Caretaker” has clean language and no vulgarity. There are a few fight scenes and references to torture. Romance is limited to kissing and the temptation to break marital vows.
Russell is an associate professor at Utah State University Eastern and lives in the Four Corners area of Utah. “Caretaker” is her first novel.
Elizabeth Reid has bachelor's degrees in economics and history. She has worked in retail, medical billing, catering, education and business fields. Her favorite occupation is that of wife and mother. She blogs at agoodreid.blogspot.com.