Air Force One meets The Martian—with a dash of Knives Out—in this action-packed sci-fi thriller.
Imperium is the most expensive structure ever created. Once an orbiting laboratory, it is now a space hotel for the fantastically wealthy. But as the station preps for its first group of space tourists, Dr. Chloe Bonilla, Imperium’s resident biophysicist, finds herself questioning whether babysitting a passel of space glampers is worth the distraction from her research.
A private rocket delivers a rogues’ gallery of the world’s elite to Imperium: eccentric billionaires, callow tech bros, a sponsored Instagram influencer, and a seemingly saintly philanthropist. However, posing among the staff are members of a global terrorist group who call themselves the Reckoners, hell bent on upending the economic inequality of twenty-first-century Earth—and they have a bone to pick with these scions of the 1 percent.
As the Reckoners take control of Imperium and demand an $8 billion ransom from their wealthy hostages, it’s up to Dr. Bonilla to save them, and fast. Or the captives will be forced to exit the station—and there’s only one way out.
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“This mash-up of Die Hard and Gravity is an action-adventure reader’s dream. The pacing is relentless and claustrophobic, making it impossible to stop turning the pages. Pitkin has written a winner.”
— Jeff Ayers, First Clue
“This low-g version of Die Hard will appeal to fans of fast-paced adventure with a science fiction twist in a familiar, not-too-distant future.”
— Booklist“Fans of the movies Knives Out and Die Hard, plus authors such as Blake Crouch and Andy Weir, may want to add this to their to-be-read list.”
— Library Journal“[An] exciting sci-fi thriller…Pitkin’s research shines, as realistic dangers—including low gravity and depressurization—propel the plot. Fans of suspenseful hard science fiction will revel in every detail.”
— Publishers Weekly“An action-packed science fiction thriller that is also thought-provoking with complex characters and plenty of angst and suspense.”
— Mystery & Suspense“Die Hard in zero g—Exit Black is the very definition of a page-turner.”
— David Pedreira, author of The Never WarsBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Joe Pitkin has lived, taught, and studied in England, Hungary, and Mexico and now teaches at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington. His short stories have appeared in the Boston Review, Analog, Black Static, Cosmos, and other magazines and podcasts, as well as on his blog, The Subway Test. He lives in Portland, Oregon, in the shadow of a small extinct volcano.