Dust Mites: The Siege of Airlock Three

The year

… 2075.

The location… Galileo Station, the largest and most prosperous settlement on the Moon.

The crisis… The United States federal government is determined to rope in its free-wheeling lunar colonies. Resentful of intrusive politicians and bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., the Galiletians are getting restless.

The spark… When negotiations deadlock over Galileo Station’s right to settle new territories, U.S. Attorney Alyssa Reyes makes a critical decision: to infiltrate an elite squad of U.S. Marshals into the underground colony, snatch Governor Alexander Macaulay, and bring him to trial in U.S. territory. But the plan goes awry. The Galiletians resist, and events spiral out of control.

The actions of a handful of men and women who never thought of themselves as heroes determine the fate of the Moon and, with it, the geopolitical balance of power on Earth.

A work of future fiction, “Dust Mites: The Siege of Airlock Three,” is more than an action-packed page turner. It explores the eternal struggle between tyranny and liberty. “Dust Mites: The Siege of Airlock Three” is now available for purchase at Amazon.com.


This is my first venture into self-publishing a novel. I like the  fast-paced action/thriller genre, but I usually find the characters and settings to be of indifferent quality. I also find most action tales intellectually vapid. “Dust Mites” is my effort at writing a thinking man’s thriller, with some social commentary thrown in.

Most of the story takes place on the Moon and in Washington, D.C. However, Virginia readers of Bacon’s Rebellion might be pleased to know that there are four brief references to places or things in the Old Dominion. Read the book and see if you pick them up. Three are easy to spot, one is arcane.

With this post, I am launching a soft roll-out. What I need more than anything before cranking up the publicity machine is reviews on Amazon.com. I would be exceedingly grateful to anyone who buys the book and gives a review — even more grateful if you give me five stars!

Meanwhile, for your amusement and edification, I would steer you to the Dust Mites website and check out the essays. There I expound upon the challenge of writing about futuristic fiction and imagining the world of 2076. Subscribe for periodic email updates about the science, business, and geopolitics of the Moon.

— JAB


Share this article



ADVERTISEMENT

(comments below)



ADVERTISEMENT

(comments below)


Comments

28 responses to “Dust Mites: The Siege of Airlock Three”

  1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    I am in awe! How do you find the time to write books and administer a growing blog?

    1. The secret? I wrote the book 6 or 7 years ago. All I had to do is dust it off, do some editing and proof reading. Easy peasy.

    2. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      They’re both SyFy?

      Good on ya, James! Don’t give up editorial rights on the screenplay.

    3. VaNavVet Avatar

      Yes and don’t forget the posts to the Jefferson Council site by jimbacon1953.

  2. Congrats! Sounds good, and I love the title. I’ll check it out today!

    1. I’ve almost finished reading “Breaking the Eighth,” by the way.

      About 180 degrees different in pace and tone from Dust Mites. Very crisply written, well copy edited, and some very moving passages.

      I suspect we are appealing to a different demographic!

      Jim

      *From:* Disqus
      *Sent:* Saturday, April 16, 2022 4:59 PM
      *To:* jabacon@baconsrebellion.com
      *Subject:* Re: Comment on Dust Mites: The Siege of Airlock Three

      [image: Disqus] <https://blog.disqus.com/>

      *You have a new comment *
      <https://disq.us/url?impression=069eda98-bdc8-11ec-9946-1292fcc87f23&thread=9124648549&forum=6632217&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdisqus.com%2Fby%2Fcjbova%2F%3Futm_source%3Dreply%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_content%3Davatar%3AhPisVN6B1VtfKfSgh-WyvnTiv9Q&variant=active&experiment=notif_digest_v3&behavior=click&post=5829607842&type=notification.post.moderator&event=email>
      *CJBova <https://disq.us/url?impression=069eda98-bdc8-11ec-9946-1292fcc87f23&thread=9124648549&forum=6632217&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdisqus.com%2Fby%2Fcjbova%2F%3Futm_source%3Dreply%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_content%3Dcomment_author%3AC3W1mGrFDM65r3nW34zdewzGnnc&variant=active&experiment=notif_digest_v3&behavior=click&post=5829607842&type=notification.post.moderator&event=email> *

      replied in *Bacon’s Rebellion <https://disq.us/url?impression=069eda98-bdc8-11ec-9946-1292fcc87f23&thread=9124648549&forum=6632217&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdisqus.com%2Fadmin%2Fmoderate%2Fall%2Fsearch%2Fid%3A5829607842%3A3ADV9rc5um-EHawa1lq9-0EmsIc&variant=active&experiment=notif_digest_v3&behavior=click&post=5829607842&type=notification.post.moderator&event=email>*
      Congrats! Sounds good, and I love the title. I’ll check it out today!

      *View Post * <https://disq.us/url?impression=069eda98-bdc8-11ec-9946-1292fcc87f23&thread=9124648549&forum=6632217&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdisqus.com%2Fadmin%2Fmoderate%2Fall%2Fsearch%2Fid%3A5829607842%3A3ADV9rc5um-EHawa1lq9-0EmsIc&variant=active&experiment=notif_digest_v3&behavior=click&post=5829607842&type=notification.post.moderator&event=email> Moderate this comment by email

      Email address: *c****@mac.com * | IP address: ****.***.***.3*
      Reply to this email with “Delete”, “Approve”, or “Spam”, or moderate from the *Disqus moderation panel* <https://bacons-rebellion.disqus.com/admin/moderate/>. ——————————

      You’re receiving this message because you’ve signed up for Disqus notifications.

      *Unsubscribe* <https://disqus.com/home/settings/moderation/> | *Change Email Notifications* <https://disqus.com/home/settings/email/?utm_medium=email> | *Leave Us Feedback* <https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/digest-feedback>

      <https://www.facebook.com/disqus/> <https://twitter.com/disqus> <https://www.instagram.com/disqus/>

      1. Definitely the yin and yang of character-driven vs plot-driven. Have to get back to “Dust Mites” now and find out what’s coming next!

  3. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    Good luck, JAB. As long as there are no CRT references, I’m in!

    1. David Wojick Avatar
      David Wojick

      Also no slaves. A dispute with the Feds over new territories sounds like the Civil War (can we still capitalize that?). But unhappy colonies sounds like the Revolution. And JB is a historian. I’m just saying.

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        Wait! As long as they’re green and have 3 breasts… (reference to “Paul”) it’s awesome.

      2. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        Wait! As long as they’re green and have 3 breasts… (reference to “Paul”) it’s awesome.

    2. No CRT, no DEI, I promise!

      1. VaNavVet Avatar

        And please no use of any form of the term “woke”.

    3. VaNavVet Avatar

      If the plot in any way refers to the “Nuremberg Code” maybe he can get Walt to write a review.

    4. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      Speaking of CRT, did you see where Florida has banned 54 math books for teaching CRT?

      However, they wouldn’t release a list of the titles, so we only have their word for it..

  4. Lefty665 Avatar

    Just bought a copy on Amazon. I’ll read it and give a review.

    Been a long time since Heinlein’s “The moon is a harsh mistress”. Good to have another men on the moon book.

  5. Donald Smith Avatar
    Donald Smith

    Jim, congrats on the new novel.

  6. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    I look forward to reading this. I can do reviews on Amazon, Bacon’s Rebellion and perhaps Style Weekly.

    And since we’re in to shameless self promotion, maybe BR readers might want to take a look at “Fractus Europa,” a 2020 collection of short stories published by Dunn Books. It is also available on Amazon (cheap, too!” A bunch of writers, me included, with experience in Europe got together and put together the collection about how Europe might fall apart. My contribution is titled “When Moscow Comes Calling” which I wrote in late 2016. It involves Putin invading Estonia. It begs a creepy comparison to Ukraine. My first and only work of fiction.

    1. You’re a published short story writer? I didn’t know that. Sounds like future fiction (though maybe little less far in the future than Dust Mites).

  7. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    I should mention that there are reports that one of the short story authors has gone missing in the Donbass region of Ukraine. She was covering the war. No details.

  8. Jonathan Wight Avatar
    Jonathan Wight

    I had the pleasure of reading Dust Mites a few months ago. I REALLY enjoyed it, and am not just saying that because JB is a friend. I found the novel hard to put down. The characters were compelling and well developed. The thought experiments of trying to live and mine on the moon were clever and provoking. The philosophical issues were exciting, and while JB and I may not agree on the choices we would make, the book is thoroughly balanced in its presentation of the public policy options. I recommend this book highly to any young explorer (of any age).

  9. Have you scheduled any book signings?

    1. No, I don’t have the time for that kind of retail sales. Once I’ve got enough reviews I’ll start advertising online.

      1. I understand.

        My wife just ordered me a copy. I’ve never done literary review before but I’ll try to put something together when I finish reading it.

      2. Follow-up: Amazon says I won’t receive my copy of the book until the middle of next month.

        What’s up with that? Supply chain issues?

        1. I’m guessing it’s a backlog at the printing plant. It’s print on demand. Everyone has to get in line.

  10. DJRippert Avatar
    DJRippert

    In the movie, “The Social Network” Justin Timberlake plays Northern Virginia raised entrepreneur Sean Parker. In the movie Parker / Timberlake has a lot to say, little of it useful. However, Parker did ask Mark Zuckerberg to change the name of the company from “The Facebook” to “Facebook”.

    As a NoVa-raised boy I’ll try my hand.

    Drop the “Dust Mites” part of the title. What do “dust mites” have to do with a revolution on the Moon? Maybe it’s too late. Maybe I have to get the book, read it and find out. Which I will do.

    Anyway, congratulations on the self-published book.

    1. Jon Wight (who commented above) questioned whether Dust Mites was the best title. But if you read the book, the symbolic meaning of the title will be readily apparent.

      If Dust Mites doesn’t do anything for you, consider the subtitle: “The Siege of Airlock Three.”

Leave a Reply