Twenty years in the future, a Russian man named Timofey Semenov develops a solar shield to help lower the temperatures on Earth, intended to help with climate change. His structure is named ZONT-1, but before it could impact global temperatures, it is heavily damaged by a massive solar flare. But Timofey doesn’t give up. He forms alliances with men he’d rather ignore to bring his ZONT-2 project to life.

ZONT-2 and Beyond by Blair Wylie shows that despite someone’s best intentions, not everything goes the way you want. Hounded by terrorists, unrest, and global politics, Timofey, with his business partner and personal enemy, Alain Dufort, must work together to get the ZONT-2 project off the ground. They navigate personal problems, international alliances, enemies, and the occasional bombing to bring their vision to life. ZONT-2 and Beyond contains a large cast of characters in various political and influential positions; some are not who they seem.

This novel is not for the faint of heart. It’s an abundantly complex book filled with technical details about space structures, scientific farming strategies, and geopolitics. Perhaps because of the author’s background in engineering, the book reads as almost a manual rather than a fictional story. Much of the story is summarized rather than shown as action, and there is a lot of scientific and engineering dialogue. There are also many characters to keep track of, as almost every chapter introduces someone new.

While the subject matter is very interesting, I believe the story’s execution could have been improved. I commend Wylie for his ingenuity in putting together the various threads of the story, weaving in and out of politics and business arrangements, and the ability to immerse the reader into the story.

ZONT-2 and Beyond is a hard science fiction novel that will appeal to readers that love to know how things work and want to read the science behind the story. With a plot that is not implausible, this is a fantastic read for those who enjoy sci-fi’s technical aspects.

Pages: 208 | ISBN: 978-1-80016-536-6

Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2022/10/20/zont-2-and-beyond/