The Outer Marker

In a distant galaxy in the far-off future, a combat veteran just wants to settle down, raise his kids as a single father, and earn a decent wage piloting a starship. But to former members of his old unit, his skills and knowledge are too valuable to be wasted as they attempt to uncover a deadly plot being hatched by their new masters. As he is unwittingly drawn deeper into the web of secrets, many strange and unexplained occurrences will force him to uncover clues and make him choose sides. The mystery’s culmination lies in explaining how an entire planet has been made to disappear from the galaxy.

The Outer Marker is a science fiction and suspense novel, written by first time author Indulis Ievans. The main protagonist, Jim Travels, is a former infantry officer who fought on the losing side for a royal family in a territorial expansion conflict. Although the novel takes place a decade after the end of the wars, he maintains contact with his old comrades both personally and professionally. Jim lives in the coastal hamlet of St. Catherines on the swampy moon of Morningstar, with his adopted daughter and boy and girl twins. This moon, in orbit of the planet Orseous, is located in an expanse of space known as the Outer Marker, which is a designation of the three regions of travel and influence of a distant galaxy from Earth. Jim and his three young children live comfortably in a cabin within a commune-type area of St Catherines. This despite his wife abandoning the family a few years ago. He makes his living as a freighter pilot, captaining a light and fast freighter he has nicknamed the Gazelle. As he gets ready to participate in the annual distillation, bottling and shipment of bourbon, the main export of the hamlet, he begins to hear rumors of trouble brewing in the Middle Marker area, the next closest planetary system. These rumors are confirmed as he is soon contacted by members of his old unit. They strongly request his participation to unravel clues as to why a regular stop for the bourbon shipments has seemingly vanished. All who should know are keeping their mouths closed, with an underlying feeling of terrible trepidation. After almost being blown to bits from an act of sabotage by a renegade faction of Royalist soldiers to the Core’s military might, Jim has been committed to the cause and now must see this mission to its end. By posing as a transport pilot for a well-to-do family and their precious cargo, Jim gains access to the Core’s inner workings. This espionage allows the rest of the galaxy to plainly know what the Core is trying to hide. The novel’s final twist reveals the sinister reasons behind the Core’s drive for secrecy and their relentless drive to classify and restrict their actions from the rest of the galaxy.

Indy Ievans is a Chicago area native who currently works in the Information Technology field. When he's not chained to a cubicle during the weekdays, you can find him watching (or playing) ice hockey, participating in events for his Marine Corps League veterans group, or quietly working on his second novel. To fulfill a lifelong goal, Indy has written and electronically published a full-length, edited science fiction novel. This novel, The Outer Marker, traces the adventures of his protagonist, Jim Travels, as he attempts to raise his children, make a living as a starship pilot, and uncover the truth of a planetary conspiracy. The author is seeking a wider audience to enjoy his work and seeks honest reviews from fans of the sci-fi genre.