The Silver Ships · Book 6 of 20
Espero
Trouble infiltrated the Harakens’ capital city of Espero, in the form of New Terra criminal gangs who grew wealthy and powerful on the moons of Ganymede, hiding behind the cover of an ill-conceived mining charter. The gangs brought stims and addictive, hallucinogenic drugs to Espero to spread among young Harakens and visitors to the planet.
Overview
Espero
Trouble infiltrated the Harakens’ capital city of Espero, in the form of New Terra criminal gangs who grew wealthy and powerful on the moons of Ganymede, hiding behind the cover of an ill-conceived mining charter. The gangs brought stims and addictive, hallucinogenic drugs to Espero to spread among young Harakens and visitors to the planet. Christie Racine and her friends visited a hidden club rumored to be distributing the dangerous drugs and ran afoul of the criminals running the illegal establishment.
Kidnapped and transported out of Hellébore’s system aboard a space freighter, the girls became desperate to find a way to free themselves. Alex Racine, Christie’s brother and president of the Harakens, races to discover where the girls are taken, and the trail leads him from Espero to the pleasure domes of Jolares, a moon orbiting a gas giant in Oistos, the New Terrans’ home system.
Alex’s search is complicated by the discovery of not one, but three sets of pleasure domes, each on its own moon and run by its own criminal mastermind. It’s a dangerous game of hide-and-seek, as the Harakens seek to recover their girls and locate the biochemist who created the dangerous hallucinogen, without panicking the kidnappers. The Harakens’ efforts are complicated by the duplicitousness of "Mr.
Blue" and "Sniffer," two gang leaders, who seek to steal the domes of "Craze," the third gang leader, in a dangerous double-cross. Alex and his people thought things couldn’t get any more complicated until they discover the gangs have gone to war with deadly stunners and plasma rifles in a fight for possession of the Haraken girls, who are caught between the rivals.
Readers
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Book resources
Read a sample, or take the glossary with you.
The saga runs to a large cast across dozens of worlds. Every book has a free excerpt and its own glossary of characters, ships, races and places. No sign-up, no email.
FAQ
Espero: questions readers ask
What is Espero about?
Trouble infiltrated the Harakens’ capital city of Espero, in the form of New Terra criminal gangs who grew wealthy and powerful on the moons of Ganymede, hiding behind the cover of an ill-conceived mining charter. The gangs brought stims and addictive, hallucinogenic drugs to Espero to spread among young Harakens and visitors to the planet. Christie Racine and her friends visited a hidden club rumored to be distributing the dangerous drugs and ran afoul of the criminals running the illegal establishment.
Where does Espero fall in the Earthers' saga?
Do I need to read the earlier books before Espero?
It reads best in order. Espero is book 6 of the Silver Ships series and carries forward characters and events from the earlier books. The reading order page lays out the full saga.
Is Espero available as an audiobook?
Yes. Espero is available as an audiobook on Audible.
Can I read a sample of Espero before buying?
Yes. A free excerpt is available as a PDF: download the excerpt. No email or sign-up required.
Is there a glossary for Espero?
Yes. The saga has a large cast, several races and a lot of ship names, so each book has its own glossary of characters, places, ships and terms: download the glossary.
What formats does Espero come in?
Espero is published in e-book, softcover and audiobook. Print and e-book editions are sold through Amazon. The audiobook is on Audible.
Who wrote Espero?
S. H. Jucha (Scott Jucha), author of the Earthers’ saga: forty-four science fiction novels across The Silver Ships, Pyreans, Gate Ghosts and Cercians, published by Hannon Books, Inc. More about Scott.