Showing results by author "Ken Pence" in All Categories

Lux Blakely, the preteen son of a NASA scientist working on top-secret government projects, is not shackled by accepted scientific theory and dogma. His experiments in gravimetric research and the expanding capability of a nascent AI cause Lux to be closely observed by several government agencies. He discovers a way to use magnetic fields for propulsion, but he needs money. Lux and his friend, Prissy, come up with a way to use his father's developing AI to raise money through social media.

Earth is venturing out into space with technology adapted from aliens. We have no clue on how to trade and what planets are occupied and what planets are vacant. How will we move out into the void when there is political sniping at home? How do you convince the public it is a good thing when they don't believe they really exist? Aliens are headed to Earth. What do we trade? What will we ask in return? How do we handle intellectual property off planet? Every technology -- every trade good is fair game. This is about Earth going through its growing pains and being tested at every turn. Earth ...

Lux finds traveling outside Earth's magnetic fields is possible with the gravity drive, but the military from the US and other nations begins to push hard for the tech. Could they use it to help mine the moon, asteroids, and the moons of other planets? Who controls the areas away from Earth when humans establish bases on different planets? Lux becomes known around Earth, and the fame may be too much. He finds he is a target for governments and corporations that want to control him and his knowledge.

Lee and Mira Blakely are newly married and poised to step into their future together - but fate has other plans. When a portal intended to return them to Sanctuary malfunctions, they find themselves stranded in a parallel dimension. Lee lands aboard a Sanctuary ship locked in a desperate battle against a vicious alien force near a fledgling colony. With the colony's survival hanging by a thread, Lee uses his advanced magical abilities and knowledge from alien learning cylinders to upgrade their technology and repel an overwhelming initial assault. But their separation proves costly. Mira is...

Lee is tired of the monarchy in Darvist and since Anna has transformed into a female elf, he decided they should explore more of the planet. Bala has decided to settle down in Denshu with the blacksmith, Liam. Lee was intrigued when he saw the structures of Ethralin. His Mage Light Company is doing well and he planned to ask Sprann and Perene to join them. His first experience in Ethralin was to waylay a local and gain the language. He inadvertently waylaid a spy from a neighboring kingdom to Ethralin and learned three languages and more about the politics of the region than he expected. ...

We search for the origin of the "lamlee" and can now transition huge distances across space. The technological advances we brought back to Earth have already begun an exodus of colonists who are unprepared for the challenges. We have the slaver race of Allung on the run but there are other races and threats. Successful trade puts Earth at risk -- too much progress throws all our values into disarray and Earth may pay the price. Gaining the knowledge is unavoidable and we are constantly at risk.

Lux is finishing his Aeronautical Engineering degree at Georgia Tech. His father begins to support him again, but he is starting to get noticed a little too widely outside his peers. He has to hire a 24/7 security team. The Israeli intelligence operatives, alerted by Professor Helmann, are the first to arrive. SpaceX becomes interested when Lux tries to obtain spacesuits suitable for extravehicular activity in a vacuum. Lux starts flying frequently and upgrades SpaceX rocket shells with Blakely thrusters. Chinese operatives attempt to obtain the tech by any means and won't stop.

Lee had expertise in different sciences and 24th-century tech due to learning machines that could transfer an expert's knowledge. He had the latest high-tech weapons. He had acquired the latest protective equipment. He was sixteen and got his great-grandfather's A.I., Anna, to find him a planet that had magic. His A.I. hacked a portal to take him there. He might have bitten off more than he could chew.

Lux keeps inventing things or adapting alien tech (ancient tech to the aliens) because the active alien civilizations they discover through portals and probes have gone through cycles of war, decline, and rebirth several times. Lux further develops the portals using discovered alien tech. Earth empties refugee camps the UN was running (1,200,000) and sends them with a military escort for their "safety." The military sends many ships for escort duty with orders to take over the colony and use the refugees as a labor force.

Baron Lee and Lady Bala are headed to Denshu, his gift from the King. There is an imposter mage who has taken over his province and he must woo the residents to support him while taking down the imposter. The town is seventeenth century in most of its infrastructure and trade. Lee knows the new king put his strongest mages in the southernmost town in the kingdom—adjacent to Darvist.

Lux Blakely, the preteen son of a NASA scientist working on top-secret government projects, is not shackled by accepted scientific theory and dogma. His experiments in gravimetric research and the expanding capability of a nascent AI cause Lux to be closely observed by several government agencies. He discovers a way to use magnetic fields for propulsion, but he needs money. Lux and his friend, Prissy, come up with a way to use his father's developing AI to raise money through social media.

This is the complete TRADE WORLD SERIES -- all four books in one. (Re-edited) Amazon Reviewer - Had I known how much I would enjoy this I would have paid double! Amazon Reviewer - Engrossing tale that I could not put down. Amazon Reviewer - Wow. Long but a good read MANUAL INTERPRETATION - Rett didn't expect to be rescued and then attacked by a primitive on a test flight. Andrew didn't expect to save an alien and nearly destroy his planet because of what he learned. Earth didn't get to choose their representative for a planet-wide treaty and then be threatened by an alien confederation. ...

It is forty years from the present date, and Richard Patterson is an aging warrior about to check out of this life. Just retired from a large multinational private military, he will be chosen to have a different fate. This will change his life, and the life of every being on Earth. How will this man move from a menial social class to challenge the elites? How will one man prepare the Earth to defend itself from a threat that has destroyed advanced, interstellar civilizations across the galaxy for millennia? His lead-time is short, and he faces a corrupt, self-serving society. Just surviving...

The ability for easy travel throughout the solar system has created nations and organizations on Earth who want to control Mars and the rich resources of the solar system. Mars has started its own military and is building a fleet to survive the brutal attacks from Earth. Mars has set up embassies on Earth and is facing spies and saboteurs intent on disrupting a content populace that is growing rapidly. Lux has developed new weapons, and Prissy joins the colony military.

A warrior forged by millennia. A playful people on the edge of awakening. A world about to ignite. Marcus has survived longer than empires. Trained as a soldier in forgotten wars, he carries scars, memories, and technology far beyond the reach of any frontier. When he seeks refuge on a distant planet, he expects solitude. Instead, he finds rivers alive with otters who stand upright, craft simple tools, and laugh with a joy he thought long buried. These creatures reveal more than playfulness. Curiosity drives them. Courage marks their every hunt. Mischief hides a growing spark of ...

Rett didn't expect to be rescued and then attacked by a primitive on a test flight. Andrew didn't expect to save an alien and nearly destroy his planet because of what he learned. Earth didn't get to choose their representative for a planet-wide treaty and then be threatened by an alien confederation. Surely Earth couldn't defend itself. Surely Earth couldn't have had contact with others, from off-planet, before now...but what was this backwater planet doing with a fleet of ships, advanced navigation systems and a galactic-class trading facility (with personnel who spoke all the major ...

Robert Kobe is an entrepreneur but the first (accidental) interstellar flight far exceeds his expectations. -Their first contact is our first contact.-Now Robert is the alien on a planet of aliens.-Unable to speak a word of the language.-No money – no contacts – no ship – no food - but lots of technical expertise....A hunted criminal who: -Threatens to destroy a civilization...he made a choice. -Kills hundreds to make a point...is he justified? -Forces a Trade agreement...by himself with a planet - justified? -Faces legal troubles at home.-Faces violence from other corporations. -Must...

Five hundred years in the future, the Parallel Agency sends one man into a world that should not exist. In this outlier dimension, history twisted when alien invaders - the amphibious Allung - conquered the Americas in the 14th century. But the enslaved tribes turned the tables, weaponizing the invaders’ own addictions and stealing their technology. Now, the descendants of those freed slaves command anti-gravity ships, advanced robotics, and near-immortal science. The rest of the world, left behind and bitter, is preparing for war to reclaim what they think was stolen. Alan Einfeld, Jr., ...

Robert Thales, an otherwise unremarkable cop in a mid-sized city, is developing an ability to read minds. This ability gets him promoted from a report writing car to a solo car in a high crime area. His work in the high crime area gets him noticed – not in a good way. Reading minds helps in his love life -- with reservations. The economy of the city teeters along everywhere except where illicit drug sales and adult businesses are concerned. Criminals can’t launder their illicit monies fast enough and the business leaders can’t get the loans they need. Financing the new convention ...

Natalie (Nat) was a child in an adult's body with her grandfather's implanted memories. Alone on an alien planet, she learned to survive and thrive. She fought slavery locally, then planet-wide, then across the Milky Way. When she learned to travel to other dimensions - associations between species became blurred and battles became horrific. Now - throw in near-immortality and extra-galactic threats and you have an interesting story. Carole, (from Uplift) is stranded in a remote area of the Milky Way and has to fight her way back to Earth. She learns to love travel and trade as she trains ...