The Last Stop - Softcover

Michael H. Burnam

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1785351176 ISBN 13: 9781785351174

Publisher: Lodestone Books, 2016

Synopsis

The Last Stop asks the question: What happens when Evolution ends? Its Enders Game meets Close Encounter of the Third Kind - a character-driven action packed drama first set in a high school suffused with emerging sexuality and a strict pecking order, followed by wild flying saucer rides to the dark side of the moon, and then to a city under the ice on Europa where seemingly anything is possible. Mature Sci-Fi devotees will appreciate The Last Stop's hardcore science and philosophy. Young adult readers will enjoy its fast-paced action, stunning visual imagery, three-dimensional characters, teenage protagonists and just the right dash of humor. Who says a feelgood story cant be classic Sci Fi?

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Michael Burnam, MD is a cardiologist and scientist, and inventor of one of the world's first heart attack tests. Besides writing, he enjoys active sports, fishing with his sons, theater and music, and bouncing writing ideas off his wife Jessica.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Last Stop

By Michael H. Burnam

John Hunt Publishing Ltd.

Copyright © 2015 Michael H. Burnam
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-78535-117-4

CHAPTER 1

The car shot up Highway 395 through the Owens Valley with Mount Whitney looming to the west.

"Damn!" David slumped back against the car seat. Even though he was sixteen, the same age as his best friend, he looked small for his age. His expression was perpetually brooding and nervous, the poster boy for "deer in the headlights." He handed the Game Boy to Mickey. "So close!" Mickey was the larger of the two, slightly chubby (big boned, his mother said) and more outgoing, although not by much. "Which level did you die?" He started another game of Zombie Attack.

"Twelve. All I needed was eight more kills to upgrade to the mini-gun. With that bad boy, you can really mow them down!" Mickey frowned. "I can't get past level Four."

"How many heads did you chop off? You need ten to upgrade to a ..."

Mickey pushed the Game Boy back at him. "This game's disgusting!"

David smirked. "You're only saying that because you suck at it."

"F you."

Mickey's mother Jerry turned around and gave them both the evil eye. Her real name was Jeanette, but she preferred to be called Jerry. "Five more minutes to Independence," said Jerry. "You can get out and stretch your legs."

Mickey's mood instantly brightened. "And stand on the bridge," he said.

"And take a pee," chimed in David with a pained expression.

Five minutes later, they could see a stand of cottonwood trees up ahead and Mickey's father Max began slowing the car. It was a hot summer morning in the small California town of Independence, a dot on the map at the end of the 110-mile stretch from Los Angeles through the Mojave Desert. For as long as Mickey could remember, his family had taken the same summer vacation, a camping trip to a resort called Twin Lakes in the High Sierra Mountains. Max always referred to it as a "camping" trip, but their destination was really a cabin with all the amenities. For several years Mickey's best friend David had come along.

Max pulled into the grounds at the edge of town and parked under a tree. Off to the side, an old wooden bridge with a rickety railing spanned a creek whose water originated as snow melt in the High Sierra Mountains that filled the horizon. As soon as the car stopped, Mickey jumped out, smiling at the bridge, and started running toward it.

David hung back and then ran toward one of the restrooms, the usual green-painted affair with a hovering swarm of flies around it.

Max caught up with his son in the middle of the bridge. He was a tall man with broad shoulders, and always had a loving smile. When caught off guard, his eyes sometimes looked wistful. Locking arms, they stared in silence at the swiftly flowing water. "Even though there's nothing here but this old bridge, my dad always loved this place," Max said. "It took me a while to understand why."

Mickey gazed up at his father. "I remember standing on the bridge with Papa."

Max brought his hand to the corner of his eye and turned away. "Last time the three of us were here together, you were five years old."

"Papa showed me how to dunk a line in the creek. Didn't catch anything." He stared at his father, could sense the emotion welling up in him, and it made him feel ... safe.

Max's eyes glistened. He turned his back. "I remember."

Jerry stood beside the car looking fondly at her husband and son. After a few minutes, Mickey and Max walked back to the car. Max still had his hand on his son's shoulder. David observed the two of them, and for a moment his face darkened.

Although the closest of fr

Edition details

• Publisher: Lodestone Books
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1785351176
• ISBN 13: 9781785351174
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288