New Frontier (Christian speculative fiction, alt history) [Kindle Edition]

Cliff Ball (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

If you download the sample, the prologue will be expanded upon in the 2nd novel, which will explain why the prologue turns out the way it does....

In this speculative fiction novel, what-if Ronald Reagan became President in 1976 instead and the Space Race turned out differently? He continues with the moon landings, and declares that a moon base would be established by 1979, followed by a Mars Base by 1989. The Soviets decide to up the ante by building an interstellar starship, and send it on its way as the US establishes a permanent presence on the Moon. The US builds a space station, followed by a base on Mars, that will eventually be turned into a colony.

The rest of Earth follows the original timeline, so terrorism rears its ugly head, which will forever change American politics. Iran and its attempt at taking hostages is taken care of in 1979, but a new threat emerges because of it. The new POTUS has to pursue these enemies of the US to secure America's future. We follow America's progress from Moon to Mars, along with the Teacher in Space Program, to an eventual starship mission out of the solar system, which will continue in book two.

About the Author

Cliff Ball has a BA in English from Midwestern State University, and a 2nd BA in History from University of North Texas, and is currently pursuing a Certification in Technical Communications. New Frontier is his fifth novel. Visit cliffball.net

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 274 KB
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B006ONBPVU
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #298,141 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Lives in Texas, born in Arizona, is a Christian and is Baptist. Has a BA in English & History, pursuing a Certificate in Technical Communications. Has published 6 novels and 3 short stories. Won 3rd in high school for a short story I wrote in Creative Writing class for a young adult magazine. As a Christian, Cliff writes with his worldview in mind, so there's some conservative or Christian themes in his novels/short stories.

In order of original publication:
Out of Time - 2008
Don't Mess With Earth - 2009
The Usurper - 2010
Shattered Earth - 2010
Voyager and the Aliens - 2011
Dust Storm - 2011
New Frontier - 2011
Times of Trouble - 2012

www.cliffball.net
Blog: http://cliffballauthor.wordpress.com
Follow me on Twitter: @cliff_ball
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cliff.ball.author
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1309948.Cliff_Ball

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Danger Will Robinson!, January 19, 2012

By 

Jeff "Jeff" (NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: New Frontier (Paperback)

This reads like a talented 5th grader with an interest in political history and star trek decided to write a serious alternate history. This starts in the 1960's and has interstellar ion drive by the 90's because of how Marilyn Monroe died. Illogical leaps of cause and effect render this a waste of time. If it was a fun read, I could allow for some dumb stuff, but it's not even mildly interesting. The story has near zero character development.

I do not like writing negative reviews but as this has a 4 star rating(only one review), I felt I should warn others as I would have wished others had warned me.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I found it interesting..., January 19, 2012

By 

sally (San Diego) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Frontier (Paperback)

I downloaded it from Smashwords for free out of curiosity, and I really enjoyed it. Since this is the first novel, its mostly the backstory, at least it seems that way to me. The prologue was interesting, and I didn't think it fit with the whole novel, but I read that the author is going to explain it in the second novel. I think something about the interstellar space travelers who leave at the end of the novel somehow end up back in time, and decide to change the 60's. The tech in the novel advances quickly, kind of like how we went from horse & buggy to flying in less than twenty years when the Wright Brothers flew their prototype, or when the nuclear bomb only took six years to design, develop, and implement. What one of the reviewers complained about Marilyn Monroe, I don't think he "got" what the author was trying to do, and not everyone is going to be patient enough to find out. I look forward to the second novel, whenever that comes out.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good alternate history, January 17, 2012

By 

Joshua James "Josh" (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: New Frontier (Paperback)

I found this novel interesting, and I enjoy reading this author's novels. The prologue hooked me, which I've learned will be put into greater detail in the second book when it comes out. I found it interesting how the author weaved the alternate history: from Reagan becoming President, which affects what we do with NASA and the Space Race to the Iran Hostage Affair to having bases on the Moon and Mars. The Soviets try to out-do the Americans, and apparently the Americans will right the problem in the second novel. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys American history, alternate history, a little bit of sci-fi (not hard SF btw), and a little bit of political thriller (which is not in your face & button pushing like The Usurper is).