Pale Blue

Jenne’s strong final Blue Gemini thriller (after Blue Darker than Black) concludes the trilogy in dramatic fashion. By 1972, American astronauts Maj. Drew Carson and Maj. Scott Ourecky, as part of the covert Blue Gemini space program, have flown seven missions “to intercept and destroy suspect Soviet satellites.” But Carson and Ourecky face their greatest challenge yet after Lt. Gen. Rustam Abdirov pushes ahead with his plans for a Russian space station to be armed with nuclear weapons. Eager to end the stalemate between East and West, Abdirov tells his team that he hopes that deploying such a weapon will result in reducing all of America to radioactive rubble. Jenne, a former Special Forces officer, makes the threat of nuclear war feel real and draws on his own military training and aerospace expertise for plausible details. The narrative continues up to the present day, offering surprising developments that provide a satisfying resolution of the story of his two heroes. Agent: Peter Riva, International Transactions. (Aug.)