Authors Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle come together to tell the tale of alien first contact gone awry in their epic science fiction release, The Luna Missile Crisis.

The year is 1961, and cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin is set to become the first man in space. But when Yuri, snug inside the Vostok 1, is launched from the cosmodrome and into the coming night, he’s met with a collision that changes the course of history. The Vostok 1 crashes into an oncoming alien starship. Assuming the collision was actually a missile fired from Russia’s space race opponent, the United States, the soviet nation quickly launches an arsenal of nuclear warheads in response. But those warheads never make it to their target. Instead, they detonate against the hidden starship, sending a wave of nuclear destruction over eastern Europe.

In the coming weeks after contact day, military troops from both sides of the cold war are sent into the ruins of eastern Europe – into an area now called the Dead Curtain – to search for useful alien technology. During a skirmish between the Russians, the Americans, and the Vulbathi (the toad-like alien race aboard the damaged starship), a combat medic name Kyle McCoy stumbles into the chaos and sparks a ceasefire. His actions create a domino effect, bringing about relative peace between all three parties. Three years pass, and in exchange for aid in repairing their damaged ship, the Vulbathi agree to offer some of their exceptional technology to mankind. And Kyle McCoy, once foot soldier turned head of the Department of Alien Relations, is given a desk job with a title that suits his place in history.

But not everything is going as planned.

Kyle’s twin brother, Conner McCoy, is a dead-beat with a past steeped in drugs and crime. His latest venture is selling knockoff alien weaponry to mob bosses and gangsters. Conner and his crew work the circuit, living under the radar as they travel from city to city, peddling their fake Vulbathi tech with enthusiasm to boot. And it’s all fun and games and a little extra cash until one of the knock offs isn’t a knock off at all and the gun in Connor’s hand turns a man into a pile of dust and goo. Kyle is called in to investigate the case, and when the two estranged brothers reunite, the stakes become higher than either of them could have ever foreseen. Stolen identity, sabotage, explosive battles, and a myriad of historical figures all spill across the pages as the story of humans and Vulbathi unravels.

Bruno and Castle have expertly crafted an alternate history 1960’s that feels real enough to touch.

The use of historical figures as supporting cast adds to the detailed world building, and even the Vulbathi tech, which is everywhere in The Luna Missile Crisis, is most believable when the reader sees it integrated into the everyday lives of working people. A prime example is Kyle’s holotube that he regards as a “faulty prototype” taking the place of his real television. All of these stunning details are brought to life by writing that is engaging, active, and perfectly descriptive. The dialogue is witty and sharp, well fitted to the cast and their gamut of personalities, and as the chapters alternate between the two McCoy brothers, the syntax shifts ever so slightly, giving the subtle notion of a true perspective change.

Not only is the writing engaging, but Bruno and Castle have taken a well-worn Sci-fi plot – the pulpy notion of the Cold War era interrupted by an alien invasion – and breathed fresh life into it.

The narrative is strong, propelling the reader forward through an increasingly wild ride. Many will recognize familiar character archetypes of the do-good FBI agent; the grifter counterfeiter; the over-the-top gangster; the misunderstood monster and will be pleasantly surprised to find themselves growing more and more entrenched in a plot that is everything but familiar.

The Luna Missile Crisis is filled with action, adventure, and enough laser blasts to satisfy any science fiction fan, but its true strength lies in the cohesive world building and rock-solid storytelling that only two authors like Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle can provide. In other words, here’s one sci-fi we can happily recommend!

The Luna Missile Crisis by Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle won Grand Prize in the 2020 CIBA Cygnus Awards for Science & Speculative Fiction.