The Star Machine and Other Tales

About the Book

The O’Ryans are an odd, restless lot. Generations of this enterprising Irish family find opportunity in America as an itinerant blacksmith, a resourceful tradesman, a college professor, an eccentric industrialist. The family’s lifelong pursuits seem peculiar; likewise, the upshot of their ventures often alarms many. But, it’s the latter O’Ryan’s founding of a band of ingenious scientists, technicians and engineers, the Travelers, who cause the greatest unrest. Advancing 21st-century industry with fabulous and fearsome machines, the Travelers launch an entrepreneurial blitz on behalf of humanity but malicious rivals frustrate their efforts at nearly every turn. One in the band turns traitor and the O’Ryans must hide, unable to quell a rising tide of tyranny seeking control of the Travelers’ marvelous inventions for evil’s own advance. To thwart his foes, Ian Kilroy, a faithful though furtive friend of the O’Ryans, must discover what links a rash of devastating earthquakes, the startling destruction of a pilot fusion reactor, and the secret sabotage of the Travelers’ own trial starship. Time isn’t on his side. A starry amulet, more accursed than lucky as O’Ryans’ family heirloom, seems the unlikely prize Kilroy’s enemies madly seek to keep the mystery unsolved and seize the Travelers’ legacy.

About the Author

Roy Kaelin enriches a lifelong interest in astronomy with his own star machines, namely, telescopes he has built over the years to pursue his avocation viewing the heavens. Currently, he is perfecting his design of a unique hybrid telescope, a fusion of refractor and reflector. A native of Illinois, he teaches astronomy and other natural sciences, encouraging Chicagoland students to observe the wonders of Nature and appreciate the splendors of the night sky. He complements his teaching vocation with illustrating wildlife and drawing portraits in pencil. Presently, he is preparing this book’s sequel, The Last Star in the Night Sky.