Live From Planet Dirt

About the Book

You have been taught that there are nine planets in the solar system.  Proctor Cribben looked over the audience of aspiring spies and frowned.  You have been taught a lie.

Beyond the orbit of Neptune lies the Kuiper Belt, a miserably dark and cold region comprising nearly a trillion protocomets, several times larger than the rest of the system combined.  It is the largest resevoir of fusion fuel anywhere and it is almost completely untouched.  It is also the last refuge of freedom for a humanity that has filled up eight planets to their carrying capacity.  Pluto and its moon Charon are but two of these protocomets, neither the largest nor the most interesting.

A handful of pioneers have come to this region to carve new planets out of poisonous ice and rocks darker than soot.  Courageous, dedicated, and half-sane, they have built an empire of ice and a new way to live when civilization is past its use-by date.  The larger-than-life personalities clash constantly, but never before have they sunk to open war.

Under the blue methane clouds of Neptune, a repressive government is growing concerned.  Puritanical, disciplined, and with a fierce conviction in duty for dutys sake, the Ministries of the floating SparkCities look to the outer darkness and grow afraid, for war in the Kuiper has a good chance of spilling over and consuming everything they hold dear.

And so they send Opyartny Akkadovna Tchaika, their top Memetic Engineer, to head off the fighting and learn what all the fuss is about.  Trained to fight with rumor and innuendo where a gun will not suffice, she is the embodiment of the Neptunian ideal: incorruptible, brilliant, and downright sneaky.  On Mars, Saturn, and even Earth she has served the Ministry of Propaganda with an unswerving loyalty and a flair for her work that has become almost legendary.

There shell meet Turner, a smallcraft pilot working for the Army Orbital, the Kuipers most influential band of ruffians.  A man who refuses to stand on pretense, a master of improvisation and a free spirit.  A dreamer who sees a strange dawn coming just over his dark horizon and who plans to meet that new sun when it rises.  Living in the midst of a chaos a billion miles on a side, he knows how to keep his secrets.  He is the perfect choice to go up against the Neptunian spy.

Against the backdrop of a solar system obsessed with its own history, they will face off against each other, mercenaries, pirates, ancient corporations and her own past.  What Opyartny learns will change everything.

Live from Planet Dirt is a tale of intrigue, a taut political thriller writ across a distant sky.  Blending humor, action, and a good solid dose of wonder, it will enthrall you in a saga spanning eight planets and more moons than youve ever heard of.  A sprawling drama which will shape the lives of memorable characters from the humble miners of Mercury to Virginia Dare and her band of female mercenaries who blaze across the edge of the solar system looking for trouble.  Over three years in the making, it is D. Chandler Wellingtons masterpiece.

About the Author

D. Chandler Wellington was a very quiet child who never caused his mother much grief. She remembers that he “lived in his head” and kept mostly to himself. Sometime in high school that ended in a glorious streak of rebellion that left everyone guessing. Later he went on to Syracuse University and then Penn State, where he received an MFA in Creative Writing and learned far more than anyone should concerning Medievil poetry. He currently resides in Denver, where he is working on the sequel to Live from Planet Dirt, as well as several other projects, and is therefore so busy he now lives in his computer. His mother is guardedly pleased.