Alex Rose was a miner on Jupiter's sulfur moon Io. But it wasn't the job that attracted him, nor the money. The Great Red Spot on the giant planet had been calling to Alex all his life, and he knew in his heart that something beneath its swirling clouds was alive and waiting to be discovered. Even if it cost Alex everything, he was determined to find it. So begins the first chapter of the fantastic travels of Alex, his unique and beautiful companion Mary Seventeen, and his crew, aboard a shuttle called Diver.
This action-filled TRILOGY is the first science fiction series by artist Karl Kofoed, who is best known for his lavishly illustrated documentary-styled Galactic Geographic series which appeared in Heavy Metal magazine. Like his illustrated work, Jupiter's Reef presents the reader with a palpable sense of a world that is as alien to humans as it is full of wonder and surprises. It is sure to be enjoyed by readers both young and old who enjoy stories of exploration, romance, danger and intrigue.
Alex Rose thought he was through with space exploration. He had explored the unknown depths of Jupiter's Great Red Spot and made the greatest discovery of his time, a reef of life full of strange inhabitants. Now he and his wife, the lovely Sensor clone Mary Seventeen, lived a quiet and happy life on Ganymede. But their contentment was shattered by a summons to participate in an even greater challenge: the first faster-than-light mission to another star.
Fleeing an Earth divided by war, the first starship Goddard, a gigantic self-contained biosystem with a crew of over a thousand, was to travel to the red dwarf Lalande on its maiden voyage. Alex and Mary, with their shuttle Diver, would call on their experiences in Jupiter's reef to explore an ancient gas giant orbiting the star. Since a reef of complex and possibly intelligent life had naturally evolved on Jupiter, what alien life - or even civilizations - might have developed on a much older planet? The answer they find proves to be a stranger and more perilous adventure than even Alex and Mary could have imagined.
Having finished its exploration of an extra-solar gas giant Lalande A, documenting a strange civilization living beneath the clouds of its giant blue spot, the crew of the giant space ark Goddard must now return home. Their route takes them past Lalande B, the second of two Jupiter-sized gas giants orbiting a red dwarf star. But as they pass by it they see something strange; an artificial ring, which compels them to investigate. Once more Alex Rose and Mary Seventeen are called upon to use their shuttle to investigate and find themselves caught up in another strange adventure of discovery.
After that harrowing mission the Goddard must now return home, 10.5 light years away, to bring the news of their discoveries to Earth. When they arrive ... if they arrive ... will they be welcomed as heroes? Or will they find their home world changed by conditions they can only imagine? The answers prove even stranger than the mission itself. Rather than ending their voyage their journey among the stars may be just beginning.
