{"product_id":"heather-hard-vacuum-a-craig-tomkinson-9798255158737","title":"HEATHER \u0026 HARD VACUUM A Dust \u0026 Stardust Novel BOOK 2: For anyone who has ever needed a holiday and ended up in a fight","description":"\u003cp\u003eHEATHER \u0026amp; HARD VACUUM\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA Dust \u0026amp; Stardust Novel\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBOOK 2\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWritten by Craig Tomkinson\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor anyone who has ever needed a holiday and ended up in a fight instead.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Premise: The Shifting Enemy\u003c\/b\u003e Following the evacuation of the Vael people from the moon to a newly established planetary settlement, the crew of the \u003ci\u003ePale Dancer\u003c\/i\u003e believes they have finally found a secure home. However, six months after their arrival, the ship's advanced artificial intelligence, \u003cb\u003ePip\u003c\/b\u003e, discovers a signal indicating that the \u003cb\u003eDrak\u003c\/b\u003e-the relentless predatory species that destroyed their original homeworld a thousand years ago-have not moved on. Instead, a Drak vessel has paused seventeen light years away in uncharted space. Terrifyingly, Pip's data reveals it is configured as a research vessel rather than a warship.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Setting: Arrived (Proxima Centauri d)\u003c\/b\u003e The story is set on the coastal plateau of a planet the colonists call \u003cb\u003eArrived\u003c\/b\u003e. The plateau is bordered by the ocean and backed by an enormous, ancient inland forest filled with luminous trees and massive herbivores. This world is beginning to feel like home to the ten thousand survivors, unaware that a human telescope will not even confirm the planet's existence for another decade.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Conflict: A Race for Understanding\u003c\/b\u003e To assess whether the Drak's research mission is a direct threat or a sign of internal change, \u003cb\u003eStorm\u003c\/b\u003e leads a volunteer mission to approach the vessel under full cloak. They discover something completely unexpected: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Last of the Kaleth\u003c\/b\u003e: Aboard the vessel, they rescue a highly intelligent creature named \u003cb\u003eResonance\u003c\/b\u003e. She reveals that she had been left behind by the Drak after they extracted her knowledge concerning the species hiding in the local sector.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Revelation\u003c\/b\u003e: Resonance confirms that the Drak have known about the hidden Vael community for six months but have not acted.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Reckoning\u003c\/b\u003e: Eleven years prior, the Drak made contact with a vast intelligence that altered their directive, ceasing their path of pure destruction and forcing an internal confrontation with their own violent history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eResolution and Themes\u003c\/b\u003e The crew makes peaceful contact with the Drak, realizing that both species are now navigating a future without a set model. The book closes with the community accepting this massive paradigm shift and commissioning the \u003ci\u003ePale Dancer\u003c\/i\u003e to investigate a fourth candidate world forty-seven light years away to alert others and find potential allies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe book masterfully explores themes of \u003cb\u003epeaceful coexistence\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003ebreaking cycles of generational trauma\u003c\/b\u003e, and the \u003cb\u003evulnerability of making first contact\u003c\/b\u003e in an unpredictable universe.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Craig Tomkinson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798255158737\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/06\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 32\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.13lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.07d","brand":"Craig Tomkinson","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49172587675903,"sku":"9798255158737","price":12.3,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/heather-hard-vacuum-a-craig-tomkinson-9798255158737","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}