In an era of genetic engineering, Lieutenant Henry Gallant is the only Natural (non-genetically enhanced) officer left in the fleet. Many of his superiors, including rival Anton Neumann, have expressed concern he is not up to the challenge. However, his unique mental abilities have proven essential to the defense of the United Planets in its fight against the Titan invaders.

Serving on the first FTL prototype, the Intrepid, on its maiden voyage to Tau Ceti, Gallant finds a lost colony on the planet Elysium. Cyrus Wolfe and his son, manipulate planet politics against the democratic opposition led by James Hepburn and his granddaughter Alaina. Wolfe has allied himself with an ancient Artificial Intelligence which had lain dormant on the planet for millennia, but is now willing to protect the colonists against the Titans.

With Alaina’s help, Gallant discovers the ancient AI has a sinister ulterior motive and he matches his unique and exceptional mind against the complexity of machine intelligence to escape the ultimate trap and prevent the extermination of humanity.

In Lieutenant Henry Gallant, one man pits the naked human mind against the perspicacity of machine intelligence.

Purchase on Amazon

Book 1 available on Amazon :

Midshipman Henry Gallant

Book Reviews for Volume 1:
Past Reviews of the first volume: Midshipman Henry Galant @2013

“The author has created a wonderful piece of work with his first novel in the Henry Gallant Saga. Between Henry Gallant beginning his new life on the United Planets’ battle cruiser Repulse and trying to save the world the author has came up with it all. Henry Gallant is an admirable character with many wonderful features such as courage, intelligence, humility, kindness and special powers. … the odds stacked against him pretty high. But maybe through it all, Kelsey will see the remarkable things about him.” Ashley Patts, Teenage Rush teenagerush.blogspot.com

“This story moves along at a swift pace, with interesting character development and plot surprises. The characters are complete and engaging. This could develop into a good series.” Rae

“Its style and flavor reminded me of The Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell.” – JJH

“Space Opera at its finest. Rousing read, introverted young man against impossible odds, a girl to win or lose, an enemy or is he? Way too much fun…can’t wait for the next one.” – vrzepka

Interview with the Author:

When did you start writing and what got you into science fiction?
I love words.

That wasn’t always the case. My first infatuation was with numbers which explains my career as a research scientist. However, with maturity came insight into the elegance and efficacy of words. I learned to express myself in narratives rather than in algorithms.

I discovered that basic human behavior—emotional and physiological reactions to specific internal and external stresses—could be well-expressed though stories. What makes a science fiction story special is the tension originates at unexpected locations with unusual characters and strange circumstance, all of which combine to produce surprisingly ordinary human responses.

I’ve enjoyed this wonderful form of entertainment all my life. Now I find pleasure in manufacturing the adventures for myself.

What do you hope readers will get from your book?

I offered a scientific basis for the fictional science I described.

My characters were presented as complex people. Their behavior was multifaceted—sometime predictable, sometimes not—but their response always fell within the spectrum of past human reactions.

I hope the reader will feel that my book is based upon hard science with characters responding with normal human behavior.

Did your book require a lot of research?

In the past, the scientific speculation of science fiction has helped spark the curiosity of researchers in many fields.

As a result, I believe science fiction should start on hard scientific principles. I researched the technologies included in the story and tried to predict their development path into the next centuries. For example, genetic engineering is current an important social topic and humanity faces difficult choices ahead. In Lieutenant Henry Gallant, genetic engineering plays an influential role in the background, but it is cast against a competing innovation—Artificial Intelligence.

In addition, I found it useful to explore the concepts of dark matter and faster-than-light travel, both of which are areas of serious scientific exploration today.

How do you keep your narrative exciting?

The hero should exhibit his (or hers) emotions to allow the reader to vicariously enjoy the emotional roller-coaster ride of the story arc. As a result, the reader will find it exciting whenever the hero gets into trouble, or danger—whenever he is embarrassed, or upset.

The more distress the hero endures, the greater his (and the reader’s) satisfaction will be when he finally prevails. Getting the hero into trouble is as much the author’s job, as getting him out of it.

What is your advice for aspiring authors?

Work with an experienced editor.

From time to time, you can find yourself so immersed in your work that you may lose perspective. An outside voice can keep you focused on the truth you are trying to tell.

You may not know if you are actually producing the impact you desire, until a knowledgeable editor offers an honest evaluation. Your editor can help you recognize when your book is ready for publication—when the characters are properly defined, the plot arc is adequately developed, and the settings are clearly described.

Anything else you’d like to tell my readers?

A multi-book story arc requires a thorough understanding of the characters and their motivations, as well as considerable planning. An author always benefits from the encouragement and feedback of his co-conspirators in this endeavor—the readers. With the release of each book in a series, the voice of the readers becomes clearer. Their desire to see certain characters prevail and certain events transpire becomes plain.

I am looking forward to further developing The Henry Gallant Saga—if the readers encourage me to do so through their review comments.

ABOUT H. PETER ALESSO

As a scientist and author specializing in technology innovation, H. Peter Alesso has over twenty years research experience at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). As Engineering Group Leader at LLNL he led a team of computer scientists and engineers in innovative applications across a wide range of supercomputers, workstations and networks. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a B.S. and served in the U.S. Navy on nuclear submarines before completing an M.S. and an advanced Engineering Degree at M.I.T. He has published several software titles and numerous scientific journal and conference articles, and he is the author/co-author of seven books.