Otherworldly yet grounded, ominous yet tender, The Asterist is a captivating first contact story that will appeal to readers of Andy Weir and John Scalzi.

Dull days drift by at the dead end of the galaxy for misanthrope Bill Jeffries. While fulfilling his mundane duties as an Asteroid Station Commander, or “Asterist,” everything changes when his only companion, the monotone computer he has nicknamed “Nag,” alerts him to a spacecraft that has crashed near the station.

Thrust into circumstances beyond his pay grade, Jeffries investigates the wreckage and makes the shocking discovery of a four-foot-long spider-like being inside. If the alien still lives, Jeffries and his superiors from light years away must decide if it should be treated as an ambassador, a test subject, or a threat. But as Jeffries studies the alien and attempts to communicate with it, his cynical exterior begins to shatter and an unlikely bond grows.

With the alien’s life in his hands, Jeffries must discover what extreme lengths he will go to as he races against the clock to understand its origins before his superiors arrive to determine their fate.