Atonement - After Earth: Ghost Stories (Short Story)

A short story set in the world of After Earth, the highly-anticipated sci-fi movie starring Will Smith

Michael Jan Friedman is an author of nearly sixty books of fiction and nonfiction, more than half of which are in the Star Trek universe. Ten of his titles have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list.

On a distant planet called Nova Prime, the United Ranger Corps defends the galaxy’s remaining humans from an alien race known as the Skrel and their genetically engineered predators, the Ursa. For one would-be Ranger, the battle between life and death is a welcome respite from a criminal past. “Ghost Stories: Atonement” is the last of six eBook short stories that lead up to the events of After Earth, the epic science fiction adventure film directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring Jaden Smith and Will Smith. 
 
Cade Bellamy is the only Ranger recruit with a criminal record. After fighting the Ursa that interrupted his arrest, Cade receives a reprieve from Prime Commander Cypher Raige, with one stipulation: Cade must stop serving himself, and preserve humanity—as a Ranger. Soon, Cade is a cadet, breezing through physical challenges but brushing off the teamwork being a Ranger demands. Cade trusts no one, perhaps not even himself, and can’t help but question if the path he has chosen is the right one—unaware that the answer he seeks is an arm’s length away . . . in the form of an Ursa.

Saviour - After Earth: Ghost Stories (Short Story)

On a distant planet called Nova Prime, the United Ranger Corps defends the galaxy’s remaining humans from an alien race known as the Skrel and their genetically engineered predators, the Ursa—and one Ranger will learn just how high the cost of victory can be. “Ghost Stories: Saviour” is the fifth of six eBook short stories that lead up to the events of After Earth, the epic science fiction adventure film directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring Jaden Smith and Will Smith. 
 
Ranger Jon Blackburn wakes up from voluntary brain surgery, dazed and confused. He is a hero . . . or at least he will be one, if the delicate operation to remove his sense of fear was successful. Blackburn consented to take part in the experimental initiative to increase the Rangers’ reserve of “Ghosts,” soldiers whose lack of fear renders them invisible to the deadly Ursa. All indications are that it’s a spectacular success—but Blackburn doesn’t feel special; he doesn’t feel honored when Cypher Raige, the Original Ghost, personally thanks him. In fact, he doesn’t really feel much of anything. Doctors say that his fear is gone, but something else is missing, too; something Blackburn may not be able to get back, unless he can piece together this twisted jigsaw puzzle and find a way to become whole again.

Michael Jan Friedman

Robert Greenberger

Peter David

The best thing about After Earth is its universe

The official prequel novel of the epic film After Earth directed by M. Night Shyamalan and starring Jaden Smith and Will Smith 
 
After their exodus from Earth, the last humans settled a remote planet: Nova Prime. 
 
Conner Raige’s ancestors were on the front lines of victory against the Skrel, a long defeated enemy. Now he is one of the United Ranger Corps’ most promising young cadets, despite his brash confidence and tendency to act on instinct. 
 
But when the Skrel return, a deadly ground war will test him to the limit. Only this time, the Skrel have brought a secret weapon: ferocious killing machines designed to eliminate humanity from Nova Prime . . . and the universe. 
 
Includes the first three installments of the After Earth: Ghost Stories eBook series.

Michael Jan Friedman

Praise for A Perfect Beast – After Earth

The best thing about After Earth is its universe

Books by Michael Jan Friedman

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