The Outer Marker is a science fiction and suspense novel, written by first time author Indulis Ievans. The main protagonist, Jim Travels, is a former infantry officer who fought on the losing side for a royal family in a territorial expansion conflict. Although the novel takes place a decade after the end of the wars, he maintains contact with his old comrades both personally and professionally. Jim lives in the coastal hamlet of St. Catherines on the swampy moon of Morningstar, with his adopted daughter and boy and girl twins. This moon, in orbit of the planet Orseous, is located in an expanse of space known as the Outer Marker, which is a designation of the three regions of travel and influence of a distant galaxy from Earth. Jim and his three young children live comfortably in a cabin within a commune-type area of St Catherines. This despite his wife abandoning the family a few years ago. He makes his living as a freighter pilot, captaining a light and fast freighter he has nicknamed the Gazelle. As he gets ready to participate in the annual distillation, bottling and shipment of bourbon, the main export of the hamlet, he begins to hear rumors of trouble brewing in the Middle Marker area, the next closest planetary system. These rumors are confirmed as he is soon contacted by members of his old unit. They strongly request his participation to unravel clues as to why a regular stop for the bourbon shipments has seemingly vanished. All who should know are keeping their mouths closed, with an underlying feeling of terrible trepidation. After almost being blown to bits from an act of sabotage by a renegade faction of Royalist soldiers to the Core’s military might, Jim has been committed to the cause and now must see this mission to its end. By posing as a transport pilot for a well-to-do family and their precious cargo, Jim gains access to the Core’s inner workings. This espionage allows the rest of the galaxy to plainly know what the Core is trying to hide. The novel’s final twist reveals the sinister reasons behind the Core’s drive for secrecy and their relentless drive to classify and restrict their actions from the rest of the galaxy.
