 |
Max Brita is an angel investor who sponsors a “Designing the Future” contest to support small businesses, inventors, and innovators who need financial support to get their ideas off the ground. In the pile of proposals, he finds detailed plans by Alexandra Schultz for a lighter-than-air cruise ship that will revolutionize leisure travel. Their collaboration, both in business and romance, leads to many new and profitable uses of the material graphene and to ventures in many different businesses. Alex’s work as a structural engineer and designer, coupled with her family’s Hindenburg history, make her an ideal person to revive airship travel with new materials and modern techniques. Her success also makes her a frequent target of sabotage. As her luxury airships traverse the globe, her team faces danger and scrutiny, often problem-solving for safety while flying hundreds of passengers.
Rhodes’ novel illuminates the design process from idea to prototype to logistics and beyond through the work of Alex and her team. The financial demands and building processes are detailed and thoroughly explained. The relentlessly inventive mind of Alex showcases the wonder of science and imagination combined to create futuristic modes of transportation and even floating cities that seem only possible in movies. With the right materials and scientific support, things never dreamed of before become possible. Alex boldly embodies this spirit with her intelligence and determination. She fearlessly imagines the future and finds ways to build it. This modern story contains the beginning of jetpack/pod travel and floating cities but feels very of the moment rather than far off in the future. Matter-of-factly, Rhodes lays out the process with such authority and certainty that the creations don’t even seem speculative. Fans of speculative fiction with a focus on novel inventions and travel may find this book meets their criteria.