Hubbard Novelist Continues Milky Way Repo Series

HUBBARD, Ohio – Michael Prelee blends science fiction, crime and some social commentary in his new novel, “The Unworthy.”

It’s the third installment in the Hubbard author’s Milky Way Repo series. All three share the adventures of lead character Nathan Teller and his crew, who operate an interstellar repossession company.

“The Unworthy” ($31.95, $5.95 paperback) was published this month by Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing and is available at all online retailers. It can also be purchased at Pop! Art Books Culture, 6949 Market St., Boardman.

Like all the Milky Way Repo books, it’s set in a gritty but spacefaring future. A wealthy woman has hired Teller and his crew to recover her lost research ship before blackmailers can reveal its secrets to the world. It’s a big payday for the crew, but they must deal with corrupt officials, criminal organizations and powerful corporations.

Prelee explores themes of class warfare, income inequality and worker’s rights in the novel.

“It taps into what’s going on in the economy today,” he said.

One of his editor’s describes the Milky Way Repo books as “blue-collar sci-fi,” Prelee said.

“It’s a crew of people trying to make a living while up against a corrupt government, organized crime and corporations that use their employees” with no regard to work-life balance.

Fans of the “Firefly” and “The Expanse” sci-fi television series will appreciate “The Unworthy,” Prelee said.

It stands alone, in that it is not based on anything that happened in the previous two books in the series.

“You don’t have to have read the other two books [in the series] to appreciate this one,” he pointed out.

Prelee is a graduate of Youngstown State University. By day, he works as a quality assurance analyst at Autosoft Inc., a software company in West Middlesex, Pa.

In addition to the Milky Way Repo books, he is also the author of two murder-mysteries – “Lost Little Sister” (2020) and “Murder in the Heart of it All” (2017) – that feature his character Tim Abernathy, a small-town newspaper reporter.

“I am about a third of the way through a third installment of the Tim Abernathy series,” he said.

No date of publication has been set.

Prelee will be present for a book signing and sale from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, at the Super Toy Events toy show at Canfield Fairgrounds.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.