On a dried-up farm in Ashland, Illinois, a forgotten spacecraft sits waiting. It was built for a specific purpose, but the people who discover it do not yet understand everything it carries. Nearby is Bob, an aging industrial robot whose place in the Jacobs family has become something far more complicated than a job description.
That is the doorway into Space Junker, David Raine’s Science Fiction series spanning generations on a damaged future Earth. With Dust, the upcoming second book, Raine is expanding a world shaped by water scarcity, dangerous machinery, family secrets, and people who still have to decide what to do tomorrow.
The setting makes survival practical. Water has to be collected. Equipment needs repairs. A useful part can matter more than money. Above Earth, the remains of earlier technological ambition have created another problem: an orbit crowded with discarded hardware and debris. Space junking is work, with training, tools, and plenty of opportunities for things to go wrong.
Raine’s background in software and robotics gives him a particular interest in what happens after a machine’s impressive demonstration is over. Someone has to maintain it, understand its limitations, and trust it enough to stand nearby. In Space Junker, those questions become part of everyday life. Technology can keep a family alive while also carrying the consequences of decisions made decades earlier.
Bob brings that history into the story at a personal level. He has spent years beside people, working through their routines and losses. His patience and practical care give readers reasons to watch him closely. A robot fixing something can tell us as much about a relationship as a conversation does. His continued presence raises a question that runs through the series: what makes someone part of a family?
There is humor in this future, too. People argue, machinery refuses to cooperate, and an ordinary misunderstanding can turn into a much larger problem. The worn equipment and difficult circumstances leave room for dry exchanges and stubborn affection. The characters have reasons to laugh, even when nobody would describe their situation as comfortable.
Dust opens another window into how this world came to be. The second book reaches back into the earlier life of Benton Jacobs, beginning in 2149 as he finishes orbital debris recovery training and prepares to return to the farm. Those earlier years give readers a different perspective on the family history and the work behind the name Space Junker. The larger story develops across generations, allowing earlier choices to take on new meaning as readers learn more.
The books are also the center of a wider creative world. Readers can explore short fiction, character artwork, and a free lander game alongside the novels. A recurring collection called There’s a Sign for That imagines the notices this future would require: lost robots, leaking machinery, and rules that suggest somebody has already caused the problem. These smaller pieces make the setting feel inhabited beyond the main characters’ immediate adventures.
For new readers, the first novel is the place to begin. It introduces the family, the old robot, and the forgotten ship before the wider history starts coming into view. Dust is the next opportunity to explore that history, with its release still ahead.
Explore the world of Space Junker for the books, artwork, additional stories, and updates on the upcoming release of Dust. Somewhere between the broken machinery and the people trying to keep it running, there is still a little hope left.