Death Race in Space

Warren Springer Stowe is a self-professed acquisitions expert, specializing in Old Earth mid- to late-20th-century automobiles. Cherry Aisha, a bouncer on the backwater planet of Bethune, is a veteran of the Blue Light Brigade, a group that perpetrated one of history’s most infamous atrocities. Sami Maktoum is the younger brother of the family-owned multi-stellar Maktoum Corporation’s managing director.

The Redline Heist, by Michael Mersault, brings them together on the asteroid Ajanib in this science fiction thriller.

Stowe recruits Aisha to help with Stowe’s latest “acquisition” attempt: a 20th-century automobile in Bethune’s Pioneer Museum. The owners are unwilling to sell. Stowe needs Cherry’s augmented abilities, engineered in when in the Blue Light Brigade, to bypass museum security.

Sami wants to outdo older brother Sharif. Sami’s efforts usually flop. The last one, purchasing fabrication specifications for classic 20th-century Old World automobiles, flopped embarrassingly. Collectors paying astronomical prices for actual automobiles were unwilling to pay much for replicas, however exact.

Sami’s latest scheme is also flopping. Bethune contains artifacts from an extinct ancient civilization. Sami, using Maktoum Corporation funds, has found another alien artifact. An asteroid in Bethune’s stellar system proves to be an alien base, and is claimed for the Maktoum Corporation. Yet Sami’s hoped-for bonanza of alien tech fails to materialize. It provides a small return by allowing scientists to pay to explore it.

But Warren sees opportunity. The Pioneer Museum was a trap for Warren and Cherry. They get caught. Bethune District Attorney Bartson is wildly overcharging Warren, threatening to send Warren away for years unless Warren agrees to a plea-bargain substituting a massive fine in exchange for a lengthy sentence. Since Bethune declared its independence from the Confederated Worlds right after the heist, Bartson unscrupulously denies Warren access to his normal legal counsel (who could get him sprung), forcing Warren to rely on an inept public defender.

Warren and Cherry cut a deal with Sami. Sami uses Maktoum Corporation's influence to spring Warren from detention. In exchange helps Sami set up a motor-themed amusement park – for the very, very wealthy – on Ajanib. Included are gladiatorial-style contests with replica 20th-century automobiles in Ajanib’s catacombs. When Sharif shows up, things soon spin out of control.

The Redline Heist is a fast-paced thriller combining motor-racing, demolition derby, and technological hard science fiction. Warren Springer Stowe is an engaging gentleman thief, and Cherry Aisha a war-scarred veteran, both characters readers can identify with. It is amusing and entertaining.

“The Redline Heist,” by Michael Mersault, Baen,‎ February 2026, 336 pages, $28.00 (Hardcover), $9.99 (E-book)

This review was written by Mark Lardas, who writes at Ricochet as Seawriter. Mark Lardas, an engineer, freelance writer, historian, and model-maker, lives in League City, TX. His website is marklardas.com.