Books like The Aftermath by Ben Bova

Following the Asteroid Wars that devastated the solar system, Victor Zacharius earns his living as the operator of the ore‑carrier *Syracuse*. With his wife and two children, he sails the asteroid belt, hauling whatever cargo he can find. When *Syracuse* is drawn into a military assault on the habitat *Chrysalis*, Victor flees in a control pod, distracting the enemy and leaving his family behind. He is later rescued by the alluring Cheena Madagascar, who forces him to serve her if he hopes ever to reunite with his loved ones. Meanwhile, the alchemist‑sculptor Elverda Apacheta and the cybernetic former commander Dorik Harbin—now known as Dorn—both altered by the same alien artifact that once trapped industrialist Martin Humphries, roam the belt seeking buried victims of Harbin’s campaign. Captain Kao Yuan steers *Viking*, a vessel owned by Humphries, with intent to kill Dorn and Apacheta, while the ship’s second‑in‑command, Tamara Vishinsky, secretly holds the real power on board. The ensuing clashes between these forces involve the Zacharius family, the artifact’s influence, and the transformation of human society within the solar system.

First publish date: 2007