After three years locked away in the Sardis Low Orbital Penitentiary, unrepentant loner Chester Donaghe wants nothing more than to keep his head down while shuttling dirtbag astronauts throughout the solar system.
Soon, it seems Chester has his life back on track. That is, until Bron Gleason, prankster and charismatic leader of a crew of born-again Christians, decides to plant a smoke bomb inside Mars Station and use Chester's shuttle as his getaway vehicle. The two become unlikely friends, and Chester wonders if he's finally found someone whose respect he wants to earn.
But there's a problem. A surge of disappearances on Earth has Bron convinced he's missed the Rapture, and that the Apocalypse is just around the corner. With every event pointing to the End Times, Bron will stop at nothing to reclaim his place in Heaven, even if it means saving Chester's soul. Now Chester must choose whose side he's on, and soon, or risk dying in the Tribulations.
Too bad Chester isn't much interested in being saved.
"Unmanned" is a blend of transgressive and slipstream fiction--part 1984 dystopia, part "Left Behind" critique--with a narrative voice similar to Chuck Palahniuk's. It's ultimately a novel about friendship, acceptance, and catastrophic failure.