Matthew Cole is a quintessential freelance cowboy with a mysterious past. He rides into towns, not wanting any trouble, but always finding it. And in his futuristic world of colonized planets and moons, there’s plenty of trouble to find. Michael F. Kane’s novel After Moses follows its likeable hero into a solar system that’s struggling to survive after AI collapses and humanity grows corrupt. Cole himself grounds this story with his down-to-Earth integrity and kindness. But his next mission will team him with a motley crew whose members keep their own secrets. Kane fuses themes of grace and redemption into this sci-fi story with a classic Western feel.

Best for: Teen and adult fans of Westerns like Justified and The Magnificent Seven as well as Western/sci-fi blends like Firefly.

Discern: Infrequent mild language, alcohol use, alcoholic family member, smoking and drug use, undetailed references to human trafficking and slavery, Western-like violence such as gun battles and fist fights, mentions of gunshot wounds.