A Matter of Space

Aleck Loker has written a novel that blends his love of science, engineering, history, and archaeology that readers young and old will enjoy. This story plays out on the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, and Historic St. Mary's City.

Readers will find an accurate portrayal of Navy flight-testing, fictionalized for sure, but clearly describing the way test pilots and technical staff balance this high-risk work with careful preparation and constant review.

Paul Melton, the hero of this adventure story, is a student at Esperanza Middle School, with the usual interests and issues that we can all relate to. By accident, Paul becomes swept up into the Navy s recovery, analysis, and ultimately flight test of a strange craft that has intruded into their airspace. Paul becomes an integral part of the test team and saves the day, earning the respect of the engineers and pilots, who call him a "true professional"–their highest accolade.

In the second part of the book, Paul experiences strange flashbacks in time that take him to St. Mary's City at the time of the founding of the colony. Paul again faces danger and proves he has the right stuff–in the process shedding new light on the mysteries of the early colonial period.

This novel conveys cutting-edge science and history without being tedious. Aleck has woven science and history into a charming story of a boy's coming-of-age that conveys heavy concepts–but in light doses.

I'm a ninth-generation Maryland native who knows and loves history. I attended the College of William and Mary in Virginia where I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics in 1964. After college, I enjoyed a thirty-three year career at the Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, Maryland. In my Navy career, I achieved recognition for innovative work that was widely published. My collaboration with Naval test pilots and engineers spanned virtually every facet of the aircraft flight test work at the Patuxent Navy base. I served as the Executive Director of the Naval Air Station during my last three years with the Navy.

Along the way, I studied local history and published numerous articles in magazines and in the Chronicles of St. Mary’s, a publication of the St. Mary’s County Historical Society. My first book-length work was the popular A Most Convenient Place, Leonardtown, Maryland 1650-1950, which has gone into the second printing.

My first novel, A Matter of Space, reflects my strong affection for the important work done by the Navy at Patuxent River Naval Air Station and the equally important work of the archaeologists, historians, interpreters and staff at Historic St. Mary’s City.

My wife Ann and I live in Williamsburg, Virginia. I'm currently working on a series of children’s stories and a third novel.