The Austere Trilogy

Rick Ricker is a storyteller, technologist, and strategist whose life’s work bridges the world of advanced technology and human imagination. His debut novel, Austere, is the culmination of a career defined by innovation, insight, and a deep fascination with the unseen forces that drive both machines and minds.

Rick’s professional journey is a tapestry woven with remarkable achievements across information technology, business development, and education. He’s served as a University Professor in Computer Processing, guided financial strategy as Chief Financial Officer of a major IT consulting firm, and led cutting-edge initiatives in e-security and network architecture. His deep knowledge of system dynamics and information flow breathes life into the complex, believable worlds he builds on the page.

Driven by a lifelong passion for storytelling, Rick crafts speculative fiction grounded in the hard truths of physics, computer science, and socio-political consequence. His narratives are rich with emotional weight, philosophical undertones, and cinematic scale—blending the thrill of advanced tech with the resonance of human connection.

Beyond the page, Rick is a frequent contributor to online magazines, podcasts, and seminars, where he shares insights on emerging technologies, cybersecurity, and business success. His fiction reflects not only where we are—but where we could go if we dare to look deeper.

Austere is the first in a visionary sci-fi series exploring identity, sacrifice, and the latent power hidden in the most unexpected places.