Review::Endeavour (A Sleeping Gods Novel)by Ralph Kern

Endeavour by Ralph Kern

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Endeavour by Ralph Kerns

I have visited this novel once before and read it now three time. This year I've had the pleasure of reading three outstanding novels by debut novelists in the Science Fiction category. Each of them qualifies in my mind as solid pure science science fiction. But I think that the reader should make their own choice so you should read them. The other two are; Day One by John Forsberg and Emergence by Nick M. Lloyd. This; the third novel in the group[and at least the third time this one has been released after edits] was just as outstanding, but initially had some problems with editing. I'm happy to say 'most' of those were taken care of.

This novel itself is almost indicative of the space program today and then what it might be like in the future. At first glance it is almost akin to a Star Trek spin-off; but it takes the story of the Dyson Sphere further. It moves to the more current trend in science fiction to Matrioshka Arrays based on the Dyson Sphere. But first it has to get us into space so we invent a sort of cross between a star-gate and the transporter technologies. A three Dee printer using the stuff of the cosmos to print copies of the travelers to their destination.

The primary plot premise in this story derives from the question; where is everybody? I'm not talking about a Twilight Zone last man on earth episode I'm talking of the Fermi Paradox. Since our sun and world are relatively young then there might be older systems with older worlds with older civilizations with more advanced technology and the universe should be full of explorers and colonies- so where is everybody?

This book is about the search for the answer. Endeavour should appeal to all Pure science Science Fiction Fans because Ralph Kern does a great job of trying to keep his science well grounded with the physics we know today. There are a lot of recognizable locations that are used in the search and some interesting speculations on what we might find out there.

Ralph Kern does a spectacular job of entertaining.

And despite the new edits I do have some of the usual Caveats. Most of the previous problems were conquered, but for me there were still some problems with around a dozen sentences that had poor punctuation that often left me confuse.

Lydia rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, as Harry filled them in quickly and succinctly.

Kern, Ralph (2014-10-17). Endeavour: A Sleeping Gods Novel (Kindle Location 1061). Tickety Boo Press. Kindle Edition.

I offer the one above as the mildest example where I was not really sure what Harry was filling Lydia's eyes with. And this may just be me; but I felt it would have made more sense if it had read ' ,as Harry filled everyone in quickly and succinctly '.

Also; and this is a pet peeve of mine when it come to the pure science ones; there is a word here that is spelled Tokomak. If this is the Magnetic Plasma Torus then it should be TOKAMAK or Tokamak since it's name is an acronym and there is an English variety from a different acronym that is Tochamac. But all of this is minor stuff and many readers will not notice them or at least you should read and make your own judgement about the punctuation at best.

The story spans long distances and a long time, but we experience it through the eyes of those chosen to explore and their unique situation allows them to stretch the time of their lives. The search is like searching for a needle in a haystack only it's in the middle of a field of haystacks and it's pitch black out. So what happens when we light a match to see? You will have to read this fine piece to get that answer.

Great stuff for the SFF fans and for anyone who enjoys entertaining and thought provoking speculative fiction. If you're a fan of Star Trek or Babylon 5 or just someone who enjoys watching the space program and are looking for something fresh to read; you should read this.

J.L. Dobias



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