Home > Categories > Books > Sci-Fi > The Explorer review

I've thought of killing myself, but something stops me. "Just think, it says, you'll go further than anyone else has ever been. You'll see deeper into space than anybody else has ever seen. You'll make history." "But nobody will ever know," I reply, and the something doesn't say anything back to me, just sits there in the dark. I take my place in the chair at the front of the ship and decide to ride it out.
When journalist Cormac Easton is selected to document the first manned mission into deep space, he dreams of securing his place in history as one of humanity's great explorers. But in space, nothing goes according to plan.
The crew wake from hypersleep to discover their captain dead in his allegedy fail-proof safety pod. They mourn, and Cormac sends a beautifully written eulogy back to Earth. The word from ground control is unequivocal: no mater what happens, the mission must continue.
But as the body count begins to rise, Cormac finds himself alone and spiraling towards his own inevitable death... unless he can do something to stop it.
The Triumph of the Sun
The Mammoth Book of Extreme Science Fiction
The Tuatara and the Skink
Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets Colour Edition
Ella and Olivia #12: Christmas Wonderland
Hack Attack
Bride of the Wolf
A Mother's Day Dilemma
Coming Home
The Little Yellow Digger Goes To School
The Ghouls of Howlfair
My Real Dog
Samples From the LabProduct reviews...
Wow, I never thought I would come across a novel that ticked so many of my 'good stuff' boxes - deep space, sci-fi, cryogenics, paradoxes and exploration - and yet be SO FLIPPIN' HARD to get into! This was a real mission for me to read.
Being only the second novel from this admittedly talented author, it was still something I found I struggled with. Maybe it was the constant jumping between the retrospectives and current viewpoints of two main characters, maybe it was the premise behind the storyline itself, maybe it was just the style in which it was written... but whatever it was I found myself severely conflicted.
On the one hand I found myself absorbed by the constant tension, the feeling that a major revelation was just a page or two away... and on the other hand I found myself trying to determine if ANY such revelation could possibly be worth wading through another page to reach it. In places the tension was electric, it had me captivated by the points of view portrayed... and without giving away a major plot spoiler, I can't be more specific... but at other times I found myself quite willing to ignore the book for hours, even days, on end, knowing that in order to finish it I would have to wade through another tedious section of the main character's maudlin self-pity and recriminations.
Overall... quite the 'mixed bag' and one I don't think I will re-read any time soon. This will be one I happily donate to a charity, hoping it will find a more accepting and happy home. ![]()
Random listing from 'Books'...
March 2013 marks the 25th anniversary of Cyclone Bola was one of the costliest cyclones in the history of New Zealand.
When Amy's parents decide to go and sail a yacht back to NZ from Vanuatu, Amy is sent to stay with her great uncle and aunt on a vineyard near Gisborne. When reports of Bola start coming through, Amy's initial worry is for her parents... then the cyclone moves closer, and strikes the East Coast of NZ with devastating effect
All trademarks, images and copyrights on this site are owned by their respective companies.
KIWIreviews is an independent entity, part of the Knock Out News Group. This is a free public forum presenting user opinions on selected products, and as such the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of kiwireviews.nz and are protected under New Zealand law by the "Honest Opinion" clause of the Defamation Act of 1992. KIWIreviews accepts no liability for statements made on this site, on the premise that they have been submitted as the true and honest opinions of the individual posters. In most cases, prices and dates stated are approximate and should be considered as only guidelines.
"Who was the first person to say, 'See that chicken there... I'm gonna eat the next thing that comes outta it's bum.'"
unattributed