So Far out to Sea

By: Dane St. John

Narrated by: Timothy McKean

Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Near the end of the 21st century, corporations have replaced state and federal governments following a bitter civil war, making way for a rewritten Constitution and a new America. The planet is plagued by a runaway greenhouse effect and the once exotic diseases that come with it, exposing a dramatic rift between the untreated poor and the few who can afford a highly sophisticated regimen of nano-injections. But Abraham Trevis, the world's most influential CEO and a visionary astrophysicist, believes he has the answers to Earth's challenges.

Meanwhile, Dr. Brody Springer is a lonely astronomer who leads the Delphi research team for Abraham high in the Klamath Mountains of Northern California. Delphi, a revolutionary telescope array positioned at the far end of our solar system, can explore even the deepest reaches of the known universe. Brody has always been preoccupied by this vast sea of planets and stars, but now more than ever, as he copes with the unexplained death of his wife and fellow researcher, Hope - Abraham's adopted daughter. She enriched all of Brody's pursuits while Abraham had been a mentor to him. But now both are far out of reach.

As Brody attempts to preserve Hope's memory through a telling series of journal entries, Delphi discovers a planet in a distant star system that was never supposed to exist - and that Hope had predicted. Brody is left to defend its ghostly truth despite his training and the skepticism of his peers, and as one cosmic mystery unfolds, other more sinister events surface closer to home. An unstoppable force is ready to strike, and at stake is the vision of what humanity's future must be in a hostile universe that, through it all, still seems to offer signs of hope. A universe where a wife's love might prove stronger than gravity and faster than the speed of light.

©2015 Dane St. John (P)2016 Cherry Hill Publishing, LLC

Gem of a Story!

Any additional comments?

This story was a nice surprise for me! I expected a sci fi mystery type story going through the details of Dr. Brody Springer discovering a new planet that was first predicted by his late wife, Hope. What this story ended up being, for me at least, was...a love story. There was mystery, action, futuristic tech and thriller aspects as well but how it was written became for me a love story with all the other elements plugged in at the right times.

The story is set in a dystopian and not-too-distant future. It sets the haves against the have nots in a world controlled by super powerful corporations and ruined by global warming and superbugs. It could have been a setting for obvious political views but the author focuses instead on the story and I like him and the story all the more for that. In short, worth the time to listen.

I received this book for free through Audiobook Blast in exchange for an honest review.

It Would Make a Great Movie

As someone who is not a huge fan of sci-fi I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book. Soon after I started listening all my doubts vanished. The story flowed nicely and the characters were interesting and likable. The elements of mystery and thriller as well as intriguing ideas about the future made me eager to listen on to find out both what happened next and what actually took place in the past. In the end, I stayed up way past my usual bedtime just so I could finish it. It was that good and left me pondering the story the next morning and thinking it would make a great movie.

The explanations of the science were succinct and thus easy to understand. I got an impression that that the author's ideas were well grounded in current science and the future presented seemed like a realistic vision of life on Earth in a hundred or so years. I also liked the connections the author made between some scientific concepts, like the three-body problem or the life cycles of stars with the lives and relationships of characters and people in general.

The narration was generally good, but lacked a bit of energy at certain points. Some variety when it came to reading voices of different characters would have improved the performance.




This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast.

Wonderful Sci-fi read

Wonderful Sci-fi adventure. Well developed characters, and character interaction. Very good original concept. I received this book at no charge from the author, book is well worth the price to read it though.

Engaging but disjointed story

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.

The story has a very interesting storyline

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Combining the Scientific with the Spiritual

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Somewhat hurried and lost my place several times

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

no