Eternal Frontier

By: Anthony J. Melchiorri

Narrated by: Bradford Hastings

Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's Summary

Humanity has avoided interstellar war for centuries.

It was a time of peace, prosperity, and exploration. But when an unexpected attack cripples a scientific vessel, the SRES Argo, it appears that time has come to an end.

Chief Medical Officer Tag Brewer is the ship's only survivor. He is alone in the far reaches of space. To survive, he must restore and protect the downed vessel from its unknown attackers on a planet as deadly as it is mysterious. He vows to do everything in his power to seek justice for his fallen crew.

When Tag uncovers a sinister secret about those who attacked the Argo, he realizes far more is at stake than just his survival. Something more powerful, more technologically advanced, and more ruthless has emerged from the darkest voids of the galaxy. It's up to Tag to survive long enough to warn humanity and stop the dawn of a new war.

©2017 Anthony J. Melchiorri (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

I was hoping.....

....for the main character to die at some point, because he is about to 95% of the time...but alas, no such luck.
The story is somewhat interesting but I followed it more out of curiosity than excitement. The characters are all pretty shallow and if one would vanish, it wouldn't make you feel bad.
The biggest problem with this book is the it is constant chaos and pandemonium. At every slight turn of the story some huge monster, remotely controlled aliens, huge space battle against an unsurmountable foe are raging. I guess the author didn't want to spend any time to develop his characters and instead plunged them from frying pans into fires and back...constantly.
Well, the book was for free so no complains...not I would not pick up any follow up again...not even for free!

Thrilling from beginning to end!

I love sci-fi but I'm not big on a lot of technical facts & I usually skim through all the mechanics but this book really kept me enthralled. I listened to it on Audible & at one point found my whole body increasingly tensed like I was on the ship feeling the g's!
Really loved the main character & the fact that he NEVER gives up even when he does!
The other characters are interesting & add to the story, especially the alien characters, very cool.
While the main character is a guy, there are plenty of strong woman characters as well. In this story it seems that true equality exists.
Can't wait to read the next book!

This dude just can't even....

This poor guy manages to figure out the worst way to mess up perfectly good situations, or just manages to mess up right when he almost figures stuff out. Also... he is just plain retarded. like... make a synthetic mind, put it in a body, turn it on, it attacked you, so you try talking to it? wtf? why you so surprised that it doesn't stop and continues to attack you... haha it just got hilarious after the ninth or tenth time. He also has the comprehension skills of a child...No, that's insulting children. damn why am I writing this? This book sucks. and im barely to the 20th chapter.

Clichéd. Exciting.

This novel is filled with clichés. At times it seemed like some bad Star Trek fan fiction. And the main character is not very smart – not a problem in itself, not all protagonists need to be brilliant – but this means all his remarkable achievements are due to determination and an absolutely ridiculous amount of dumb luck.

This novel is also exciting – the action is well written, and I always wanted to know what would happen next. This is probably in large part due to the fact that most chapters end on a cliffhanger; a cheap trick to be sure, but it works.

So if you're anything like me, I cannot recommend this book. There are way too many "Oh come on / You have got to be kidding me" moments. But if you prefer action over science, then it might be worth a try.

Skeleton. Has potential.

I don’t know... I got about three chapters in before the I made up my mind the character. However much science you shoved in there to make him seem intelligent, was an idiot. All that means is the author is not really connected to the characters. Sure, you made a plot, you put the skeleton of the mono myth in there... but then it’s like shoved as much drama into this guys responses to make him seem like he’s the good guy because you needed to fill some blank space with his long and dramatic “Nooo!” scene rather than any substance about action. Oh, I don’t even want to get to a large complex battle scene with how much he mangled to first scene of him trying to open the door for a couple minutes to drag on the fruitless endeavor of trying to unlock a door that’s been shut from containment, for which he seems to know about every ship function other the fact that he can’t open a door! I think that’s where I sank off this boat.

Writing style bothered me greatly.

Way too many similes. A few is good but too many turns them into the literary equivalent of a cutaway scene. They just kept taking me out of the story and destroying the flow of the narrative.

The plot reads like a decent Star Trek episode. Aliens are humanoids. Ships have FTL travel, artificial gravity, intertial dampeners, and shields that drop in power every time they get hit.* None of the science is explained in detail and orbital mechanics are ignored. (For example, it seems the main character goes from a battle in space to crashing on a planet in a matter of a few minutes, disregarding the time it would take to travel such distances and still be able to survive a landing)

The supporting cast is great, but the main character can be a little too dense. Especially for a medical doctor. (Also, doctor level degrees are not something you just pick up as a back-up/side career.)

And for the love of all Science fiction please stop using the word "vessels" to describe blood vessels in a damn space story where there are ships. It's really confusing.

*Minor Spoiler:


Even the antagonist are *ahem* very Borg-like.

An outstanding story and listen in all aspects

This is a 2020 must read or better must listen. The story is excellent match to an equally excellent narration. Science is realistic and the author brings each if his character to life in exquisite detail.
it is also an innovative twist and setting. Again a must listen

Trying hard to find positive descriptors

I finished the book so I didn’t totally give up on it. Bradford Hastings has a sonorous, pleasant bass voice and expressed about as much enthusiasm as I felt. Battle scenarios are comparable to David facing many Goliaths without a sling and overcoming with no adequate explanation apart from inept opponents combined with extraordinary luck.

'Must read' for fans of Plan 9 From Outer Space

A credibly inventive and creative plot that a professional editor ought to have turned into a great story. Remove 80% of the similes, 60% of the metaphors, 50% of the adjectives and you'd have a book that didn't sound like it was written by an enthusiastic 12-year-old who was just gifted with their first thesaurus. Too bad they hadn't been gifted with Strunk & White instead.

Horrendous

Not very entertaining at all. You could have written “Lots of death while flying in space” and that would have been more appropriate and descriptive.

Ok for background noise

This book is basic and very predictable but just ok to have on in the background of the car. Strange to say that a sci-fi book is far fetched but this is just ridiculous as to what one person can supposedly do in a few days. Will not be investing in the sequel.

Just OK

I don't think this book will set the world alight, but it jogs along quite nicely at a slow speed. However, this is the first book, so it might pick up. For this reason, I will purchase Book 2.

A constant struggle, good if not deep

The book doesn't rest, one battle to the next without a break and it often seems there is no way out.
Good narrating and chacters aren't too not bad either.
Definitely worth a listen, keeps you interested, not a bad intro to a series.

A ripping yarn

A good traditional space romp. The characters are a bit flat and the story line is very linear. Be prepared for overly grand and slightly out of context analogies. Still, having said all that it's a good listen and very well narrated. I'll give book two a go.

Very immersive

What made the experience of listening to Eternal Frontier the most enjoyable?

The story just grabbed you and pulled you in within a few minutes plenty of action

What was one of the most memorable moments of Eternal Frontier?

The ice gods

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The last battle but even before then I could not stop listening

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No but I was worried for the safety of the main character