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This Long Vigil  By  cover art

This Long Vigil

By: Rhett C. Bruno, Jaime Castle
Narrated by: Ray Porter
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Publisher's summary

After 25 years serving as the human Monitor of the Interstellar Ark, Hermes, Orion is scheduled to be placed back into hibernation with the other crewmembers.

Knowing he'll die there and be replaced before the ship's voyage is over, he decides that he won’t — can’t — accept that fate.

Whatever it takes, Orion will escape Hermes and see what's beyond, even if it means defying the regulations of his only friend — the ship-wide artificial intelligence known as Dan.

From the Washington Post and number one Audible best-selling duo, Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle, comes a harrowing science fiction short story that will leave you questioning exactly what it means to be alive.

©2021 Aethon Books (P)2021 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about This Long Vigil

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"Ground Control to Major Tom"

"Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare." "This is Major Tom to Ground Control I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in the most peculiar way And the stars look very different today " Though I'm past one hundred thousand miles I'm feeling very still And I think my spaceship knows which way to go Tell my wife I love her very much, she knows"
Ground Control to Major Tom Your circuit's dead, there's something wrong
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear? "
"And there's nothing I can do..."
(David Bowie)
Yep, after hearing this sweet, beautiful Audible short by Rhett Bruno and Jaime Castle this is what I heard in my head. This is what the story "This Long Vigil" evoked from me. A beautiful haunting reverie of David Bowie's "Space Oddity." A song that has long entered my psyche and nurtured my soul in a rather peculiar way. Each of us in our own way seeks a sort of freedom that is unalterable. A freedom we humans cannot avoid. A freedom deep within our souls...awesome how an hour's worth of time can bring up such beautiful memories of a haunting song...and tie it in to what makes us essentially human and written down in story form brings a bit of thoughtfulness to an ordinary commute. Just Brilliant. A listen worth your time.

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16 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

No need for a long review for a short story.

That said, this is a fantastic tale. No words wasted. I often feel a sense of disappointment when reaching the end of a work, but not the case here. Satisfying from beginning to end.

As always, Ray Porter does a top notch job with his narration.

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Powerful

This Long Vigil is a powerful tale about life and death and the human spirit. I was sort of depressing, but the end more than made up for the sad parts. This story makes me appreciate life and want to make the most of every, every minute.

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7 people found this helpful

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Still waters run deep

Tight, compelling short stories are infinitely harder to write than long books. This was excellent. Hard sci-fi that makes you think, delivered in an engaging bullet of a short.

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3 people found this helpful

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Tightly written, hugely thought-provoking

Tightly written, emotional and intriguing...and a strong thought-provoking read. The world concept is quite worthy of a series of books.

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    4 out of 5 stars

needs more. but not bad for a short read.

it was worth my hour but the premise could have gone so many places for a longer book.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

Great, but short

A generational ship designed to take humanity away from a destroyed Earth. There is always one caretaker awake with the ships AI. Once their term is over, they go back in stasis knowing they will never awaken again. But what if they don’t want to go back?

I really enjoyed this short story. My main problem is that is was too short. I would have loved him to write some letters to the new caretaker or something. As always, Ray Porter was amazing.

Content warning: none

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Poignant, but so many questions.

And interesting glimpse into a broad world with many possibilities. But I had so many questions that I couldn't work out in this little glimpse.

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2 people found this helpful

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Not long enough

This story completely engaged me. It was over far to soon. I loved every minute.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

No end in sight

Fair start, no middle no ending. This book seemed like a first chapter, then.............,
I had to write another word to let me finish publish this review, maybe that is what happened to the author.

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