Book Review >> Abort

Hullo, lovelies!

I'm back with another review. :] How consistent I am. *NOT* xD

And this one hails from the Sci-Fi genre, y'all.

Have you read any beauties from there recently?? Do share!

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ABORT

C. D. Hulen

C.D. Hulen | May 25th, 2021

Christian Fiction, Sci-Fi

{GoodReads}

It’s easy to tell when someone is dead, but what makes them alive? Is it the memories they keep, or the pain they feel, or the love they share? For Cecilio, the first colony of Proxima B, the answer could bring prosperity or crack the very foundations of society.

After a five-year leave of absence, Commander Mason Wyatt is sent to an antique starship with the chance to earn back his rank and bury his past. All he must do is uphold the answer: life is what Cecilio says it is. But as the starship nears Proxima B, Mason’s past boils to the surface and Cecilio’s answer begins to unravel.

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I was provided with a complimentary copy thanks to the author, in exchange for my honest review.

WARNING: Possible Spoilers!

THE BASICS

Admittedly, the Science Fiction genre is not one I normally read, but certainly one I'm growing more & more fond of. :] The entire premise of this one---kinda typical in the sense that humans have left Earth to colonize other planets & stars---is wonderfully intriguing. And there's always SO MUCH creativity & incredible imagining one can do in such a genre.

While rather short in length (around 130 pages), I thought this novel was well written & engaging. I was hooked from the first chapter & could not put it down (though I definitely had to with a toddler & 2-month-old around xD).

However, I believe it had potential to be a little more fleshed out in regards to the story world & characters. The story progressed at a fast pace, fast forwarding through days as the characters are stuck aboard the ancient starship with not much else to do except recall their memories & repair damages. That said, I really enjoyed how the scenes played out in regards to the backstory. Very well done, in my humble opinion. It helped make the scenes progress & served to keep the reader(s)---a.k.a. ME---interested.

VIOLENCE

Space wreckage collides with a ship endangering the 4-man team sent on mission there. One man's helmet is punctured by a piece of metal, gashing his face; a woman's suit is pierced in the shoulder by shrapnel allowing oxygen to escape & fractals of ice begin clinging to her face as the atmosphere collapses her lungs---she wouldn't survive without treatment. (SPOILER! She survives, but is permanently disabled & carries portable oxygen.)

Under pressure in the heat of danger, Mason makes a difficult decision, resulting in forsaking the lives of 300 people, including one of his own team.

A character opens hibernation chambers that have sustained some kind of damage---he does so in order to use for survival & replacement parts. But in doing so, it kills the "cargo" inside... (succumbing them to the vacuum & ice of space.)

Footage of what seems to be a house church is raided by gunmen, claiming they are "anti-government religious extremists." People are shot, a young woman is bashed in the head by a soldier & dragged away while holding onto a crying little girl.

A man is shot in the leg. There's a brief tussle between two men. Another man blows up an extraction team's starship meant to come to their rescue---killing all four people. Another tussle between same men; bloodied faces.

SPOILER! ----> Obviously not thinking straight---torn between keeping to the mission or doing the 'right thing'---Mason pulls a young girl from a hibernation chamber & drags her away as she's clinging to him fearfully (which wouldn't be possible having been in a cryo-sleep for 50 years & considering it took months for the other character to finally awaken from it), eventually the atmosphere kills her & she dies in his arms... It seems this whole scene was meant to be his turning point, but I just felt it was an unnecessary death & could've been handled differently...? Or perhaps it's because I'm a mother & the death of children are much too difficult to handle, but it felt unnecessary or too misplaced or something.

SPOILER! ----> The old starship is on an auto course for Proxima B---the colony where Mason is from---and his mission is to take the power source & see that it doesn't arrive at its destination. The cargo is 60 million people in hibernation, but because of "logistics", so to speak, the elite of the colony make the executive decision to get rid of it & take the power source for the good of the colony (and not have to deal with relocating 60-mil people & what it would do to their economy & such and such). Eventually, Mason makes the decision to disobey orders & in his attempt to see the "cargo" safe, ejects their chambers into the atmosphere of Proxima B, hoping that some survive. Many explode right away, but he does catch a glimpse of others who make it to the surface before the starship is shot down SPOILER!!! (with him in it).

SPIRITUAL CONTENT

This is a clean, Christian fiction novel where the main character has a gradual path to redemption---and one that is far different than what he had planned.

A neighbor tells Mason that they are praying for him---he brushes it aside at the time. A girl reminisces about Earth, saying that they gave up God "for a lie and follow every whim and wish." At one point, we hear a small portion of Amazing Grace play on an old record player. June believes she's there on that old ship for a reason---that God put her there. She prays for their meal as they sit down to enjoy the simple fare they put together for Christmas.

Mason is told his orders from Cecilio are wrong and when he questions why, he's told because God says so.

Mason's reasoning has been corrupted by what he believes he desires for his life & by those who command him---so much so that he's willing to overlook questionable orders.

LANGUAGE // ALCOHOL & DRUGS

None.

A character finds a bottle of corn & rye whiskey; he puts it away for future use. At an extremely low point, he pulls it out for a swig or two. Beer is mentioned; whiskey & liquor in a local bar; celebratory wine.

ROMANTIC CONTENT

Not much to speak of... Mason has flashbacks of returning memories of him & his fiancée. It's implied (though never really confirmed) that she is pregnant---out of wedlock, mind you---and loses the baby in a tragic accident that leaves her disabled (she couldn't have been far along as it's observed her abdomen is still quite flat).

CONCLUSION

All in all, this was an excellent & well written, clean, sci-fi novel, and one I would recommend for an easy read. As you may know, it's SO DIFFICULT finding clean Sci-Fi stories anywhere. However, I will say that there is certainly potential in regards to the characters & the storyworld. I felt that everything was quite surface deep & could have been explored far more---though I do understand that the entire story takes place on a starship... in space... haha. ;D Still, the characters felt a little flat to me, the happenings not quite clear & understandable, and the come-to-Jesus moments very obvious & almost preachy. But that is just my opinion---please read for yourself!

Also, there were some questionable things that didn't really make sense to me. In one particular circumstance, a character blows up an entire extraction team as they near the old starship, before the 4-man team can board & finish the mission that Mason was sent to do (and that he ended up stalling because of moral issues). The character kills the incoming team in cold blood, all after he & the girl he saved have been berating Mason throughout nearly the entire book about doing the right thing & saving the 60-mil people---that they are not "cargo", but true, living human beings. His actions kinda counteracted the reasoning he was trying for MONTHS to argue with Mason... And as I mentioned before, the death of the child was unnecessary, albeit used as Mason's turning point. Possibly could have been achieved in a different manner. *shrugs*

All that said, it was still an enjoyable read, and one I could hardly put down---I had to know what happened NEXT. I would definitely recommend! Not sure if I would classify this in my re-read shelves, but I will certainly keep an eye out for more C.D. Hulen books. :]

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4 OUT OF 5 STARS