Adrift on the Sea of Rains Apollo Quartet Book 1 eBook Ian Sales
Download As PDF : Adrift on the Sea of Rains Apollo Quartet Book 1 eBook Ian Sales 
WINNER OF THE BRITISH SCIENCE FICTION ASSOCIATION AWARD. A nuclear war has killed everyone on Earth, leaving stranded on the Moon nine astronauts at Falcon Base. With them they have a "torsion field generator", a mysterious device which they hope will find them an alternate Earth which has not succumbed to nuclear armageddon. But once they've found such an Earth, how will they make the trip home? They have one Lunar Module, and that can only carry four astronauts to lunar orbit...
Adrift on the Sea of Rains Apollo Quartet Book 1 eBook Ian Sales
This is very much like the short story science fiction of yore—fascinating, intense, big bang pay-off. Pretty terrific story (heavy on atmosphere) and just terrific writing. What makes the writing so good? Simple. The quality characters. The excellent dialog, both actual and mental. Brilliant. A rare treat.Product details
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Adrift on the Sea of Rains Apollo Quartet Book 1 eBook Ian Sales Reviews
Ian Sales' Apollo Quartet is an unabashed glorification of the heydays of NASA infused with speculative science fiction. The first story, a novella titled "Adrift on the Sea of Rains" (2012), is heavily based on material researched from NASA's moon landing integrated with the lore of Nazi wonder-weapons or powerful tools, generally called Wunderwaffe (unrelated to Sales' similarly titled shortstory [2012]).
Before approaching "Adrift on the Sea of Rains", the reader should possess or otherwise assume three attributes (1) glorify the science and personages of early NASA to the point of idolization, (2) have a high toleration for acronyms (for which there is an appendix), and (3) able to suspend belief for the enjoyment of a story.
The 53 pages of the EPUB file contains 39 pages of story and 11 pages of appendices which feature a list of abbreviations, a glossary, a bibliography, and a list of online resources. The glossary is a mix of NASA historical fact mixed with speculation about an alternative reality of NASA's space program (beyond Apollo 17).
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Initially, NASA's space mission were an attempt to supersede Soviet prowess in the same field of study and to gain the upper hand on the new battlefield miles above the Earth, but the American people fell in love with the lore of astronauts and the glory of victory. NASA continued the mission in the name of science, leaving Americans disenfranchised with the glow of space victory. Science began to reign supreme, legends became myth and the whole charade of space exploration became merely a tool of science.
Colonel Vance Peterson, USAF, is station on the moon. That base, Falcon Base, was established in 1984 with modified modules destined for America's space station named Freedom. The original four members were later joined by a crew of eight. The central focus of Falcon Base is The Bell, a relic of Nazi science left over from World War II, which the Americans stole and have been experimenting with for years. The primary scientist, Kendall, said that the only way to truly test The Bell's function was to put it in near-Vacuum. So, up The Bell went to the moon, to Falcon Base with its 100-kilowatt nuclear reactor.
The atmosphere at the base, once driven by routine and command, falls into uncertainty when the war blankets Earth. The American bases carry no word to the moon and soon the Earth is obliviously a dead planet. The men on the moon are the last humans alive, all abandoned by their family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues and government. However, their one hope rests on Kendall's persistent meddling with The Bell, a construction "nine feet in diameter and twelve feet high" which houses the central experiment of a substance called "Xerum-525" (sounds exactly like the mythical Nazi wonder-weapon).
Fortunately for the crew of Falcon Base, The Bell offers hope. Though only Kendall may understand, sometimes superficially at that, the device, the result of the Nazi gadget is a jump through alternative worlds. Before each jump, Peterson is sent to the moon's surface to witness any visual change on Earth. After so many successive rounds of jumping, the Earth, home, has remained a barren landscape scarred by the tensions between the Americans and the Soviets.
Peterson has had his own run-ins with the Soviets and has even had the rare pleasure of killing a communist while flying. His hatred of the Soviets know no end while his ache for his return to America holds aloft the hope he meekly instills in The Bell. Though the others in the crew are not as disciplined as Peterson, he keeps himself sane by running through his routine and hoping to find an Earth that is close to the one that had seen die before their eyes...
...then one appears, a beautiful blue marble. While "the men on Falcon Base can listen, but they cannot be heard" (21-22), no one responds to their calls. One thing is noticeable though there' s one space station in orbit around the Earth. Memories of America's station, Freedom, offers them additional hope that rescue or acknowledgement of their plight is possible. In order to secure that possibility of rescue, the astronauts-cum-scientists brainstorm or ways on reaching either Earth or Freedom. When the numbers are tabulated, trajectories plotted and fuel concentrated, the likelihood of escaping from moon's desolation looks good.
Peterson begins his ascent from the moon and descent toward Earth.
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Obviously, this must be a pet project of Sales. The amount of detail imparts an authenticity to the novella, a deft touch of attention to detail that shows careful consideration. While this detail doesn't exactly make for light reading, it does add an element of first-person perspective to the story--what's important to the astronaut is carried through the narrative, be it the physics of flight control or controlling the waves of uncertainty.
With Peterson's fixation of hope comes the obverse niggling doubt; he doesn't understand The Bell and finds it difficult to place hope on a piece of Nazi construction and its borderline batty scientist, Kendall. Regardless of all subjective observations, there is one truth to Peterson he is stuck on the moon, over three hundred thousand miles away from a dead Earth. Among the subjective observations and objective truths lay the emotional states of his past and present; he fosters distaste for Commies while feeling nostalgia for being in cockpit of various jets (e.g., the SR-91 and the F-108D). These mission characterize Peterson as a brash, gung-ho pilot unfazed by danger or confrontation.
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Considering the series is a thematic Quartet, I hope to see the remaining three stories follow a similar feel a foundation of hard details supporting a speculative wonder clouded by an atmosphere of isolation and desperation. The remaining stories in the Quartet are
· Book 2, novella "The Eye Which the Universe Beholds Itself" (2013)
· Book 3, novella "Then Will the Great Ocean Wash Deep Above" (2013)
· Book 4, "All That Outer Space Allows" (yet-to-be published)
I have a problem sometimes with alternative histories, in that they tend towards extremes. It’s natural. Authors try to show why its good the Axis powers lost or bad the native Americans did. But the exaggerations can overwhelm. This is not one of those times. The seams here are so tight someone reading ‘Adrift’ 80 years from now will be double-checking their history. One of the ways Ian achieves this is through craft. This book reads like a story from the actual time (a time that doesn’t exist, but, you know, if it did) akin to reading James Michener’s Space had things unfolded differently. (It is thankfully much shorter and, the writing a little more to my liking.) It is also more taught. The tension that propels this story is not over-the-top, Hollywood style. No robots and laser rifles. It is the kind of tension that exists in the real world, making this one feel that much more authentic. Loved it.
There are certain ways that stories like this are supposed to end. When that ending doesn't comply to our expectations, we have to step back and consider what the author wants us to take away from the story.
Peterson's present is not our present and his story is only one in a multiverse of potential stories. Rather than an explorer of a different reality, Peterson lets his prejudices determine his final action. We have to consider what our own actions would be in a similar situation.
Readers beware, this is gripping. A must read in a sea of market driven tales.
Oh how I hate to leave bad reviews....
So this is not so much a review, but my experience with this book.
The good things are that it is a short book, and inexpensive. That's it really.
The concept is interesting but never explained or developed.
Over all a waste of time for me.
Interesting
An absolutely brilliant portrayal of astronauts trapped on the moon after Earth is destroyed by nuclear apocalypse. While not a very long work, Mr. Sales packs more drama, hope and despair into this story than many novels five times it's length. The atmosphere and writing are a work of art and the story is utterly compelling.
Its a great story and I recommend it even to those who don't normally read science fiction. This novella proves that indie authors can easily stand amongst the big name authors out there.
Loved this! I'm a fan of hard science fiction, and Sales has details in both his science and the alternate histories he posits, but it's the evocative tone, excellent pacing and rich characterization that really sold this for me.
It's what I wanted out of the Martian, without reliance on a snarky voice and the tedium of potato farming to convey the vastness of being stranded in space.
And it's short enough to devour quickly, then chew on for a while. A great read!
This is very much like the short story science fiction of yore—fascinating, intense, big bang pay-off. Pretty terrific story (heavy on atmosphere) and just terrific writing. What makes the writing so good? Simple. The quality characters. The excellent dialog, both actual and mental. Brilliant. A rare treat.
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