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Felix and the Frontier
Felix is a sentient robot explorer, mapping the distant fringes of the galaxy ahead of a wave of pioneers. He has been programmed to discover complex life, and to introduce himself on behalf of his human masters. But nothing in his program can prepare Felix for what he faces when he finds a world with masters of its own.
136 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 31, 2011
7 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
Chester Burton Brown
20 books3 followersChest Burton "Cheeseburger" Brown is the cybernym of a compulsive storyteller and pulp science-fiction wallah based near the North Pole.
--from the author's website
--from the author's website
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 16, 2019
I liked this book, though I'm really not sure why. Felix is a fairly flat character, and there really isn't much in the way of plot.
Though, that said, is Felix is fairly flat, what we do get in the way of characterization is intriguing, making me wish I knew more. And the structure, though episodic (and with little conflict to speak of) is a loving exploration of the way other world's might develop life. I guess those are what made this an enjoyable reading experience?
Though, that said, is Felix is fairly flat, what we do get in the way of characterization is intriguing, making me wish I knew more. And the structure, though episodic (and with little conflict to speak of) is a loving exploration of the way other world's might develop life. I guess those are what made this an enjoyable reading experience?
August 16, 2018
An interesting tale of the future
Felix is a sentient robot sent on voyage of discovery. His trip takes so long that his makers seem to be replaced by robots who seem to consider him an ancient relic. His own programming sends sends him out again only to find another alien culture has created a self propagating system for themselves even after the aliens themselves have gone extinct. A very interesting concept.
Felix is a sentient robot sent on voyage of discovery. His trip takes so long that his makers seem to be replaced by robots who seem to consider him an ancient relic. His own programming sends sends him out again only to find another alien culture has created a self propagating system for themselves even after the aliens themselves have gone extinct. A very interesting concept.
September 12, 2012
Hello. My name is Enosh and I bought a smartphone. Hi Enosh. I got a great deal on a refurbished unit so at least I can sleep at night knowing I didn’t pay full retail for a device I’m not entirely convinced I need. To be completely honest I got it mostly so I could browse Reddit while on the john. I recently learned that because my wife owns a Kindle I can put the Kindle app on my phone and read books for free on the John too. As you may have guessed I am a bibliophile and as such the thought of digital books cuts me to the core. Always when I move to a new town my first order of business is to locate the library. Nothing beats a building full of the smells of a thousand decaying trees desecrated with the tales of a million worlds. Still, the library is in a part of town I rarely find time to visit and its hours are less than ideal. Plus they seemed to be more interested in stocking DVDs and computer labs than books these days. So here I am gobbling up Kindle books like caviar at the Kremlin. Most recently I finished a novella written by a man called Cheeseburger Brown entitled Felix and the Frontier.
Felix is an unassuming humanoid robot. His job is simple. He is humanity’s first contact ambassador. For hundreds of years humans have been sending out nanorobots to build hypergalactic bypasses, well no. More like stargates on planets all along the western spiral of the unfashionable end of the Milky Way and following in their wake is Felix. Explorer, ambassador, and living legend, Felix gates to each new planet and reports his findings. Due to the planetary divisions the plot meanders a bit and at times chapters feel completely disconnected from each other. Cheeseburger, whom I will refer to by his first name for my own amusement, could have developed the book into a full-sized novel if had simply put more effort into connecting the plot points. The disconnect is so great that the main conflict isn’t even fathomable until about 90 percent of the way through the book and the whole ending feels a bit abrupt.
The story is written completely in the second person told from Felix’s perspective, which would have caught me off guard had I not just blazed through the entirety of the Hunger Games trilogy. Second person is incredibly tricky to pull off in general, but given the solitary nature of Felix’s existence Cheeseburger pulls it off nicely. Certainly better than Suzanne Collins. Like Collins Cheeseburger’s writing is geared towards less experienced readers. Felix’s journey at times feels over simplified and rosy in an effort to appeal to younger readers and yet there are mild bouts of profanity. Mind you it’s not as noticeable as in Cheeseburger’s more widely known novel, Simon in Space. I can’t for the life of me figure out what audience Simon is geared towards. It takes place in Felix’s universe and shares a simplistic writing style, yet it is chock full of space profanity and sexual references.
Felix is an enjoyable quick read even if its attempts at raising poignant philosophical questions falls short.
Felix is an unassuming humanoid robot. His job is simple. He is humanity’s first contact ambassador. For hundreds of years humans have been sending out nanorobots to build hypergalactic bypasses, well no. More like stargates on planets all along the western spiral of the unfashionable end of the Milky Way and following in their wake is Felix. Explorer, ambassador, and living legend, Felix gates to each new planet and reports his findings. Due to the planetary divisions the plot meanders a bit and at times chapters feel completely disconnected from each other. Cheeseburger, whom I will refer to by his first name for my own amusement, could have developed the book into a full-sized novel if had simply put more effort into connecting the plot points. The disconnect is so great that the main conflict isn’t even fathomable until about 90 percent of the way through the book and the whole ending feels a bit abrupt.
The story is written completely in the second person told from Felix’s perspective, which would have caught me off guard had I not just blazed through the entirety of the Hunger Games trilogy. Second person is incredibly tricky to pull off in general, but given the solitary nature of Felix’s existence Cheeseburger pulls it off nicely. Certainly better than Suzanne Collins. Like Collins Cheeseburger’s writing is geared towards less experienced readers. Felix’s journey at times feels over simplified and rosy in an effort to appeal to younger readers and yet there are mild bouts of profanity. Mind you it’s not as noticeable as in Cheeseburger’s more widely known novel, Simon in Space. I can’t for the life of me figure out what audience Simon is geared towards. It takes place in Felix’s universe and shares a simplistic writing style, yet it is chock full of space profanity and sexual references.
Felix is an enjoyable quick read even if its attempts at raising poignant philosophical questions falls short.
September 3, 2012
I found this book refreshingly different and very enjoyable. It is a short tale that follows the explorations of Felix, a galactic traveler who is not a robot. He is extremely curious, intensely appreciative of the wonders of the universe, kindly but detached. He is an explorer, a scout for the Solar Neighborhood, a Zorannic man, and while he may be non-biological, he is most certainly not a robot. I saw his personality as that of the quintessential scientist. He is a very charming fellow.
There is a surprising amount crammed into this little novel. It’s like a space faring Gulliver’s Travels. Felix roams the galaxy, hopping from one planet to another using his ‘gatehouse,’ which seems more like a TARDIS than a spaceship. His mission is to scout, to discover new life and new civilizations, and to assess the potential of the places he explores for colonies for the Solar Neighborhood. But just when it seems that this is all the story is, a plot happens. The Solar Neighborhood is not the only civilization looking to colonize the galaxy. And the others may not be going about it as nicely as they are.
So how is this book different? Well, it’s written in third person present tense, which is common for a synopsis but not for a novel. The prose and vocabulary are precise, the punctuation is stylistically correct, and the voice is unique. Let me give an example.
‘This is when he is eaten. It is sudden, vicious, and bewildering. Felix has the vaguest impression of being rent asunder and then is cast into the rudest kind of soundless, sightless, darkness...’
See? Well, maybe not, so I’ll just say I liked how it was done.
What else did I especially like? I mentioned the main character already. He is quite enjoyable. The style and prose, yeah, got that. I haven’t mentioned the tech yet. It’s interesting. The gatehouse isn’t a spaceship, although Felix can build one if needed for short planetary hops. The gatehouse swaps bits of space-time to get him where he needs to go. How it does this, we don’t know, but it makes sense. The robotic ants are quite cool. These are little constructor robots, not a new idea but a very logical one. They, too, make sense.
So, what didn’t I like? Nothing, really. The story seems not to have a real plot at first, other than following Felix explore the universe. I was okay with that, although some might see this as a slow start. When more of a plot did develop, it started and then ended rather abruptly, and the story concludes with something of a cliffhanger. I admit this is mildly annoying when the sequel is not immediately available.
Overall, though, I found this an exceptional book, different from most. I highly recommend it.
There is a surprising amount crammed into this little novel. It’s like a space faring Gulliver’s Travels. Felix roams the galaxy, hopping from one planet to another using his ‘gatehouse,’ which seems more like a TARDIS than a spaceship. His mission is to scout, to discover new life and new civilizations, and to assess the potential of the places he explores for colonies for the Solar Neighborhood. But just when it seems that this is all the story is, a plot happens. The Solar Neighborhood is not the only civilization looking to colonize the galaxy. And the others may not be going about it as nicely as they are.
So how is this book different? Well, it’s written in third person present tense, which is common for a synopsis but not for a novel. The prose and vocabulary are precise, the punctuation is stylistically correct, and the voice is unique. Let me give an example.
‘This is when he is eaten. It is sudden, vicious, and bewildering. Felix has the vaguest impression of being rent asunder and then is cast into the rudest kind of soundless, sightless, darkness...’
See? Well, maybe not, so I’ll just say I liked how it was done.
What else did I especially like? I mentioned the main character already. He is quite enjoyable. The style and prose, yeah, got that. I haven’t mentioned the tech yet. It’s interesting. The gatehouse isn’t a spaceship, although Felix can build one if needed for short planetary hops. The gatehouse swaps bits of space-time to get him where he needs to go. How it does this, we don’t know, but it makes sense. The robotic ants are quite cool. These are little constructor robots, not a new idea but a very logical one. They, too, make sense.
So, what didn’t I like? Nothing, really. The story seems not to have a real plot at first, other than following Felix explore the universe. I was okay with that, although some might see this as a slow start. When more of a plot did develop, it started and then ended rather abruptly, and the story concludes with something of a cliffhanger. I admit this is mildly annoying when the sequel is not immediately available.
Overall, though, I found this an exceptional book, different from most. I highly recommend it.
April 27, 2012
Felix travels west. Forever on the move, he explores the galaxy for the sake of Solarkind.
Felix finds all sorts of worlds from barren balls of rock with barely any life to the explosive fields of the Atomic Badgers to the authoritive civilization of the King's Fingers to the haunting new worlds of the Goliaths.
This tale is utterly remarkable. Portraying an envoy from a civilization that has learnt its lessons and strives to make the best of whatever may be in front of them in the galactic neighbourhood.
Felix's charming and good-natured personality really makes you feel connected to him in his journey. A bond that is a rarity in most fiction.
One of the best Sci-Fi tales I have ever read.
Felix finds all sorts of worlds from barren balls of rock with barely any life to the explosive fields of the Atomic Badgers to the authoritive civilization of the King's Fingers to the haunting new worlds of the Goliaths.
This tale is utterly remarkable. Portraying an envoy from a civilization that has learnt its lessons and strives to make the best of whatever may be in front of them in the galactic neighbourhood.
Felix's charming and good-natured personality really makes you feel connected to him in his journey. A bond that is a rarity in most fiction.
One of the best Sci-Fi tales I have ever read.
February 12, 2016
Nice classic SciFy
Wow this was quite an entertaining read! What can I say there is one main character and for the last part there are two. The character development I found to be good. You are cheering Felix on. He maybe a robot but he is not a rowboat. You'll have to read it to understand it. There are no actual humans in the story but it is fascinating tale none the less. It is a nice short read I would recommend this to my friends.
Wow this was quite an entertaining read! What can I say there is one main character and for the last part there are two. The character development I found to be good. You are cheering Felix on. He maybe a robot but he is not a rowboat. You'll have to read it to understand it. There are no actual humans in the story but it is fascinating tale none the less. It is a nice short read I would recommend this to my friends.
August 29, 2015
So good I had to put my knitting down. More a short story than a book but worth a dozen stars. The pace builds slowly; there's no Prime Directive here as Felix helps the locals yet warns us to "beware the atomic badgers". Sedition in the form of a sarcastic stripey rowboat almost derails his mission but in the end it certainly is exhilarating
July 29, 2012
Absolutely wonderful read. I love the writing style, the protagonist, and the worlds. Not very long, but very, very worth a read, in my opinion. One of my new favorites.
September 15, 2012
I absolutely loved this book. It is relatively short and very well written. Imaginative and thoughtful, the adventure will remain with me for a while.
November 19, 2012
Enjoyable and short, but it was not enthralling. Imaginative, but not genius. I can recommend it as a pleasant, short read.
June 3, 2016
Good book
What a fun story I loved the story line and the characters. Good use of protagonist too. Looking forward to the next book from this author.
What a fun story I loved the story line and the characters. Good use of protagonist too. Looking forward to the next book from this author.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews