Viking

by Daniel Hardman

Rafa feels safe in witness protection until a former FBI partner is murdered, and he's arrested for the crime. He can't divulge enough truth to get off—it would endanger his new family. Sentenced to life in prison and heartbroken by his wife's rejection, he trades cell time for a one-way ticket off-planet and becomes a disposable employee for a company prospecting the galactic frontier. Explorers get implants that transmit their neural impulses back to scientists on Earth, providing a vicarious reality of sight and sound. They are nicknamed “vikings,” and on most assignments they die quickly. But Rafa’s mission turns out to be far from ordinary. His employer is up to something, and so are his old connections in crime and law enforcement. Can Rafa survive alien wilds and his brutal crewmates? What secret is driving the manipulations of his human puppeteers?

Genres: Science Fiction, Ebooks, Fantasy, Fiction

391 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2012

About the author

The Christmas I was six, I snuck into a hallway to listen at the bannister as my parents discussed presents in the living room below.

When my parents heard me, they switched into German. That was when I fell in love with language.

I was already hooked on stories by this time. I have memories of Where the Wild Things Are and The Monster at the End of This Book from the dim years before kindergarten, and I recall my parents reading us The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and The Jungle Book over and over again. “Richer than I you can never be…” :-)

Some interesting things about me that may or may not have anything to do with my writing:

I married my wife on our first date. (True story. Sadie Hawkins. There was a “preacher” and a bale of hay right in front of where the couples stood to get their picture taken. We got a tin ring and a certificate that said, “This here certifies that the two of these folks is hitched until one of ‘em gits away.” The rest is history.)

My bucket list includes swimming with great white sharks off the coast of South Africa.

I have a newspaper clipping that erroneously reports my kidnapping. (Another true but long story. I was 4. Happy ending. Maybe I’ll blog about it sometime.)

I’ve dislocated a shoulder, broken my big toe, impaled my foot on nails, suffered multiple concussions, cracked my jaw, ripped open my forehead and chin, had some truly awe-inspiring bike catastrophes, taken a baseball bat to the chest (swung by a brawny man with gusto), sunk partway through the ice on an isolated and frozen lake, nearly passed out choking several times, been in multiple car crashes, and generally been accident-prone and far luckier than I deserve. Lots and lots of stitches, but no serious after-effects except the brain damage. :-)

I lived in 21 places before I turned 18. I’ve been to about 45 of the 50 states. I’ve travelled to Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Peru, Taiwan, Japan, Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, and Italy.

I was a missionary in New Mexico and Texas. I spent time on the Mexican border and travelled around the Navajo, Zuni, and Hopi reservations in the four corners area. I speak fluent Spanish. (Well, I used to; the DJs on latino radio stations make my head spin with their machine-gun speed; maybe I’m getting rusty…)

Reviews

[Lon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found Hardman's most recently published Viking to be an absolutely riveting story. I enjoy the sci-fi elements, but the novel will find broad appeal outside the genre, too, given its compelling premise, taut pacing, and sympathetic cast of characters. Hardman reveals twists and turns at precisely the right moments to heighten the story's intensity. Plenty will enjoy how the book is sprinkled with generous amounts of hi-tech gadgetry like implants, skimmers, and bio-suits, but these play a supporting role, and never distract from the story-telling.

The plot itself could just as easily be placed in a non sci-fi setting without anything being lost. This speaks to the strength of the plot and of the importance of character and relationships, but I did feel more than a trifle disappointed that the story's most fascinating creature--one of the many sentient, floating jellyfish that hovered in the air like a somnolent herd of cows--was awarded a point-of-view prominence, but then wasn't meaningfully developed. They communicate through radio frequencies with one another and can hear but not understand the transmissions of the colonizing earthlings who are broadcasting a continuous feed of radio signals back to earth. Readers will find it curious that the creatures have names for each other that are simply Arabic numerals. This is not explained. I recognized that all of their number/names are prime numbers, but again, I didn't register any explanation or justification for this. The point-of-view creature named 1291 seemed little more than Chekhov's gun on the wall in Act I that goes off in Act II; 1291 makes an appearance at the end, deus ex-machina, but its presence as a character in the story arouses more curiosity in the reader than the author has chosen to satisfy. Granting the author credit for brilliance, I think one possible interpretation is that the ever-present but inscrutable being typifies the benevolent God to whom the main character appeals, sometimes, it seems, in vain, and whose motives and means, are simply beyond our ken.

Conversant with LDS theology, I found it interesting (yet neither distracting nor obvious) that this hero's journey follows a familiar pattern: a young and innocent character must leave everything behind--his parents, security, indeed his very identity-to perform an important service on earth. In this temporary state--with his previous identify fully obscured--he marries and starts a family and undertakes to perform his mission. When he has overcome the temptations and trials--at least occasionally through divine intervention (in the form of the spirit-like jelly fish hearing his every word) his former identify is restored. His name fully cleared of all wrong-doing, he now waits in peace for his faithful wife to join him. He has his own planet now, and together, in marital bliss, they will continue to procreate. His affecting line to his beloved will ring with resonance to Latter-day Saint readers: "No world could be mine without you in it."

[Nathaniel Hardman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a thoroughly fun book. It felt a little like the older school of sci-fi, where space travel was just an excuse to have scenes where humans battled bizarre monsters in brightly-colored alien jungles - think Edgar Rice Burroughs or the original Star Trek - but it's smarter than old sci-fi in general, addressing things like the hazard of alien bacteria in food and water, and it has some good ideas at its heart. Specifically, the intriguing concept of disposable explorers broadcasting all of their senses back to observers on earth.

One of my oldest daydreams that I can remember was that there were people who were secretly spying on me through my own senses (that is, instead of hidden cameras, they could see out my own eyes). I remember being five or six and playing with sticks, pretending to be a ninja, and I imagined that these people could see how fast and awesome I was, and they'd be impressed. This book uses that idea, and we, the readers, get to enjoy not only the hero doing admirable things, but other people seeing him doing those admirable things. For some reason, that makes it more exciting.

Anyway, good book. I recommend it. Full disclosure: Daniel is my brother! I got to read an early draft of this book years ago, and I've been waiting anxiously for its publication ever since. And it's way better now than it was in that early draft. Also, I had the pleasure of recording the audio version of this! So I may not be able to give it an impartial review, but I do love it.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

*** I recieved this book from a Goodreads giveaway***

I started reading this book and was quickly sucked into it. Towards the middle it started dragging a little bit and the ending was a little bit rushed in what seemed like an effort to wrap everything up neatly. But, overall it was a nice mix of sci-fi, thriller, with a bit of FBI mystery thrown in.

Couple of things that I didn't care about:

There were a lot of names to keep track of and a few that were so close to another characters that it was a bit confusing in spots if you weren't paying attention.

The puffballs were a bit of a confusing aspect of the book that I wish would have been fluffed out a little more or explained a little better. The parts that were written from there point of view didn't always flow well, both as a section of the book and with the book as a whole.

[Marcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I debated between a 4 and a 5 for this book because you have to work a little at keeping track of who the minor characters are. I loved the story. I've been telling my husband, dad and brother they have to read it--we all enjoy sci fi. Very imaginative, great description, intelligent writing. Doubly fun because I get to claim the author as my cousin! I agree with Lon Young--whom I know also, small world--that I wanted to know more about the pufferbellies. With a courageous, honorable main character, plenty of action, interesting terrain and a love story to boot, it's a really good read.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rafa, a university professor and family man is accused and convicted of a murder he possibly doesn't commit. At the opening of the book he has crash landed on a planet as part of a crew made up of "Vikings," convicts released from jail to carry out dangerous missions on other planets for corporations. This Scifi is well crafted and is full of wonderful extraterrestrials, and interesting scientific possibilities.

[Chris Nott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy reading sci-fi for their unique story lines and futuristic settings. This novel is no different and has kept me wanting to read more and more. Interesting story and unique places.

I recommend reading this novel if you enjoy reading sci-fi.

[Clayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

An all-around good book, with character development being especially noteworthy. The only nit I would pick is that the main character was just a bit too much of a superman, with the plot starting to take on a bit of a "Mission Impossible" quality.

[Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was confused in the beginning of the story. Hard to keep characters straight , but once it started to make sense I really enjoyed it. I even dreamed about it, which I rarely do.

[Tanja · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't get into it. I just skipped a bunch so don't judge the book by my review. Just not the time to read it.

[Tess Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the few books I have read recently which kept my attention. It was well written, with a good plot and decent characters. Would read more from this author.

[Michel Clasquin-Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moderately good sf story that comes to an unsatisfactory, over-the-top ending.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I quickly got into this book and couldn't put it down! It was a good story with an interesting mix of reality and sci fi. I enjoyed it very much!

[Ken Weinert]

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