Space Race 2500

by Jay Toney

It is not his ship, or his problem…

…but suddenly Robert McClain finds himself behind the helm controls of the Earth’s Last Hope, blasting off for the Sol System’s most savage race—The Borman Classic. His brother Pete has planned on being the racer in the family, but an accident moments before the qualifying run to the moon takes him out of the running, leaving his little brother to carry on.
Now he finds himself speeding from planet to planet, moon to moon, wrestling against the most dangerous forces in space, and worse—Martian skullduggery. Robert quickly realizes that there is more at stake than a racing championship for Earth. His life, and the life of his crew are on the line.

138 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 14, 2023

Reviews

[Philip Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spaceships race to gain publicity and fame for their sponsoring planets - 5 stars

A young man takes the position of pilot and navigator after his brother falls ill. Representing Earth, Robert's goal is to beat the Mars team which has won each of the races for a generation. Murray is the engineer who does the fixes that prevent disaster and squeaks out the last iota of performance.

This story is at least as good as Robert Heinlein's early works featuring young people willing to do whatever it takes to win. There is enough science to make the assertion that a different fuel is a possible breakthrough overlooking some details while taking us on a tour of the earth's sun's planets and moons. The race starts on the moon and requires landing on planets, moons, and space stations. The goal is clear: beat the duplicitous Martians.

Technical difficulties and outright cheating present difficulties which in turn give opportunities for breakthrough problem-solving. Making use of gravity to slingshot is Robert's best navigation skill. Piloting at high speed through the asteroid belt is top-notch; performing helicopter-like hovering is the second clever innovation. In deference to the American market for science fiction, distances are in feet and miles while temperatures are in Fahrenheit -- unlikely 100 years from now after the holdouts from the metric system finally convert.

The author's deft writing makes a quick trip to most of the sun's planets exciting without being too technical has to be acknowledged. The details of eating, sleeping, and spacewalks to make repairs are detailed enough to be plausible without needing magic and a good portion of luck. It's a great race.

[Brian Busby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. The storyline is strong and cast of characters well written. It has some amusing moments and I found it hard to put down and i needed to continue reading to see what happens next .This is one of those books that make it difficult to review without giving spoilers. The race takes place to see which planet gets bragging rights but one is a total cheater doing anything to win. At this point I will just go on to say I completely recommend reading this book.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Space Race 2500, my fourth read from author Jay Toney, an author whose books I've been acquiring since February of 2021. A Science Fiction Adventure, well-written with characters & plot you can buy into with unexpected twists & turns. “I received a Kindle copy of this book & am voluntarily leaving a review." The gifting of this book did not affect my opinion of it. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

[Lori Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received as a review copy from Story Origin, this is an honest review. An intense dance of a galactic space race with highly desired reward, clashing personal and political implications that guarantee an " honest " race is colored in shades of gray. There's also a good dose of snark and poignant moments to make this a good read.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by this writer and I definitely enjoyed and recommend. I hope to read more books by Jay Toney