Columbus: Flight

Project Columbus #1

by J.C. Rainier

In the near future, bitter nuclear conflict has brought the world to the brink. As the United States begins to lose control of its territory to foreign invaders, Dr. David Benedict launches six thousand refugee colonists using three sleeper ships from Project Columbus, a decades-old government exploration venture. Their destination: Demeter, a suspected habitable planet orbiting a nearby star. Yet the launch is only the beginning of their perilous journey. When a divisive conspiracy surrounding Project Columbus is discovered, members of each crew must face the fallout. Lt Haruka Kimura, a navigator on one of the ships, must defend herself against accusations stemming from her father’s treason. Eighteen year old Cal McLaughlin struggles to reconcile why his own father would make the ultimate sacrifice and send him to the stars, completely alone. Computer specialist Lt Darius Owens is thrust into the uncomfortable role of peacemaker when the arrest of the conspirators induces discord in the ranks. But when a young crew member dies in stasis, they must work to stave off threats that could kill every innocent man, woman, and child aboard the ships.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera

276 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 12, 2012

About the author

J.C. Rainier is product of the Pacific Northwest, born in the Seattle area in 1978, and living in the Puget Sound area his whole life. He is the younger of two children in his family, and his older brother proved to be a giant pest up through his teenage years (as siblings tend to be).

J.C.’s parents were both educators working at the middle school level, and he married into another family of educators. In his family, counting in-laws, there are now two retired principals, two retired teachers, a retired school counselor, and an active science teacher.

In his youth, J.C. read quite a lot. The Call of the Wild was one of his early favorites, and into middle school he began to devour other books such as Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series. Unfortunately, J.C. developed a form of dylexia that made reading from the page of a book difficult. It was later discovered that the curvature of the page itself caused the issue, and the advent of the eReader (with its perfectly flat screen) has allowed him to once again enjoy reading as he used to.

He enjoys both indoor and outdoor pursuits including computers, cars, and camping. J.C. and his wife enjoy hockey, and set aside time several times each season to watch the local WHL franchise. They are raising three boys, including a set of twins.

Reviews

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

To escape the nuclear war ravaging the planet, three sleeper ships are launched from Earth - 6000 people headed for a far away planet that scientists hope might be capable of sustaining human life. During the decades of travelling through space, the ships are maintained only by a skeleton crew coming out of hibernation for a short time in five year intervals to ensure that the journey proceeds smoothly. But in addition to simple maintenance of their respective vessels, the crew members must deal with conspiracy, murder and a rare condition known as Hibernation Psychosis affecting some of their number. Switching between the POVs of three characters, one on each of the ships, allows the reader to see the story unfolding in each of the crews. Out of those three characters, I liked Haruka best and have to say that it was mostly her story that kept me eagerly turning pages to see what came next. I'm hoping we'll get to know Darius a bit better in the next book, as I don't yet feel as much of a connection to him. Calvin I found mostly rather annoying - gotta admit, I skimmed over some passages in his chapters when he wasn't interacting with other characters. Oh well. Either way, the story so far has thrown up a lot of interesting questions and so far provided very few answers, so I'm excited to see what the next part has to offer.

[Rhonda_k]

Good read.

This is a fast pace space travel trip to save the travelers from imminent doom with
possible sabateurs. Ends with a big bang and the reader will be looking for a continuance of the saga.

[Mathew Reuther · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great tale which put me in the mind of old sci-fi from my youth. There's a lot to like here, and though there are some minor (stylistic, as in writing . . . stuff most normal readers won't even notice) issues, the plot as a whole hangs together quite well, and the characters are enjoyable (if perhaps a bit high-strung at times) . . .

I can absolutely recommend picking this book up. It's the first in a new series (book two is in editing, three is half written, and there may be more) and it's enough fun that I'm looking forward to seeing how things proceed as the story continues to unfold.

[Megan Reuther · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is outside the genre that I typically read. I tend to stay away from sci-fi, because authors often get so involved in creating their worlds, that I get lost trying to keep everyone and his species and planet straight and end up not enjoying the novel as much. This is definitely not that - the character development is good and I got hooked right in. I love a good mystery, and this spoke to me on that level. Can't wait for the next one!

[Princess · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book kept me up past bedtime several times. With 2 small kids at home that is no easy feat :)
I was engrossed in the story enough that I even cried when the character Gabi was scared.
The ending is a cliff hanger, but I checked the author's blog and book 2 should be out soon. Will definitely be picking it up. I want to see what happens with Fox so badly.

[Nancy Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story and the characters. I hope the author will find an editor who will help cut out the unnecessary words, which are just space fillers, and make the writing leaner and more impactful. If the writing was as good as the plot, this would have earned double the two stars I gave it.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't wait for the second one!!!

[Darren · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it