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Project Noah
At the end of the twenty-first century, planet Earth is in trouble. Despite a century of talk and targets, the population is still increasing, climate change has not been arrested, sea levels are rising and millions of people are suffering starvation and death. In London, a scientist using gene nanomanipulation discovers a treatment that may arrest or severely restrict the ageing process.
Professor Gunther Kleim chairs a group of fifty of Europe’s top scientists, economists and sociologists tasked with modelling the future. When the potential for people to live well beyond their natural lifespan is included, the inescapable outcome is the breakdown of human civilisation. To give the world hope, Gunther proposes Project Noah. With the support of Dirk Reed, a multi-billionaire businessman, and despite opposition and sabotage, they embark on the most audacious and ambitious project of science and exploration since man first set foot on the moon. The aim – to preserve a piece of civilisation, taking thousands, eventually hundreds of thousands of people, to the stars.
Professor Gunther Kleim chairs a group of fifty of Europe’s top scientists, economists and sociologists tasked with modelling the future. When the potential for people to live well beyond their natural lifespan is included, the inescapable outcome is the breakdown of human civilisation. To give the world hope, Gunther proposes Project Noah. With the support of Dirk Reed, a multi-billionaire businessman, and despite opposition and sabotage, they embark on the most audacious and ambitious project of science and exploration since man first set foot on the moon. The aim – to preserve a piece of civilisation, taking thousands, eventually hundreds of thousands of people, to the stars.
- GenresScience Fiction
493 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 25, 2013
1 person is currently reading
5 people want to read
About the author
Ian Martyn
8 books57 followersIan Martyn lives in Surrey in the United Kingdom. Following a degree in Zoology I spent thirty years working in the pharmaceutical industry. On leaving to become a consultant I was determined to complete and publish those science fiction stories that I had started and were rattling around in my head. You can find more about me,Ian Martyn and my writing on my web site: www.martynfiction.com.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 2, 2015
At the end of the twenty first century, the problems we foresee in our current day are coming to pass – our beloved planet is groaning beneath the burden of over-population, and (surprise, surprise) politicians have failed to deliver a ‘greener’ way of life. They are still commissioning studies to predict the effects of global warming along with pollution and dwindling resources, whilst in the mean time mopping up after the increasingly frequent natural disasters.
In the meantime, the scientists whose studies predict the inescapable conclusion that things have long since gone past the point of no return, set about a visionary project designed to save at least a portion of humanity.
Project Noah is a fantastic piece of speculative fiction that doesn’t shy away from the unpalatable. Each chapter begins with a live news feed delivered from the site of the world’s latest catastrophe, before moving into the character-driven story. The science is very believable, with advances mirroring the way in which many of man’s greatest scientific discoveries have come about – by accident, often as an off-shoot of something else entirely. At the same time, although the science is essential to the core of the tale, Martyn manages to successfully make this a story about people.
The prose and dialogue are excellent (despite a number of small typos), and I found it very easy to visualise events which, alongside the inexorable drive towards the ultimate conclusion (the building of the space arc), twist and turn unexpectedly with politics and corporate conspiracies, not to mention the odd bit of sabotage.
For me, the slight niggle was in the level of technology at the start of the book which felt, with a few exceptions, very modern day, as did speech patterns, daily routines, transport etc. For a book set more than eighty years in our future, I’d have expected more change.
Would I recommend it?
If you are looking for action and adventure, then this is not for you. If near future speculation with great depth of characterisation is to your taste, then most definitely, yes.
In the meantime, the scientists whose studies predict the inescapable conclusion that things have long since gone past the point of no return, set about a visionary project designed to save at least a portion of humanity.
Project Noah is a fantastic piece of speculative fiction that doesn’t shy away from the unpalatable. Each chapter begins with a live news feed delivered from the site of the world’s latest catastrophe, before moving into the character-driven story. The science is very believable, with advances mirroring the way in which many of man’s greatest scientific discoveries have come about – by accident, often as an off-shoot of something else entirely. At the same time, although the science is essential to the core of the tale, Martyn manages to successfully make this a story about people.
The prose and dialogue are excellent (despite a number of small typos), and I found it very easy to visualise events which, alongside the inexorable drive towards the ultimate conclusion (the building of the space arc), twist and turn unexpectedly with politics and corporate conspiracies, not to mention the odd bit of sabotage.
For me, the slight niggle was in the level of technology at the start of the book which felt, with a few exceptions, very modern day, as did speech patterns, daily routines, transport etc. For a book set more than eighty years in our future, I’d have expected more change.
Would I recommend it?
If you are looking for action and adventure, then this is not for you. If near future speculation with great depth of characterisation is to your taste, then most definitely, yes.
March 7, 2015
Epic in scope and execution, Project Noah hearkens to the metal and grit of classic, hard science fiction. The Earth is going to the dogs, groaning under the burdens of population growth, global warming, pollution, decreasing food supply, and ineffective government. A group secretly initiates the groundwork to take Mankind to the stars, starting with a base on Mars and developing the technologies required to make the leap.
Thus far, a fairly standard backdrop - but where this work succeeds is the character-driven drama which underpins the broad sweep of the narrative. There are heroes and villains and conspiracy galore, betrayal and murder and power-grabbing. Just to mention a few things. Martyn never allows technology to become the Holy Grail, the panacea which solves all ills. The grind is long, the technology developed in logical steps, the perils and pitfalls real. This is great, gritty science fiction, but these points are never belaboured. The narrative moves in a powerful sweep to its conclusion, with sabotage and failure never dismissed from the equation, while the science is dealt with efficiently in the context of limitation as well as liberation.
There were a few logical possibilities left unexplored, I felt. For example, if nanotech sufficient to build an entire 12-kilometer spaceship exists, surely that same nanotech could be employed to rectify Earth's runaway environmental issues? However such concerns are minor riffs, hardly detracting from the tale.
If your bent is Asimov or Carl Sagan, this may well be a story that you'd enjoy. I certainly loved this work and would recommend it in a heartbeat to any fans of old-fashioned science fiction of the best (and only?) kind!
Thus far, a fairly standard backdrop - but where this work succeeds is the character-driven drama which underpins the broad sweep of the narrative. There are heroes and villains and conspiracy galore, betrayal and murder and power-grabbing. Just to mention a few things. Martyn never allows technology to become the Holy Grail, the panacea which solves all ills. The grind is long, the technology developed in logical steps, the perils and pitfalls real. This is great, gritty science fiction, but these points are never belaboured. The narrative moves in a powerful sweep to its conclusion, with sabotage and failure never dismissed from the equation, while the science is dealt with efficiently in the context of limitation as well as liberation.
There were a few logical possibilities left unexplored, I felt. For example, if nanotech sufficient to build an entire 12-kilometer spaceship exists, surely that same nanotech could be employed to rectify Earth's runaway environmental issues? However such concerns are minor riffs, hardly detracting from the tale.
If your bent is Asimov or Carl Sagan, this may well be a story that you'd enjoy. I certainly loved this work and would recommend it in a heartbeat to any fans of old-fashioned science fiction of the best (and only?) kind!
June 8, 2016
This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:
Title: Project Noah
Author: Ian Martyn
Star Rating: 4 Stars
Number of Readers: 15
Stats
Editing: 8/10
Style: 8/10
Content: 9/10
Cover: 5/10
Of the 15 readers:
13 would read another book by this author.
4 thought the cover was good or excellent.
7 felt the blurb was enticing.
9 thought the well-developed characters were the best part of the book.
6 thought the plot was the most interesting aspect of the book.
11 suggested having a new cover.
Readers’ Comments
‘Firstly, terrible cover. Okay, moving on. Excellent read in almost every way. Of course, the premise (the world is dying and we must find a new planet to live on) has been written to death in books, comics and in films. For example, the recent Interstellar. But this is a pretty good attempt with well-defined characters and a few twists to keep the reader interested.’ Female reader (professional editor), aged 33
‘Enjoyed this. The cover looks like a Spectrum video game from the 1980s which is odd as it’s set in the future. The publisher might want to change that. Anyway, I liked the science and the slightly derivative plot. The live news was fun and helped keep the pace up. It’s not a blockbuster sort of story but it kept me enthralled to the end.’ Female reader, aged 30
‘This writer’s not bad at all. There’s the odd typo but, all in all, it’s imaginative and character-driven. He also works well with dialogue.’ Male reader (editor and publisher), aged 43
‘I liked this story in many way. Of course, the plot’s very old and lacks originality but the writing helps the author to get away with it. I would think most sc-fi readers will get a kick out of this.’ Male reader (publisher) aged 52
‘Good, classic sci-fi. Loved it! I’d happily read the next book.’ Male reader, aged 25
‘A fascinating sci-fi drama.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
Title: Project Noah
Author: Ian Martyn
Star Rating: 4 Stars
Number of Readers: 15
Stats
Editing: 8/10
Style: 8/10
Content: 9/10
Cover: 5/10
Of the 15 readers:
13 would read another book by this author.
4 thought the cover was good or excellent.
7 felt the blurb was enticing.
9 thought the well-developed characters were the best part of the book.
6 thought the plot was the most interesting aspect of the book.
11 suggested having a new cover.
Readers’ Comments
‘Firstly, terrible cover. Okay, moving on. Excellent read in almost every way. Of course, the premise (the world is dying and we must find a new planet to live on) has been written to death in books, comics and in films. For example, the recent Interstellar. But this is a pretty good attempt with well-defined characters and a few twists to keep the reader interested.’ Female reader (professional editor), aged 33
‘Enjoyed this. The cover looks like a Spectrum video game from the 1980s which is odd as it’s set in the future. The publisher might want to change that. Anyway, I liked the science and the slightly derivative plot. The live news was fun and helped keep the pace up. It’s not a blockbuster sort of story but it kept me enthralled to the end.’ Female reader, aged 30
‘This writer’s not bad at all. There’s the odd typo but, all in all, it’s imaginative and character-driven. He also works well with dialogue.’ Male reader (editor and publisher), aged 43
‘I liked this story in many way. Of course, the plot’s very old and lacks originality but the writing helps the author to get away with it. I would think most sc-fi readers will get a kick out of this.’ Male reader (publisher) aged 52
‘Good, classic sci-fi. Loved it! I’d happily read the next book.’ Male reader, aged 25
‘A fascinating sci-fi drama.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
January 22, 2017
Overall Martyn's writing style has a maturity with only a few minor lapses. Project Noah presents a familiar sic-fi dilemma of a crisis facing mankind. Malthusian prophecies at last materialise and lo and behold the earth faces a meltdown in terms of too many people and not enough resources to maintain life as we know it.
I enjoy the 'doomsday' genre and the author picks this up in a convincing fashion. This story takes us to Mars and the potentiality of departing and heading to the stars in a vast space vehicle. There are plenty of plot twists and intrigues although at times the characterisation was a tad two-dimensional
I was reminded, (God knows why) of Arthur C Clarkes 'Rama' epic saga...Perhaps we will see more of this in follow ons...lets hope so.
I enjoy the 'doomsday' genre and the author picks this up in a convincing fashion. This story takes us to Mars and the potentiality of departing and heading to the stars in a vast space vehicle. There are plenty of plot twists and intrigues although at times the characterisation was a tad two-dimensional
I was reminded, (God knows why) of Arthur C Clarkes 'Rama' epic saga...Perhaps we will see more of this in follow ons...lets hope so.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews