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Farthest Reaches
Earth’s only chance for survival rests in the hands of one ship...
...None of its crew are prepared for what is to come.
Space Force’s first interstellar mission, Captain Scott Moore is set to lead the first starship to venture outside our solar system, the U.S.S Atlanta. Despite years of preparation, an unintended explosion takes Moore’s ship across the galaxy with no hope of returning.
Stranded in the void, Moore and his crew must discover a way home. But out amongst the stars, we are not alone.
When attempts to communicate with an alien race fail, a war begins... one that will spell the end of humanity.
FARTHEST REACHES begins a new rollicking sci-fi adventure from Brandon Ellis & Max Wolfe that delivers the action you’ve been waiting for. It’s perfect for fans of Jeffery H. Haskell, B. V. Larson, Jasper Scott, and those who love military Sci-Fi and space opera!
...None of its crew are prepared for what is to come.
Space Force’s first interstellar mission, Captain Scott Moore is set to lead the first starship to venture outside our solar system, the U.S.S Atlanta. Despite years of preparation, an unintended explosion takes Moore’s ship across the galaxy with no hope of returning.
Stranded in the void, Moore and his crew must discover a way home. But out amongst the stars, we are not alone.
When attempts to communicate with an alien race fail, a war begins... one that will spell the end of humanity.
FARTHEST REACHES begins a new rollicking sci-fi adventure from Brandon Ellis & Max Wolfe that delivers the action you’ve been waiting for. It’s perfect for fans of Jeffery H. Haskell, B. V. Larson, Jasper Scott, and those who love military Sci-Fi and space opera!
- GenresScience Fiction
436 pages, Paperback
Published June 25, 2024
280 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Brandon Ellis
74 books106 followersBrandon Ellis was born in Portland, Oregon and grew up on the outskirts of the city in a little town known as Gladstone, where he graduated high school and moved on to college. After studying Therapeutic Bodywork at East-West College of the Healing Arts, he excelled in his field, becoming one of the Pacific Northwest's leading Therapeutic teachers and bodywork professionals. After several years, the love for writing tugged at his heart so much that he decided to put things aside and live his passion - write. He's now fashioning story after story, creating imaginative worlds of inspiration and art.
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The PureLights of Ohm Totem
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 18, 2024
This was an interesting, but aggravating book. Captain Scott Moore is the captain of the *U.S.S. Atlanta*. This is the first of its kind faster than light (FTL) starship which is going to a new galaxy and a new planet called Victoria. Earth has worn out its welcome. The planet can no longer grow food for its massive population, so humanity must go somewhere else or go extinct. Captain Moore hopes to find that “somewhere else” on this trip and then come back, maybe. There’s only a couple of things standing in his way.
First, the Aires Drive that will thrust them into FTL flight hasn’t been thoroughly tested! Not sure why, but I believe that it might be a one use only engine but that’s not clearly indicated. Secondly, while he’s a member of US Space Force, he’s been placed in-charge of a mix of military and contract personnel. Equinox Corp. and Melody Systems have pretty large contingents on his ship operating their various components. Fortunately, the Engineering Department is being ran by Chief Engineer Pete Breckinridge also of Space Force, but we really don’t know his rank. Captain Moore calls him “Chief” which could indicate a Chief Master Sergeant but I don’t think an enlisted rank would be given such responsibilities. So we really don’t know the “Chiefs” rank although Captain Moore says he calls him by his rank of “Chief”. So something’s off with this military structure. Additionally, each of the contractor elements have their own CEOs. As you’ll read only one seems subservient to Captain Moore while Ms. Munn of Equinox Corp. thinks she should be running the ship. She becomes a serious thorn in Captain Moore’s side which he tolerates for far, far too long.
I guess because of the urgency to find another planet for humanity, the USS Atlanta starts off from Earth with already know problems. As mentioned the Aries Drive has never been fully tested, so they don’t know if it will actually get them to FTL speeds or if it will simply blow-up! Another thing is while getting ready to go to FTL flight, they notice an anomaly. It seems that there’s a discrepancy between what the Chief can see about the Aries Drive and what Melody, the AI is reporting. Vincent Moore, Captain Moore’s brother, is the genius that built the Melody AI. He swears that there is nothing wrong because Melody says there’s nothing wrong. Still, instead of attempting to fix this anomaly, Captain Moore forges ahead ready to go into FTL even if it blows up the ship! That’s kind of stupid.
Anyway, the ship does successfully go into FTL. While doing so, most of the crew is put into cryogenic sleep since the ship will be mostly ran by Melody. That goes well until the Captain is awaken far ahead of time. His Chief Engineer and Vincent are both revived. The Chief finds that the Aries Drive is dangerously overheating with the cooling system being controlled by Melody. Vincent says that Melody isn’t seeing any kind of overheating so he says the problem doesn’t exist. Then the Chief finds that Melody isn’t taking any data from the Aries Drive. They aren’t “talking” to each other so Melody wouldn’t know of the overheating problem and therefore won’t correct for it. If the drive does overheat sufficiently, it could dump them out of FTL travel with catastrophic consequences, but they don’t know that for sure.
The AI Melody then shuts completely down and isn’t talking to anyone. Even Vincent can’t access her normal routines. The ship does leave FTL travel, but miraculously survives with only some damage. The biggest problem they now have besides the non-working AI, is that they have no idea where they are in relation to Earth or Victoria. Now begins their biggest problems. They can manage most of the ships functions without the AI, but they are limited in what they can do. They don’t have an unlimited supply of edible food on-board nor do they have a large supply of water. Those things were to be supposedly found on Victoria. They manage to get their external sensors running only to find a distant object approaching. Could this be a first contact episode and could such contact help them with their damage ship?
It would have been nice to have made a new friend, but the distant contact turns out to be a very dangerous starship that fires on *Atlanta* without listening or responding to any communication attempts. So now Captain Scott Moore has a whole lot of problems. His ship is damaged and getting more damage by an attacking alien ship. What is he supposed to do now? That’s what you’ll read about in the rest of the book. It’s not clear if or when the crew of the *Atlanta* will ever get back to Earth and certainly not continue their journey to Victoria.
This is a good start to a new series, but there seems to be things that just don’t make sense. His crew is equipped with MAS-5 laser rifles which they will use quite frequently as you’ll read. They are charged with batteries that seem to never, ever run down. Further, when encountering aliens you’d expect a language problem, but in this book, even the non-tech level aliens whip out a translating device as soon as they meet these humans. Later, we’ll find that the Captain obtains the one and only behind the ear translating device continently placed so he finds it. I hope some of these oddities don’t show up in book 2, “Starship Acadia” due on 23 July 2024.
First, the Aires Drive that will thrust them into FTL flight hasn’t been thoroughly tested! Not sure why, but I believe that it might be a one use only engine but that’s not clearly indicated. Secondly, while he’s a member of US Space Force, he’s been placed in-charge of a mix of military and contract personnel. Equinox Corp. and Melody Systems have pretty large contingents on his ship operating their various components. Fortunately, the Engineering Department is being ran by Chief Engineer Pete Breckinridge also of Space Force, but we really don’t know his rank. Captain Moore calls him “Chief” which could indicate a Chief Master Sergeant but I don’t think an enlisted rank would be given such responsibilities. So we really don’t know the “Chiefs” rank although Captain Moore says he calls him by his rank of “Chief”. So something’s off with this military structure. Additionally, each of the contractor elements have their own CEOs. As you’ll read only one seems subservient to Captain Moore while Ms. Munn of Equinox Corp. thinks she should be running the ship. She becomes a serious thorn in Captain Moore’s side which he tolerates for far, far too long.
I guess because of the urgency to find another planet for humanity, the USS Atlanta starts off from Earth with already know problems. As mentioned the Aries Drive has never been fully tested, so they don’t know if it will actually get them to FTL speeds or if it will simply blow-up! Another thing is while getting ready to go to FTL flight, they notice an anomaly. It seems that there’s a discrepancy between what the Chief can see about the Aries Drive and what Melody, the AI is reporting. Vincent Moore, Captain Moore’s brother, is the genius that built the Melody AI. He swears that there is nothing wrong because Melody says there’s nothing wrong. Still, instead of attempting to fix this anomaly, Captain Moore forges ahead ready to go into FTL even if it blows up the ship! That’s kind of stupid.
Anyway, the ship does successfully go into FTL. While doing so, most of the crew is put into cryogenic sleep since the ship will be mostly ran by Melody. That goes well until the Captain is awaken far ahead of time. His Chief Engineer and Vincent are both revived. The Chief finds that the Aries Drive is dangerously overheating with the cooling system being controlled by Melody. Vincent says that Melody isn’t seeing any kind of overheating so he says the problem doesn’t exist. Then the Chief finds that Melody isn’t taking any data from the Aries Drive. They aren’t “talking” to each other so Melody wouldn’t know of the overheating problem and therefore won’t correct for it. If the drive does overheat sufficiently, it could dump them out of FTL travel with catastrophic consequences, but they don’t know that for sure.
The AI Melody then shuts completely down and isn’t talking to anyone. Even Vincent can’t access her normal routines. The ship does leave FTL travel, but miraculously survives with only some damage. The biggest problem they now have besides the non-working AI, is that they have no idea where they are in relation to Earth or Victoria. Now begins their biggest problems. They can manage most of the ships functions without the AI, but they are limited in what they can do. They don’t have an unlimited supply of edible food on-board nor do they have a large supply of water. Those things were to be supposedly found on Victoria. They manage to get their external sensors running only to find a distant object approaching. Could this be a first contact episode and could such contact help them with their damage ship?
It would have been nice to have made a new friend, but the distant contact turns out to be a very dangerous starship that fires on *Atlanta* without listening or responding to any communication attempts. So now Captain Scott Moore has a whole lot of problems. His ship is damaged and getting more damage by an attacking alien ship. What is he supposed to do now? That’s what you’ll read about in the rest of the book. It’s not clear if or when the crew of the *Atlanta* will ever get back to Earth and certainly not continue their journey to Victoria.
This is a good start to a new series, but there seems to be things that just don’t make sense. His crew is equipped with MAS-5 laser rifles which they will use quite frequently as you’ll read. They are charged with batteries that seem to never, ever run down. Further, when encountering aliens you’d expect a language problem, but in this book, even the non-tech level aliens whip out a translating device as soon as they meet these humans. Later, we’ll find that the Captain obtains the one and only behind the ear translating device continently placed so he finds it. I hope some of these oddities don’t show up in book 2, “Starship Acadia” due on 23 July 2024.
June 27, 2024
First contact story in which prior contact centuries earlier seems evident - 4.5 stars
A Space Force crew with commercial support in 2141 is a credible story. The problems on earth and the need for another home (or at least food production) for humankind is clearly presented. The risks of trying the new interstellar technology were not sugar coated. There was a risk of failure of using untested technology but a greater risk if no one tried. The Space Force from the USA was first to set off for a new Earth-like home in the USS Atlanta; other nations were also trying to find Earth-like worlds for food production or migration because the environmental and political problems kept getting worse. On Earth, food was scarce and roving bands of hoodlums were common in most countries.
The captain, Scott David Moore, had a crew that needed leadership. His approach to problems was realistic - there had to be a way if they were to survive - so find how to fix the problem(s) and do it. The envisioned voyage to a destination that had to use cryogenic storage for the people and mechanical "synths" to keep the machines operating in addition to a well-formed Artificial Intelligence was well thought out.
There were problems. For some reason, parts of the spaceship did not communicate properly with the AI. The ship met a hostile force after the equipment shut down. It was necessary to improvise or die. The notion of working together was under severe stress due in part to the commercial interests who wanted to capture anything and everything that might have commercial value when the USS Atlanta returned to earth.
The ship was "lucky" to find an Earth-like world near the area that the breakdown and attack took place. The beings on the ground seem to be similar to the technology from 2000 BC or earlier. In addition, there were some large carnivores that were able to fly. The DNA similarities between the human like beings and the visitors from earth were uncanny.
The scanners and communicating technology from Earth frequently failed to function and the chances of survival (and return to Earth) kept getting smaller especially as mishaps and aggression resulted in death and further equipment breakdowns.
This was part one of a three-part series. I am psyched to get started on the next story.
A Space Force crew with commercial support in 2141 is a credible story. The problems on earth and the need for another home (or at least food production) for humankind is clearly presented. The risks of trying the new interstellar technology were not sugar coated. There was a risk of failure of using untested technology but a greater risk if no one tried. The Space Force from the USA was first to set off for a new Earth-like home in the USS Atlanta; other nations were also trying to find Earth-like worlds for food production or migration because the environmental and political problems kept getting worse. On Earth, food was scarce and roving bands of hoodlums were common in most countries.
The captain, Scott David Moore, had a crew that needed leadership. His approach to problems was realistic - there had to be a way if they were to survive - so find how to fix the problem(s) and do it. The envisioned voyage to a destination that had to use cryogenic storage for the people and mechanical "synths" to keep the machines operating in addition to a well-formed Artificial Intelligence was well thought out.
There were problems. For some reason, parts of the spaceship did not communicate properly with the AI. The ship met a hostile force after the equipment shut down. It was necessary to improvise or die. The notion of working together was under severe stress due in part to the commercial interests who wanted to capture anything and everything that might have commercial value when the USS Atlanta returned to earth.
The ship was "lucky" to find an Earth-like world near the area that the breakdown and attack took place. The beings on the ground seem to be similar to the technology from 2000 BC or earlier. In addition, there were some large carnivores that were able to fly. The DNA similarities between the human like beings and the visitors from earth were uncanny.
The scanners and communicating technology from Earth frequently failed to function and the chances of survival (and return to Earth) kept getting smaller especially as mishaps and aggression resulted in death and further equipment breakdowns.
This was part one of a three-part series. I am psyched to get started on the next story.
June 30, 2024
Very enjoyable and easy to read.
The food shortage and the race to find other worlds for salvation is great to start. The mystery of the disconnect between the drive and the AI adds intrigue to the journey to the stars. This may have been a situation between the private/public partnership for launching and running the starship. Perhaps this will be explained in the sequel’s.
The action and the tension ramps up with the crashing out of warp and the chaos that ensues. It keeps going up when they are attacked by an unknown ship. They fight this ship off. And finally get a break when it’s discovered being refuelled on a moon. Instead of destroying it from orbit they try to contact the race that are trying to destroy them, and end up running for their lives but gain an important addition.
The action really ramps when they get to the planet and the main protagonist’s are finally revealed. Our heroes are first given the run around but are helped by their addition from the moon, who is an Observer. Who is she an Observer for? It is uncertain, this adds to the tension through uncertainty and whether the heroes can trust her.
In the end the Observer is their saviour, but still not a lot of direct help. The protagonist’s are defeated, but with the loss of starship. They discover artefact’s that tell of an ongoing war with the protagonist’s on this world, but galaxy wide. They are instructed to carry on the conflict.
They then embark on the quest for the lost flagship.
Can’t wait for the next chapter in the story.
The food shortage and the race to find other worlds for salvation is great to start. The mystery of the disconnect between the drive and the AI adds intrigue to the journey to the stars. This may have been a situation between the private/public partnership for launching and running the starship. Perhaps this will be explained in the sequel’s.
The action and the tension ramps up with the crashing out of warp and the chaos that ensues. It keeps going up when they are attacked by an unknown ship. They fight this ship off. And finally get a break when it’s discovered being refuelled on a moon. Instead of destroying it from orbit they try to contact the race that are trying to destroy them, and end up running for their lives but gain an important addition.
The action really ramps when they get to the planet and the main protagonist’s are finally revealed. Our heroes are first given the run around but are helped by their addition from the moon, who is an Observer. Who is she an Observer for? It is uncertain, this adds to the tension through uncertainty and whether the heroes can trust her.
In the end the Observer is their saviour, but still not a lot of direct help. The protagonist’s are defeated, but with the loss of starship. They discover artefact’s that tell of an ongoing war with the protagonist’s on this world, but galaxy wide. They are instructed to carry on the conflict.
They then embark on the quest for the lost flagship.
Can’t wait for the next chapter in the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2024
Brandon Ellis and Max Wolfe have done it again. They are a great collaboration team. Here, we get to follow a group of spacers attempting to find a new home for humanity. But when the ship is brought out of hyperspace too early, everything changed. Following this group of survivors was interesting to say the least. I love reading stories like this where one gets to follow this group through their ups and downs, wins and losses, their searches for life and help. I can't wait to read the next story that these two authors come up with. Thank you, guys.
October 13, 2024
Too many rabbit holes
The book had a lot of promise,but brought in too many concepts IMO. Earth is in perilous shape, so sends out a starship ran by the Space Force, but owned and operated by corporations. That could have been an interesting story if it was the story, but it turned out to be a short side trip. Then there was the starship that knocked them out of hyperspace. Never did find out if it was tied to the precursor humans, the biomechs, or the robots - lots of pieces, each of which had their own pieces.
The book had a lot of promise,but brought in too many concepts IMO. Earth is in perilous shape, so sends out a starship ran by the Space Force, but owned and operated by corporations. That could have been an interesting story if it was the story, but it turned out to be a short side trip. Then there was the starship that knocked them out of hyperspace. Never did find out if it was tied to the precursor humans, the biomechs, or the robots - lots of pieces, each of which had their own pieces.
June 25, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed how the pace of this book builds throughout and I found the imaginative nature of the plot really gripping. What begins as a long space journey to find a solution on another planet to the problems and famines on earth, escalates into full scale war with an alien entity of great power with a variety of twists and turns throughout. The characters are well described and I am fascinated to see where the story goes in the next book.
June 29, 2024
Humanity has always wondered whether we are alone. Whether we are the only intelligent beings in this universe. What would aliens look like?
Would we get along?
And so forth.
Captain Scott Moore of the USS Atlanta was about to find out.
And with that a action laden first in a new series is about to burst forth to keep any reader just about sleep deprived in some non stop smile driven reading.
Well done authors Brandon Ellis and Max Wolfe.
Would we get along?
And so forth.
Captain Scott Moore of the USS Atlanta was about to find out.
And with that a action laden first in a new series is about to burst forth to keep any reader just about sleep deprived in some non stop smile driven reading.
Well done authors Brandon Ellis and Max Wolfe.
July 1, 2024
Space Adventure!
It is like watching a Star Trek movie, with a wonderful, new and interesting crew. The mission is to get to a new home for humanity across the universe. Being the first ship to have the ability to try to go beyond our solar system. What could go wrong? Read about this fast paced, unpredictable mission and the adventure this crew goes on. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
It is like watching a Star Trek movie, with a wonderful, new and interesting crew. The mission is to get to a new home for humanity across the universe. Being the first ship to have the ability to try to go beyond our solar system. What could go wrong? Read about this fast paced, unpredictable mission and the adventure this crew goes on. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
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June 27, 2024Wow! What a great book!
This book is an excellent duty adventure! Great characters for an awesome story! I couldn't and didn't put it down till I finished it! Brandon Ellis is such a good writer!
This book is an excellent duty adventure! Great characters for an awesome story! I couldn't and didn't put it down till I finished it! Brandon Ellis is such a good writer!
July 27, 2024
To space and beyond.....
An entertaining tale of misfortune and hope in this space tale. Loss and redemption as the earth humans encounter loss and hope in the discovery of other humans locked in a battle of survival. Enjoyed reading this tale.
An entertaining tale of misfortune and hope in this space tale. Loss and redemption as the earth humans encounter loss and hope in the discovery of other humans locked in a battle of survival. Enjoyed reading this tale.
August 23, 2024
Great adventure in space
From start to finish in one sitting . I WAS AMAZED AT THE CHARACTERS AND THE STORY LINE. I could not put it down. Each chapter kept you waiting For the next discovery. Very well written and you become part of the story.
From start to finish in one sitting . I WAS AMAZED AT THE CHARACTERS AND THE STORY LINE. I could not put it down. Each chapter kept you waiting For the next discovery. Very well written and you become part of the story.
October 19, 2024
Starts strong with good back stories and intriguing ship design and funding scheme. The AI story line peters out and what is previewed early is left for future books in the series. I guess that's how authors in this genre earn a living these days.
January 1, 2025
Heck of a great read
Ellis & Wolfe have written an absolutely wonderful starting book for a new series. This duo has written some great entertaining books that are exciting, fun to read and wonderful characters with all flaws each of us have. Yet the humanity that shines through.
Ellis & Wolfe have written an absolutely wonderful starting book for a new series. This duo has written some great entertaining books that are exciting, fun to read and wonderful characters with all flaws each of us have. Yet the humanity that shines through.
August 14, 2024
Writing felt slightly rush and awkward but the story was decent
September 17, 2024
Perhaps a tad overwrought?
October 13, 2024
It's a good story but slow and sometimes hard to follow.
October 27, 2024
Wooden and boring. Read first 20% and last part.
December 31, 2024
An interesting premise, but far too many "wait, what?" moments.
October 12, 2025
Totally enjoyed it! This is a well written and has well developed characters. The story is catching and with the strong characters makes for a very enjoyable read. Great Reading Everyone!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews