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Surviving the Theseus
Regina, trained to find the dregs of humanity, trained to kill, is forced into vacation because her peers are getting murdered.
At first, the massive cruise vessel she chooses as her resort destination seems ... tolerable, and then, in the span of a few hours, everyone disappears, thousands of passengers vanish.
As Regina explores the ship, not only does she discover pile after pile of clothing and no bodies, she finds a fear not felt for years. Although she cannot know for certain something is there, an ominous orange light appearing out of nowhere leaves little doubt some unseen thing hunts her. And all that is just the beginning.
It is a time of restricted space travel so enforced that almost nobody can veer off course, but nobody knows why. They're about to find out.
Get ready for a Sci-Fi/Horror/Thriller roller coaster ride.
Mature Content:
The novel contains strong language and violence. There is also a sexually described situation by a character. This novel would equate to an R-Rated movie.
At first, the massive cruise vessel she chooses as her resort destination seems ... tolerable, and then, in the span of a few hours, everyone disappears, thousands of passengers vanish.
As Regina explores the ship, not only does she discover pile after pile of clothing and no bodies, she finds a fear not felt for years. Although she cannot know for certain something is there, an ominous orange light appearing out of nowhere leaves little doubt some unseen thing hunts her. And all that is just the beginning.
It is a time of restricted space travel so enforced that almost nobody can veer off course, but nobody knows why. They're about to find out.
Get ready for a Sci-Fi/Horror/Thriller roller coaster ride.
Mature Content:
The novel contains strong language and violence. There is also a sexually described situation by a character. This novel would equate to an R-Rated movie.
ebook
First published August 9, 2010
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11 people want to read
About the author
Randy Dean Noble
9 books9 followersRandy Dean Noble is a supernatural thriller kind of guy. He grew up on a slew of movies and books, those of the fantastical variety inspiring most of his writing interests.
Working a plethora of minimum wage jobs took Randy into computer science and a career in IT (because he didn't want to eat PB&J the rest of his life). But, his passion has always been writing, and his dream is to be a full-time fiction author.
When he's not working his day job in IT, and not watching some new show on the ridiculous amount of streamers out there, he's writing.
Visit him at www.randydeannoble.com
Working a plethora of minimum wage jobs took Randy into computer science and a career in IT (because he didn't want to eat PB&J the rest of his life). But, his passion has always been writing, and his dream is to be a full-time fiction author.
When he's not working his day job in IT, and not watching some new show on the ridiculous amount of streamers out there, he's writing.
Visit him at www.randydeannoble.com
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 27, 2017
Surviving The Theseus by Randy Noble
This is the first in the sci-fi series about Regina Valensky, a Search Out and Destroy Officer (shortly SOAD), who is having a vacation on board of a space cruise ship, called Pyramid One. But instead of relaxing and holidaying, she is studying people and their behaviour and is trying to blend in like a spy. And that's not hard to understand because her job is hunting and taking down criminals. Regina is a dedicated bounty hunter who has a strong belief in her ideas of morality and how the world should function or not. And that means that all criminals who are acting against the law, need to be eliminated.
Not long after she showed up on the board of the Egyptian like cruise ship, Regina is moving towards the lounge, named "The Club" which is presenting all kinds of entertainment like Tube televisions with sports shows, video games, pool tables, etc. Here she meets Roy, a middle-aged, short man who is obviously leering at her and is giving her a strange vibe.
However, soon he vanishes like her memory of the next 12 hours. Regina is on the 4th passenger level. It's too quiet and vacant and she only finds piles of clothes and passenger doors which were seemingly opened hours ago. It's eerie and after witnessing a deep orange glow emanated under the door next to her with the connection of feeling unwell and sick, she hurries to leave the place.
In the meantime, the reader learns a bit about the Space Patrol and Rescue Squad (SPARS). In the cockpit is Cindy Everette, a low rank, yet strong cadet, Michael Steen, the captain and prodigy, George Pratt, the tall and heavyset leader and Travis Deckstill, the short and blond cadet. They are chasing after a small diamond shaped blue chip which was stolen by an unknown thug. After that they are informed about obscure activities on board of Pyramid One.
After a time, the reader draws conclusions that the disappearance of the passengers and the changed course of Pyramid One happen to have a connection. And even the random stranger Roy appears to be involved.
What happens on the ship? Who is this Roy? And where are all the passengers?
A pleasant start of a new series with interesting character development. Some information could have been left out though, for example the video game, the Kill Zone and some personal facts about the characters which didn't help to carry the story forward. Anyway, the plot is improving after Chapter 9 and it is getting thrilling and really fun to read. After that it is a real page-turner.
I received this book for free from ebook Discovery, I voluntarily review this book. This is my honest review.
Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed my review.
Kind regards,
Butterfly Mentions
This is the first in the sci-fi series about Regina Valensky, a Search Out and Destroy Officer (shortly SOAD), who is having a vacation on board of a space cruise ship, called Pyramid One. But instead of relaxing and holidaying, she is studying people and their behaviour and is trying to blend in like a spy. And that's not hard to understand because her job is hunting and taking down criminals. Regina is a dedicated bounty hunter who has a strong belief in her ideas of morality and how the world should function or not. And that means that all criminals who are acting against the law, need to be eliminated.
Not long after she showed up on the board of the Egyptian like cruise ship, Regina is moving towards the lounge, named "The Club" which is presenting all kinds of entertainment like Tube televisions with sports shows, video games, pool tables, etc. Here she meets Roy, a middle-aged, short man who is obviously leering at her and is giving her a strange vibe.
However, soon he vanishes like her memory of the next 12 hours. Regina is on the 4th passenger level. It's too quiet and vacant and she only finds piles of clothes and passenger doors which were seemingly opened hours ago. It's eerie and after witnessing a deep orange glow emanated under the door next to her with the connection of feeling unwell and sick, she hurries to leave the place.
In the meantime, the reader learns a bit about the Space Patrol and Rescue Squad (SPARS). In the cockpit is Cindy Everette, a low rank, yet strong cadet, Michael Steen, the captain and prodigy, George Pratt, the tall and heavyset leader and Travis Deckstill, the short and blond cadet. They are chasing after a small diamond shaped blue chip which was stolen by an unknown thug. After that they are informed about obscure activities on board of Pyramid One.
After a time, the reader draws conclusions that the disappearance of the passengers and the changed course of Pyramid One happen to have a connection. And even the random stranger Roy appears to be involved.
What happens on the ship? Who is this Roy? And where are all the passengers?
A pleasant start of a new series with interesting character development. Some information could have been left out though, for example the video game, the Kill Zone and some personal facts about the characters which didn't help to carry the story forward. Anyway, the plot is improving after Chapter 9 and it is getting thrilling and really fun to read. After that it is a real page-turner.
I received this book for free from ebook Discovery, I voluntarily review this book. This is my honest review.
Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed my review.
Kind regards,
Butterfly Mentions
April 27, 2021
( Format : Audiobook )
"Some people just deserved to die."
A first novel by this authkr, Randy Noble has given us fast lzced, science fiction, horror thriller which is quite mesmerizingly exciting. A small elite team of pilots is sent to find out why a cruise ship with some 10,000 people aboard had gone silent. One of the holiday makers on the missing Pyramid One wakes with the feeling that something is wrong, and she should know: Regina is a loner, one of the mostly despised SOADs (Search Out And Destroy) willing to kill without compunction those she felt did not deserve to live. And something was very wrong. The ship seemed deserted, only heaps of clothing on the floors, no people other than a couple Regina encounters in her need to hide. When the SPARS team are i d's they join forces to discover what has happened an how they are going to survive. Written in shkrt, snappy chapters, the charactefs, and the tension, is built from the beginning. These are people for the reader to care about. And narrator, Michelle Marie, enhances the structured with her excellent reading. Clear, well paced and with good modulation, her character voicing s are also differentiated and appropriate. A fine performance.
I am grateful to the rights holder of Surviving the Theseus for freely gifting me with a complimentary copy via Audiobook Boom at my request. Thank you so much. I thoroughly enjoyed the unusual and action packed sfory and immediately looked for a sequel. The book certainly makes this a future possibility but, as yet, to my knowledge, none has been written. Come on, Mr.Noble, more of Regina, p!ease.
A definite recommendation for all S.F.fans as well as readers who enjoy a good, atmospheric tbriller.
"Some people just deserved to die."
A first novel by this authkr, Randy Noble has given us fast lzced, science fiction, horror thriller which is quite mesmerizingly exciting. A small elite team of pilots is sent to find out why a cruise ship with some 10,000 people aboard had gone silent. One of the holiday makers on the missing Pyramid One wakes with the feeling that something is wrong, and she should know: Regina is a loner, one of the mostly despised SOADs (Search Out And Destroy) willing to kill without compunction those she felt did not deserve to live. And something was very wrong. The ship seemed deserted, only heaps of clothing on the floors, no people other than a couple Regina encounters in her need to hide. When the SPARS team are i d's they join forces to discover what has happened an how they are going to survive. Written in shkrt, snappy chapters, the charactefs, and the tension, is built from the beginning. These are people for the reader to care about. And narrator, Michelle Marie, enhances the structured with her excellent reading. Clear, well paced and with good modulation, her character voicing s are also differentiated and appropriate. A fine performance.
I am grateful to the rights holder of Surviving the Theseus for freely gifting me with a complimentary copy via Audiobook Boom at my request. Thank you so much. I thoroughly enjoyed the unusual and action packed sfory and immediately looked for a sequel. The book certainly makes this a future possibility but, as yet, to my knowledge, none has been written. Come on, Mr.Noble, more of Regina, p!ease.
A definite recommendation for all S.F.fans as well as readers who enjoy a good, atmospheric tbriller.
September 25, 2021
I don't read a lot of Sci-fi usually as it's not my go to genre, preferring instead Thrillers, Urban Fantasy & Supernatural but the blurb for this did sound good so I gave it a go. It turned out to be a good call.
The story starts of slowly and picks up pace as it moves along. Some good background on the characters and how they came to be where they are now. A nice build up of suspense and tension leads to an interesting conclusion of the main story. Then the book takes a turn and heads off on a tangent to something that was discussed early on but seems almost seems like part of a different tale though I can see why it kind of fits here. It also ends with a good lead in to a sequel which I would be happy to read.
The narrator gives a solid perfomance from start to finish and is clear and easy to listen to with all the right pacing and expression for the circumstances.
I was given this review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review.
The story starts of slowly and picks up pace as it moves along. Some good background on the characters and how they came to be where they are now. A nice build up of suspense and tension leads to an interesting conclusion of the main story. Then the book takes a turn and heads off on a tangent to something that was discussed early on but seems almost seems like part of a different tale though I can see why it kind of fits here. It also ends with a good lead in to a sequel which I would be happy to read.
The narrator gives a solid perfomance from start to finish and is clear and easy to listen to with all the right pacing and expression for the circumstances.
I was given this review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review.
October 16, 2022
This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and action with wonderful world building.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and action with wonderful world building.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
February 19, 2026
For those watching movies in the 80’s and 90’s…..At first, it may sound like a night of the comet type thing, but it’s really not. Total new concepts and story line. Strong female lead here as well.
If you are looking for something new and original look no further!
Michelle Marie was an excellent narrator
If you are looking for something new and original look no further!
Michelle Marie was an excellent narrator
October 17, 2022
Poor Regina has the worst- or is it weirdest- vacation ever. On a spaceshio cruise vessel where everyone has disappeared, leaving just piles of clothes, she races to figure out what is going on. This was a great Sci-Fi read, would love more of Regina. Sequel maybe?
March 9, 2017
I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily reviewed this book. This is my honest review.
This was an awesome thriller filled with mystery. I couldn't put this down until I found out what happened. Definitely a must read.
This was an awesome thriller filled with mystery. I couldn't put this down until I found out what happened. Definitely a must read.
February 22, 2014
I picked this book up off Smashwords because it had gotten high ranking reviews, and they said some very positive things about this story. Though it took me awhile to read it, I am glad I finally sat down and did so because Noble has crafted a really good tale.
The primary strength of Noble's writing is his action scenes. Each one is painted in the perfect level of detail, not too much, not too little. You get the general gist of what is going on while being able to observe what is happening around the main combatants. Be in gun battles, being chased by unknown things, or hand to hand, Noble has really found a good balance in each situation.
Another element of this story that was well done were the characters. Despite there being one or two moments where I felt a character broke their role, each person comes across as realistic, and their motives are understandable and easy to relate to. The only character I had a bit of an issue with was Regina, who is a weird mix of being a cold killer yet emotionally unstable in regards to those she kills. She was a fine balance, though I found she worked better when she wasn't internally trying to justify her actions continually. (though they did add a certain level of depth, and perhaps insanity, that she may have needed for the job she had)
The others, especially the crew sent to find out what happened to Pyramid, were beautifully done. The right amount of details were given for each character so that the reader would care about them, and the character tension levels were done well with interpersonal dramas between them. Seeing more of them would have been nice, but wasn't needed, all things considered.
Noble's story in this book is well put together, and once you get past Regina running around for most of the beginning (including a scene involving a immersive video game which could have easily been cut and the book would have lost nothing) it gets better. In fact, once the story hits its stride, it turns into a fast paced science fiction-horror story that will drive you to continue reading. However, as mentioned, you have to get through some slow material/unneeded material first.
I really enjoyed 'Surviving The Theseus', more so than I thought I would. There were elements, often with Regina, that had my blood pumping and really pulled me into the story. Noble has crafted something really interesting here, has done a fantastic job with the mysteries of what is happening on the Pyramid, and the final reveal wowed me.
If you are a fan of science fiction or horror, I suggest you pick this book up.
The primary strength of Noble's writing is his action scenes. Each one is painted in the perfect level of detail, not too much, not too little. You get the general gist of what is going on while being able to observe what is happening around the main combatants. Be in gun battles, being chased by unknown things, or hand to hand, Noble has really found a good balance in each situation.
Another element of this story that was well done were the characters. Despite there being one or two moments where I felt a character broke their role, each person comes across as realistic, and their motives are understandable and easy to relate to. The only character I had a bit of an issue with was Regina, who is a weird mix of being a cold killer yet emotionally unstable in regards to those she kills. She was a fine balance, though I found she worked better when she wasn't internally trying to justify her actions continually. (though they did add a certain level of depth, and perhaps insanity, that she may have needed for the job she had)
The others, especially the crew sent to find out what happened to Pyramid, were beautifully done. The right amount of details were given for each character so that the reader would care about them, and the character tension levels were done well with interpersonal dramas between them. Seeing more of them would have been nice, but wasn't needed, all things considered.
Noble's story in this book is well put together, and once you get past Regina running around for most of the beginning (including a scene involving a immersive video game which could have easily been cut and the book would have lost nothing) it gets better. In fact, once the story hits its stride, it turns into a fast paced science fiction-horror story that will drive you to continue reading. However, as mentioned, you have to get through some slow material/unneeded material first.
I really enjoyed 'Surviving The Theseus', more so than I thought I would. There were elements, often with Regina, that had my blood pumping and really pulled me into the story. Noble has crafted something really interesting here, has done a fantastic job with the mysteries of what is happening on the Pyramid, and the final reveal wowed me.
If you are a fan of science fiction or horror, I suggest you pick this book up.
February 1, 2011
Regina, a SOAD officer, is on what's supposed to be a vacation when she wakes up and realizes everyone on the space cruise ship is gone. All that's left of them are their clothes. Since she's used to danger and fighting, she arms herself and prepares to fight whatever enemy is responsible for this. She runs into two people who may or may not have the answers as to what is going on, and I really enjoyed snippets of the conversation where Regina overheard the man telling the woman they needed to tell Regina but the woman refusing to go along with the idea. Meanwhile, there's a group of people who are given the task of finding the space ship Regina is on, and when they get on board Regina's ship, some of the dots start connecting up because Regina's two companions (and I use that term loosely) are finally beginning to talk.
I won't give away anymore because it would spoil it, but this is a great thriller. Wondering what in the world was going on kept me going back to my Kindle to find out what would happen next. The invisible enemy tracking them down and the strange orange light that would periodically show up were definite pluses. This book is action packed so there's never a dull moment. The reason all those people disappeared was actually an unexpected twist which I enjoyed a lot.
As for character development, Regina had significant changes to her personality. It was intriguing to watch her gain feeling and softness. I can't say more without spoiling the end of the book, but I was satisfied with the ending and how she ended up because it revealed so much about how she got to be how she was in the first place--and some people would label that as 'cold'.
My final thought on this book is that it's for adults only. Mature themes, sexual and violent, are in here, and I would give it an 'R' if this was a movie.
I won't give away anymore because it would spoil it, but this is a great thriller. Wondering what in the world was going on kept me going back to my Kindle to find out what would happen next. The invisible enemy tracking them down and the strange orange light that would periodically show up were definite pluses. This book is action packed so there's never a dull moment. The reason all those people disappeared was actually an unexpected twist which I enjoyed a lot.
As for character development, Regina had significant changes to her personality. It was intriguing to watch her gain feeling and softness. I can't say more without spoiling the end of the book, but I was satisfied with the ending and how she ended up because it revealed so much about how she got to be how she was in the first place--and some people would label that as 'cold'.
My final thought on this book is that it's for adults only. Mature themes, sexual and violent, are in here, and I would give it an 'R' if this was a movie.
November 17, 2021
This is one of those books that drops you into the middle of a world and just expects you to hit the ground running. It primarily delivers backstory through exposition, but it left me feeling lost regardless. I find it difficult to concentrate on a story when it feels like it begins in the middle of a book.
While I wouldn’t say the writing was bad in any sense, I just couldn’t get into it. The narrator was alright but didn’t stand out much either. The majority of the time I was listening, I was just waiting for anything interesting to happen.
If you really enjoy SciFi stories, maybe this will be for you. I’m going to give it my middle rating because it wasn’t bad, but it just wasn’t for me.
NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.
While I wouldn’t say the writing was bad in any sense, I just couldn’t get into it. The narrator was alright but didn’t stand out much either. The majority of the time I was listening, I was just waiting for anything interesting to happen.
If you really enjoy SciFi stories, maybe this will be for you. I’m going to give it my middle rating because it wasn’t bad, but it just wasn’t for me.
NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews