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Red Dwarf (Robert Stetson) #1
Red Dwarf
This is the story of a Space Cadet named Clay Stone who completed his academy training and is assigned to Space Center as the first Starship Captain to embark on a stellar mission to a red dwarf star called Alpha Proxima 4.2 light years away.
The trip is a disaster and the trials and tribulations are many, but the mission is almost doomed near the end. The story is packed full of humor, romance, action and adventure.
You're going to love this one. If you do, you will also love Red Dwarf II.
But, PLEASE, don't tell anyone the ending.
Based on a true concept, Quantum Entaglement.
They tell us on the one hand that near speed of light travel is possible. They tell us that, on the other hand, if one were to depart and achieve near speed of light travel, they would arrive back here to find that while only a few months have passed, back here on Earth decades would have passed.
Next they say that star travel isn't practical because it would take years to get to the nearest star, Alpha Proxima at four point two light years. If you combine all the facts and theories, it would take about ten months round trip for the astronauts, and about twelve years for the people of Earth to hear back from them.
Knowing that the hearts of people and governments never change, we have to wonder what the socioeconomic implications will be. How would the payroll work? If we get a week's pay every week Earth-time, that would be a week's pay every three hours or so as perceived by the astronaut. The Government would never pay that way.
There are bigger problems than that. You leave when your son is nine years old and come back in two years and have a beer with him, leave again and come back in fifty years to visit him in the old folk's home, and your only thirty seven years old. Star travel will make your personal life interesting and your economic life very complicated.
The trip is a disaster and the trials and tribulations are many, but the mission is almost doomed near the end. The story is packed full of humor, romance, action and adventure.
You're going to love this one. If you do, you will also love Red Dwarf II.
But, PLEASE, don't tell anyone the ending.
Based on a true concept, Quantum Entaglement.
They tell us on the one hand that near speed of light travel is possible. They tell us that, on the other hand, if one were to depart and achieve near speed of light travel, they would arrive back here to find that while only a few months have passed, back here on Earth decades would have passed.
Next they say that star travel isn't practical because it would take years to get to the nearest star, Alpha Proxima at four point two light years. If you combine all the facts and theories, it would take about ten months round trip for the astronauts, and about twelve years for the people of Earth to hear back from them.
Knowing that the hearts of people and governments never change, we have to wonder what the socioeconomic implications will be. How would the payroll work? If we get a week's pay every week Earth-time, that would be a week's pay every three hours or so as perceived by the astronaut. The Government would never pay that way.
There are bigger problems than that. You leave when your son is nine years old and come back in two years and have a beer with him, leave again and come back in fifty years to visit him in the old folk's home, and your only thirty seven years old. Star travel will make your personal life interesting and your economic life very complicated.
- GenresScience Fiction
Audible Audio
First published January 1, 2012
4 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 7, 2017
I haven't read a book this bad in a very long time. Where do I begin? Repetitive,dry,uninteresting prose. The kindle version actually had spelling mistakes. Plot holes, inconsistencies and just plain bad writing. I can't believe this thing got published.
September 2, 2025
Did a high schooler write this?
I only stuck with this terribly written book for three reasons: I thought a high school age kid wrote it, it was short, and the tease of a big twist at the end. How did this ever get published?
I only stuck with this terribly written book for three reasons: I thought a high school age kid wrote it, it was short, and the tease of a big twist at the end. How did this ever get published?
October 24, 2024
Listened to as an audiobook, narrated by Matt Doyle
I confused this Red Dwarf with the Red Dwarf series from other authors. I powered through thinking it might just be a happy accident.
But this book feels like a dot-by-dot drawing that makes you trace yourself back a couple of time over the same dots without reasons, and that needs more dots and colours to make it unique or interesting.
The end twist of the book is surprising, but only because I didn’t quite see the point of it.
And by the end of the epilogue, you feel like the author doesn’t understand much of what scientists understand about space.
The narration is agreeable, though.
I confused this Red Dwarf with the Red Dwarf series from other authors. I powered through thinking it might just be a happy accident.
But this book feels like a dot-by-dot drawing that makes you trace yourself back a couple of time over the same dots without reasons, and that needs more dots and colours to make it unique or interesting.
The end twist of the book is surprising, but only because I didn’t quite see the point of it.
And by the end of the epilogue, you feel like the author doesn’t understand much of what scientists understand about space.
The narration is agreeable, though.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews