Solomon's Arrow: A Novel

by J. Dalton Jennings

It’s the mid-twenty-first century. The oceans are rising, the world’s population is growing, terrorist organizations are running rampant, and it has become readily apparent that humanity’s destructive nature is at the heart of the matter.

When all faith in humanity seems lost, a startling proposal is announced: Solomon Chavez, the mysterious son of the world’s first trillionaire, announces that he, backed by a consortium of governments and wealthy donors, will build an interstellar starship—one that will convey a select group of six thousand individuals, all under the age of fifty, with no living relatives, to a recently discovered planet in the Epsilon Eridani star system. His goal is lofty: to build a colony that will ensure the survival of the human race. However, Solomon Chavez has a secret that he doesn’t dare share with the rest of the world.

With the launch date rapidly approaching, great odds must be overcome so that the starship Solomon’s Arrow can fulfill what the human race has dreamed of for millennia: reaching for the stars. The goal is noble, but looming on the horizon are threats nobody could have imagined—ones that may spell the end of all human life and end the universe as we know it.

Filled with action, suspense, and characters that will live on in the imagination, Solomon’s Arrow will leave readers breathless, while at the same time questioning what humanity’s true goals should be: reaching for the stars, or exploring the limits of the human mind?

Genres: Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction

504 pages, Paperback

First published July 7, 2015

About the author

I was born in Arkansas to a military officer and a small town girl. I have lived in Japan, Montgomery, Alabama—in the sixties—and Turkey. I moved back to Arkansas in 1970, and I have lived here ever since. I am divorced with two grown children and two small grandchildren. I was in the Air National Guard for six years, yet bounced around in my civilian jobs for many years, until I became a graphic artist and spent seventeen years in that job. I retired and took up writing, which had been a passion of mine, but I did not devote myself seriously to the craft until after I retired. July 10, 2015, my first novel, Solomon's Arrow, was published. My second novel, The Disassembled Man, was published March 5, 2018.

Reviews

[Audrey P · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting premise but OMG... About the time I made it to the telepathic dolphins I was starting to get concerned. I would still recommend it because it really is a unique premise, just be prepared to roll your eyes from time to time. Oh, and I hope you like blondes.

[Michael Appel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I rarely, if ever, write reviews. But this just has to be an exception.

Let us take my conclusion first: do not waste your time on this book. Period.

I can't remember having read any other book where the characters are flat like here; where conversations and character interactions makes you sigh; where the science is so far out that the genre should be Fantasy, not scifi; where characters are saved by what could be called acts of God so many times.

I never lay down a book when first started, but i was very close this time. One third into the loooooong story i thought that perhaps it would pick up quality on the way. Two thirds through it was pure curiosity that kept me going. And the final 50 pages or so was pure literary induced pain.

It will get one star from me, just because it let me go at the end.

[MJ2 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'll admit it. I did not finish this. I picked it up as one of Audible's free selections and have it a try since. I listened to 4 hours, and it felt like 44. The characters were caracatures at best. I still don't know who the main protagonist is supposed to be. The plot is a grab bag. Description says it's about a migration from earth, but they arrived at their destination right around where I shelved it. After they arrive, they have to contend with other humans, who have basically evolved socially along a different path. Weird, and not what I thought I was going to be reading, so I quit.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was tossed up on the rating, but since it's a first novel, I'm cutting it some slack. The science was a bit Trekky, i.e. science for plot's sake, and a bit too much God Machine action. Otherwise fairly good.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is decent sci-fi. A group of humans set out on the ship Solomon's Arrow to conquer an Earth-like planet due to the poor job we have done in preserving our own planet. The trip is slated to take 10 years, with parts of the crew being in stasis at different times. When they finally arrive at the destination, they find the planet inhabited by humans. Turns out that while they were away, technology advanced so far that we can now travel between two distances in the blink of an eye. But this human "settlement" is much different from the norm the travelers recall from home. The story is interesting and the characters are likable and behave in believable ways. Even though it's tech based, this is not hard science and is easily accessible to regular folks like me.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to sit on the fence for this one. I thought the writing was good and the action moved the book along nicely. On the negative side, I found the story a bit too "out there" for me, and I thought the characters could use a little more TLC. 3/5 on Goodreads.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sure I have a migraine so maybe overly critical but the writing seemed very laboured and heavy handed with its descriptions

Stopped listening partway through chaot2

[Wade Kakoschke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, this was a hard one to rate, so I felt I had to write at least a partial review.

Solomon's Arrow has a pretty interesting and inventive plot with many intriguing ideas.

The writing style is my big issue, as it's wildly inconsistent. The book will be moving along well, then suddenly, there will be a huge chunk of cringey text which feels out of place. There were repeated scenes throughout the book that I feel were intended to be titillating but instead made me feel uncomfortable and repulsed. These scenes disrupted the flow, pulling me out of the story.

I don't think I've ever had a story make me exclaim, "Why is this in the book?" so many times.

I was torn between giving this 2 or 3 stars, but decided that 2 would be disingenuous, as the story itself is actually very well-conceived, shows thought and care by the author, and had concepts that were worth my time. It's unfortunate that the execution floundered so much, as this could have been a genuinely great read.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

ugh. I did not like the way the book ended.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this scientific thriller although got a far feathered in the end.

[David Harcourt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful story

I never knew where this story was going. I was glad that I continued to read it. I was very happy will the ride I went on.

[Manuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable & interesting reading

I enjoyed reading This story was easy to read and to understand the different righting format.
I enjoyed it, I will be looking for the next story.

[Curtis · Rating 2 out of 5]

[Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.]

The blurb had me expecting an epic science fiction story with twists and adventure. Was there some of that? Sure. But man, does this one drag. I knew it was a long one, as it clocks in at over 500 pages, but it really doesn't need to be that long. So many times I found myself just raring to flip ahead to find the next piece of the action. I'd have a hard time recommending this simply because of the length of the text versus the density of the story overall.

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

On the one hand, soooo much potential and such a shiny premise.

On the other hand, even more WTF *and* the worst-written sex scenes I have ever read (and I say this as someone who reads a lot of fanfic). Also the author is completely useless at describing characters.

Still gets two stars because the setup was that interesting, but I am still really not sure what the hell I just read or why I wasted two days of my life on it sooooooo.

[Christopher Gerrib · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author has a complete misunderstanding of how relativity works, making the story as written completely impossible. Add to that turgid prose and way too many coincidences, and you're got yourself a poor book.

[Gary Spake · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an interesting Sci-Fi concept and the twists and character interactions kept me interested. I don't expect the science to be 100% (like it appears some do). We really don't even know how strange space really is..and what is time, anyway? I like "what ifs".