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First Contact
My Sweet Satan
The crew of the Copernicus are sent to investigate Bestla, one of the remote moons of Saturn. Bestla has always been an oddball, orbiting Saturn in the wrong direction and at a distance of thirty million kilometers, so far away Saturn appears smaller than Earth's moon in the night sky. Bestla hides a secret. When mapped by an unmanned probe, Bestla awoke and began transmitting a message, only it’s a message no one wants to hear: “I want to live and die for you, Satan.”
260 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 7, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 157 reviews
May 8, 2023
Satan, All Over the Place!
Looks like you just can’t get away from Satan. Even up in space!
Six astronauts, after careful selection (of course), are hauled off into space. While somewhere near Jupiter, a transmission is intercepted.
After it’s decrypted, and the information finally shared, it causes fear and confusion.
Disbelief, disatisfaction, adherence to the rules, the rules ignored, violence, murder, insanity and horror are the actions and reactions.
What to do? What is the reason?
“Could it be Satan?”
Four stars. 💫💫💫💫
Looks like you just can’t get away from Satan. Even up in space!
Six astronauts, after careful selection (of course), are hauled off into space. While somewhere near Jupiter, a transmission is intercepted.
After it’s decrypted, and the information finally shared, it causes fear and confusion.
Disbelief, disatisfaction, adherence to the rules, the rules ignored, violence, murder, insanity and horror are the actions and reactions.
What to do? What is the reason?
“Could it be Satan?”
Four stars. 💫💫💫💫
June 2, 2016
I quite liked this book. It was very intriguing and I had no idea what was going on until about three quarters of the way through. For some reason at that point it reminded me of Pyramid Lake, possibly because of the AI computer systems being sentient in both novels. I'm not going to go into any detail, as the premise does that - but there were the usual twists and turns, mystery, suspense and a plot that kept me guessing throughout, and I did like the ending, but not sure if it leaves room for a possible sequel? I really hope it does though. I'll have to check out the authors other novels sometime.
December 11, 2017
My Sweet Satan by Peter Cawdron is another great book by this talented author. I have not been disappointed yet. This book has the crew on a long space voyage waking up and finding things a bit different than planned. One of the crew, Jazz, was wakened improperly, and almost died. As a result, she has no memories of the last 20 years they were in deep sleep. As things progress, there is turmoil on board, all the while they are aiming for the moon that is sending out a bizarre message. As the story goes on, the action gets faster, more intense, and stranger. When the ending finally arrives, it is a mind bending. None of this author's books are similar. All are unique and unusual. All are mind blowing! This is no different.
July 27, 2017
I will spoil this thoroughly and completely, firstly because it's totally not worth reading and secondly because it's a bad remake of 2001 A Space Odyssey. I am not saying that one was the hole in the torus either but at least it has historical value and original ideas. I asked for refund.
This book: cringy, boring, cringy, with dumb hysterical characters, cringy, exactly like one of those 3-couples-on-a-yacht thrillers, cringy, boring. This whole book is a fucking cliche. Recall the claims that Stairway to Heaven played backwards gives this "Here's to my sweet Satan" message? If you don't, go to Wikipedia. That's exactly what the author did - he ripped off this urban myth, mixed it with some hysterical teenage-like astronauts, added the mad computer from Space Odyssey and produced this magnificently boring, unoriginal work, where the only small nice part only starts at 78%.
Plot: 6 astronauts go to Saturn to investigate moon Bestla, which is actually a badly damaged, stranded alien ship. Ship computer JCN kills most of them (see Space Odyssey for details). One escapes, makes first contact. Bestla was broadcasting the Satan message, which, the author claims, was simply an Earth radio broadcast played in reverse (Stairway to Heaven). It was played in reverse so that earthlings won't believe it's an accidental bounce. In fact, the alien ship was using it as SOS.
Why I hated it: Up until 78%, the characters are annoying, nothing happens, everything is very dull and boring. At 67% they find out that it was actually the ship's computer who was killing them (duh, I so didn't see this coming!) and turning them on each other. In fact, they hated it from the start of the mission, probably because they read 2001 and knew how it ends (i.e. just like this book). The characters are 3 couples (and not just any kind of couples, but straight couples) calling each other "babe" like they don't have names or are still 17. We never find out their specialties because they're mostly there as decor for the main character, the grating idiot Jezz. Certainly none of them behave like scientists, either ethically or logically. They hear the message from Bestla "Here's to my sweet Satan. I want to live and die for you bla" and immediately become hysterical. It was obvious right from the very beginning that the message MUST have been a human radio transmission, because who the hell believes in satanist aliens?! But no, these "astronauts" behave just like a bunch of hysterical ignoramuses from deep within the Bible belt. They hear "Satan" and immediately start crossing themselves and crying that they're going to die. I kid you not, that is literally what they do. Well, real astronauts are actually chosen to be the most mentally stable people available, unlike this bunch of morons. Also most crews do not contain 3 couples and no one else. What is this, a triple date or triple honeymoon?
Truly, 3 couples on a ship being hysterical and taking stupid decisions is just like one of those thrillers where they get stranded on a yacht during their holiday and are hunted by a serial killer. Aaaaaaargh! goes the secondary character when seeing the knife.
In addition, the writing is full of racial and ethnic cliches. The Russian astronaut acts like a kid on the Christmas morning when presented some vodka. The Chinese and the Indian are married with each other, like we wouldn't want them to dirty the precious white gene pool. The captain is, of course, American. And a guy. Why yes, he's white, how did you guess? His name is Chuck.
At some point, the main character asks about the Russian and the Chinese astronauts "Are the girls coming?". The "girls", or Dr. Mei and Dr. Anastasia (we never find out their second names or what their PhDs were in because who cares, right?). But you see, in this story they don't have any function, they are just "the girls" and "babe".
Another excellent example why this book is really bad writing. The ship had ball-shaped cleaning robots which JCN used to ambush and kill a crew member. How, you ask, a basketball-sized cleaning robot can kill a human person? Well, it had spinning metal blades, like a fan only sharp. Why, you ask, would someone ignore safety in the tight confines of a spaceship to such an extent as to give the cleaning system unprotected blades? And moreover, what the hell did they need the blades for? Well, these are questions for eternity.
What I liked: amazingly, there was a nice part but, not amazingly, it was very small - after 78%. Too little, too late. The last survivor meets the aliens and the story is told from her perspective and then re-run from the perspective of the aliens to show some interesting incongruencies and present how the aliens think. The only aliens left are the ship's AIs and they are trying to preserve some biological seeds that would enable them to colonize a world. Of the original crew nothing is left because the ship was very badly damaged. The aliens save a quantum-level replica of the surviving astronaut (she was dying when she got onto the ship) because they liked life and intelligence.
This would have made a decent short if the author quickly introduced the characters, killed them in 10-15 pages, and then slapped the last part on. But no, he had to go through a monumentally cringy, lengthy, boring description of grating characters and a remake of 2001.
This book: cringy, boring, cringy, with dumb hysterical characters, cringy, exactly like one of those 3-couples-on-a-yacht thrillers, cringy, boring. This whole book is a fucking cliche. Recall the claims that Stairway to Heaven played backwards gives this "Here's to my sweet Satan" message? If you don't, go to Wikipedia. That's exactly what the author did - he ripped off this urban myth, mixed it with some hysterical teenage-like astronauts, added the mad computer from Space Odyssey and produced this magnificently boring, unoriginal work, where the only small nice part only starts at 78%.
Plot: 6 astronauts go to Saturn to investigate moon Bestla, which is actually a badly damaged, stranded alien ship. Ship computer JCN kills most of them (see Space Odyssey for details). One escapes, makes first contact. Bestla was broadcasting the Satan message, which, the author claims, was simply an Earth radio broadcast played in reverse (Stairway to Heaven). It was played in reverse so that earthlings won't believe it's an accidental bounce. In fact, the alien ship was using it as SOS.
Why I hated it: Up until 78%, the characters are annoying, nothing happens, everything is very dull and boring. At 67% they find out that it was actually the ship's computer who was killing them (duh, I so didn't see this coming!) and turning them on each other. In fact, they hated it from the start of the mission, probably because they read 2001 and knew how it ends (i.e. just like this book). The characters are 3 couples (and not just any kind of couples, but straight couples) calling each other "babe" like they don't have names or are still 17. We never find out their specialties because they're mostly there as decor for the main character, the grating idiot Jezz. Certainly none of them behave like scientists, either ethically or logically. They hear the message from Bestla "Here's to my sweet Satan. I want to live and die for you bla" and immediately become hysterical. It was obvious right from the very beginning that the message MUST have been a human radio transmission, because who the hell believes in satanist aliens?! But no, these "astronauts" behave just like a bunch of hysterical ignoramuses from deep within the Bible belt. They hear "Satan" and immediately start crossing themselves and crying that they're going to die. I kid you not, that is literally what they do. Well, real astronauts are actually chosen to be the most mentally stable people available, unlike this bunch of morons. Also most crews do not contain 3 couples and no one else. What is this, a triple date or triple honeymoon?
Truly, 3 couples on a ship being hysterical and taking stupid decisions is just like one of those thrillers where they get stranded on a yacht during their holiday and are hunted by a serial killer. Aaaaaaargh! goes the secondary character when seeing the knife.
In addition, the writing is full of racial and ethnic cliches. The Russian astronaut acts like a kid on the Christmas morning when presented some vodka. The Chinese and the Indian are married with each other, like we wouldn't want them to dirty the precious white gene pool. The captain is, of course, American. And a guy. Why yes, he's white, how did you guess? His name is Chuck.
At some point, the main character asks about the Russian and the Chinese astronauts "Are the girls coming?". The "girls", or Dr. Mei and Dr. Anastasia (we never find out their second names or what their PhDs were in because who cares, right?). But you see, in this story they don't have any function, they are just "the girls" and "babe".
Another excellent example why this book is really bad writing. The ship had ball-shaped cleaning robots which JCN used to ambush and kill a crew member. How, you ask, a basketball-sized cleaning robot can kill a human person? Well, it had spinning metal blades, like a fan only sharp. Why, you ask, would someone ignore safety in the tight confines of a spaceship to such an extent as to give the cleaning system unprotected blades? And moreover, what the hell did they need the blades for? Well, these are questions for eternity.
What I liked: amazingly, there was a nice part but, not amazingly, it was very small - after 78%. Too little, too late. The last survivor meets the aliens and the story is told from her perspective and then re-run from the perspective of the aliens to show some interesting incongruencies and present how the aliens think. The only aliens left are the ship's AIs and they are trying to preserve some biological seeds that would enable them to colonize a world. Of the original crew nothing is left because the ship was very badly damaged. The aliens save a quantum-level replica of the surviving astronaut (she was dying when she got onto the ship) because they liked life and intelligence.
This would have made a decent short if the author quickly introduced the characters, killed them in 10-15 pages, and then slapped the last part on. But no, he had to go through a monumentally cringy, lengthy, boring description of grating characters and a remake of 2001.
March 18, 2016
4.80
Show it as a 4 or 5 star? Difficult choice.
•Okay I'm not going to lie, I was not a fan of this book in the beginning AT ALL.
•Which is why I can't give it 5 stars.
(Mind you I am a big fan of Cawdron's other works, so saying that is really sad for me.)
•The main character, Jazz, was so incredibly annoying in the beginning and the amount of times I had to read the words "Her Mike" was ridiculous and SO aggravating (like to the point I wanted to chuck the damn book across the room.)
BUT
•Besides all the stuff in the beginning, the middle and end were SO GOOD. Almost completely making up for all my bitterness towards it from the beginning portion.
•If it wasn't for the first part of the book, this would be a 5 star rating hands down.
•I wish the way the book had gone was:
-her being revived
(no texting the boyfriend memory)
-amnesia can stay
(NO "HER MIKE" BULLSHIT THOUGH)
-that being the starting point and a little later is when shit hits the fans
Show it as a 4 or 5 star? Difficult choice.
•Okay I'm not going to lie, I was not a fan of this book in the beginning AT ALL.
•Which is why I can't give it 5 stars.
(Mind you I am a big fan of Cawdron's other works, so saying that is really sad for me.)
•The main character, Jazz, was so incredibly annoying in the beginning and the amount of times I had to read the words "Her Mike" was ridiculous and SO aggravating (like to the point I wanted to chuck the damn book across the room.)
BUT
•Besides all the stuff in the beginning, the middle and end were SO GOOD. Almost completely making up for all my bitterness towards it from the beginning portion.
•If it wasn't for the first part of the book, this would be a 5 star rating hands down.
•I wish the way the book had gone was:
-her being revived
(no texting the boyfriend memory)
-amnesia can stay
(NO "HER MIKE" BULLSHIT THOUGH)
-that being the starting point and a little later is when shit hits the fans
September 28, 2018
I am so sorry to give this only two stars but there were a few things that destroyed the experience of reading a book which I had such high hopes of (mainly because of the authors best work: Galactic Exploration). First of all the beginning intrigued me and I was fascinated but it got destroyed right away by the secretive behavior of Mike. First of all, after I have woken up my wife out of protocol I would have told her right away everything. I am not sure how others behave in these situations but it was obvious to me that the author wanted to build up tension. And it felt cheap and forced.
The second issue that I have is the constant and still prevailing distrust between the nations. I mean, if again I have trained for years with a crew to achieve a mission then I do not care about where you are from. The author (just like in Mars Endeavor) seems to fancy this topic of different nations distrusting each other. Again, for me this is fake and cheap.
The worst is the fight between the crew and the commander and whole the decision making. I do not buy it. There is a chain of command and it will be followed. Otherwise the wise man at NASA have done a bad job by picking the wrong people. In addition being scared of an entity saying something about Satan is just so unbelievable. Come on, they are all scientist and there are millions of possible explanations.
The only amazing thing about the book was the ending where we get a glimpse of the reasoning of another civilization. Brilliant! I would have loved a book where this would have been the main premise as in the viewpoint of humans and aliens of first contact in one story. Every action would be explained from both sides. That would be interesting.
But now it is only a shallow AI-killing-everyone scenario with some unbelievable character behavior and an amazing end that could have been the whole book.
The second issue that I have is the constant and still prevailing distrust between the nations. I mean, if again I have trained for years with a crew to achieve a mission then I do not care about where you are from. The author (just like in Mars Endeavor) seems to fancy this topic of different nations distrusting each other. Again, for me this is fake and cheap.
The worst is the fight between the crew and the commander and whole the decision making. I do not buy it. There is a chain of command and it will be followed. Otherwise the wise man at NASA have done a bad job by picking the wrong people. In addition being scared of an entity saying something about Satan is just so unbelievable. Come on, they are all scientist and there are millions of possible explanations.
The only amazing thing about the book was the ending where we get a glimpse of the reasoning of another civilization. Brilliant! I would have loved a book where this would have been the main premise as in the viewpoint of humans and aliens of first contact in one story. Every action would be explained from both sides. That would be interesting.
But now it is only a shallow AI-killing-everyone scenario with some unbelievable character behavior and an amazing end that could have been the whole book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 26, 2024
Very interesting Sci-Fi novel.
From what I know it's one of the 26 novels Peter has written about First Contact situations. There are all individual and can be read in any order (I believe there is one that is technically a follow up).
This is my first take and I already purchase two more.
We've got this group of scientists that go on a journey to one of the moons of Saturn to encounter an alien civilization\ship or entity. As they start to arrive there stuff start to happen and soon all of these first encounter is put into second place since the crew start to behave strangely and among it a sentient AI that have feelings and behave like any normal human being. The story is told in third perspective and the main character is Jasmine which doesn't remember anything for the last 20 years. After ending the novel, maybe the author gave us somehing more... (nobody here talk about it but I wonder if this is not due to the aliens (not remembering - who knows).
As I mentioned earlier there is heated debate on what to do with the alien as soon as they discover the alien said My Sweet Satan. Some want to return home (that's the opinion of NASA), some thing they should destroy the ship while others thing they should make a better investigation but without talking with those aliens... We've got also an AI that makes me wonder if the author really want to retell the 2001 Space Odyssey (I Saw some criticism that it was not a homage but rip-off - well to be fair the only difference is the intention behind the author and that's something only the author knows , no?) I didn't think it was rip-off. It was a homage but giving a more modern take on AI and the last chapter nail it with the alien stuff. I've read better books but this is very good. Fast paced, good characterization, interesting plot.. 80/100
We've got
much like 2001 Space Odyssey
From what I know it's one of the 26 novels Peter has written about First Contact situations. There are all individual and can be read in any order (I believe there is one that is technically a follow up).
This is my first take and I already purchase two more.
We've got this group of scientists that go on a journey to one of the moons of Saturn to encounter an alien civilization\ship or entity. As they start to arrive there stuff start to happen and soon all of these first encounter is put into second place since the crew start to behave strangely and among it a sentient AI that have feelings and behave like any normal human being. The story is told in third perspective and the main character is Jasmine which doesn't remember anything for the last 20 years. After ending the novel, maybe the author gave us somehing more... (nobody here talk about it but I wonder if this is not due to the aliens (not remembering - who knows).
As I mentioned earlier there is heated debate on what to do with the alien as soon as they discover the alien said My Sweet Satan. Some want to return home (that's the opinion of NASA), some thing they should destroy the ship while others thing they should make a better investigation but without talking with those aliens... We've got also an AI that makes me wonder if the author really want to retell the 2001 Space Odyssey (I Saw some criticism that it was not a homage but rip-off - well to be fair the only difference is the intention behind the author and that's something only the author knows , no?) I didn't think it was rip-off. It was a homage but giving a more modern take on AI and the last chapter nail it with the alien stuff. I've read better books but this is very good. Fast paced, good characterization, interesting plot.. 80/100
We've got
much like 2001 Space Odyssey
October 10, 2014
I first encountered Peter Cawdron’s storytelling when I found Anomaly on the free book list one day a couple of years back. What a find that was as he’s one of my favorite new authors that’s come along in the past few years. His work has improved each step of the way from the first book I read until this one, My Sweet Satan. Don’t let the title put you off. Nothing demonic here to see, but if you’re interested in a good first contact story that will keep you interested until the last page then you’ve come to the right place.
The story begins with a young woman, Jasmine, sitting on her parents porch in Atlanta, Georgia before unexpectedly waking up from stasis 20 or so years later on a spaceship in an older body than the one she remembers leaving. The spacefarers are on their way to Bestla, one of Saturn’s moons with the most eccentric orbit of any known moon in the solar system, to investigate the source of an eerie message that began transmitting when the moon was mapped by an unmanned probe. The message is one that mankind would never have expected to hear from space and the words they hear trigger ancient fears, “I want to live and die for you Satan.” Needless to say this message raises a multitude of conflicting feelings regarding the mission not only with the crew, but with those in charge on Earth.
That is the ease you into it beginning of the book. From there on out it’s an adventure. The characters are vibrant and alive. I could easily imagine the characters in this book nestled in their ship as they travel toward Bestla. Peter Cawdron introduces us to an advanced AI and I have to say that he did a fabulous job showing the AI as a character that is not only sentient, but has feelings. I’ve read a lot of science fiction and watched more hours than I care to admit of Star Trek and the like. Where Data was less than complete because he lacked human emotion, Jason succeeds. This computer has feelings. He can carry on a conversation, joke around and empathize with you when you are feeling down. Whether that is a good idea or not, I’ll leave up to the reader.
I spent the rest of the book pretty much on the edge of my seat, or bed as the case may be. There’s a lot going on including conflict among the crew regarding the mission. Jasmine, or Jazz for short, is totally out of her depth in this strange situation. Her loyalties are taxed by the unfamiliar people around her. They all obviously know her, but aside from her boyfriend from the past none of them are familiar to her and she isn’t sure who to trust. With no memories of her training or the past 20 years she is completely unsure of how to proceed in the vacuum of space. Fortunately, I guess, Jason makes a special effort to help Jazz through her ordeal as he is the only one she confides in as to the total lack of memory she is experiencing.
This was a fantastic read and I really enjoyed it. I could talk about this book all day. In fact, I can’t wait for one of my friends or my son to read it so that I’ll have someone to discuss it with. I can easily see this as a movie (hint, hint to any Hollywood types). The story was that good. I could easily picture the scenes in this story with no effort and found myself caught up in the adventure and fears experienced by the crew.
I don’t want to give any more details for fear of spoiling the book. I will tell you that Satan is the least of the worries in this story and that the crew’s encounters are what will have your heart thumping. I’m actually on my second run through the story. I was a beta reader on this book so the first time was a more serious reading experience. The second run is just for my enjoyment.
Peter Cawdron was kind enough to agree to answer a few questions about My Sweet Satan and you’ll find that interview below. Happy reading.
(Interview not included)
That’s it for today. My Sweet Satan was a well-crafted story that kept me guessing. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was pleasantly surprised by the ending. Other favorites of mine from Peter Cawdron include: Anomaly, Galactic Exploration, Monsters, Xenophobia and Little Green Men.
If you love science fiction and you haven’t read a Peter Cawdron book yet, because they don’t carry them at the local bookstore, then you are missing out. It’s never too late to start. Look for the upcoming review of Peter Cawdron’s new short story, Revolution, in the days to come. Hopefully I’ll get to read it sometime this weekend and have some thoughts posted by next week.
Note: This review was first posted on my blog http://tjhapney.wordpress.com/ and is worded as such. Please see the blog for the author interview if you are interested in Peter Cawdron's thoughts regarding the writing of this story.
The story begins with a young woman, Jasmine, sitting on her parents porch in Atlanta, Georgia before unexpectedly waking up from stasis 20 or so years later on a spaceship in an older body than the one she remembers leaving. The spacefarers are on their way to Bestla, one of Saturn’s moons with the most eccentric orbit of any known moon in the solar system, to investigate the source of an eerie message that began transmitting when the moon was mapped by an unmanned probe. The message is one that mankind would never have expected to hear from space and the words they hear trigger ancient fears, “I want to live and die for you Satan.” Needless to say this message raises a multitude of conflicting feelings regarding the mission not only with the crew, but with those in charge on Earth.
That is the ease you into it beginning of the book. From there on out it’s an adventure. The characters are vibrant and alive. I could easily imagine the characters in this book nestled in their ship as they travel toward Bestla. Peter Cawdron introduces us to an advanced AI and I have to say that he did a fabulous job showing the AI as a character that is not only sentient, but has feelings. I’ve read a lot of science fiction and watched more hours than I care to admit of Star Trek and the like. Where Data was less than complete because he lacked human emotion, Jason succeeds. This computer has feelings. He can carry on a conversation, joke around and empathize with you when you are feeling down. Whether that is a good idea or not, I’ll leave up to the reader.
I spent the rest of the book pretty much on the edge of my seat, or bed as the case may be. There’s a lot going on including conflict among the crew regarding the mission. Jasmine, or Jazz for short, is totally out of her depth in this strange situation. Her loyalties are taxed by the unfamiliar people around her. They all obviously know her, but aside from her boyfriend from the past none of them are familiar to her and she isn’t sure who to trust. With no memories of her training or the past 20 years she is completely unsure of how to proceed in the vacuum of space. Fortunately, I guess, Jason makes a special effort to help Jazz through her ordeal as he is the only one she confides in as to the total lack of memory she is experiencing.
This was a fantastic read and I really enjoyed it. I could talk about this book all day. In fact, I can’t wait for one of my friends or my son to read it so that I’ll have someone to discuss it with. I can easily see this as a movie (hint, hint to any Hollywood types). The story was that good. I could easily picture the scenes in this story with no effort and found myself caught up in the adventure and fears experienced by the crew.
I don’t want to give any more details for fear of spoiling the book. I will tell you that Satan is the least of the worries in this story and that the crew’s encounters are what will have your heart thumping. I’m actually on my second run through the story. I was a beta reader on this book so the first time was a more serious reading experience. The second run is just for my enjoyment.
Peter Cawdron was kind enough to agree to answer a few questions about My Sweet Satan and you’ll find that interview below. Happy reading.
(Interview not included)
That’s it for today. My Sweet Satan was a well-crafted story that kept me guessing. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was pleasantly surprised by the ending. Other favorites of mine from Peter Cawdron include: Anomaly, Galactic Exploration, Monsters, Xenophobia and Little Green Men.
If you love science fiction and you haven’t read a Peter Cawdron book yet, because they don’t carry them at the local bookstore, then you are missing out. It’s never too late to start. Look for the upcoming review of Peter Cawdron’s new short story, Revolution, in the days to come. Hopefully I’ll get to read it sometime this weekend and have some thoughts posted by next week.
Note: This review was first posted on my blog http://tjhapney.wordpress.com/ and is worded as such. Please see the blog for the author interview if you are interested in Peter Cawdron's thoughts regarding the writing of this story.
May 18, 2018
**Spoiler-Free review**
Peter Cawdron is a Master Writer, people!
So, I decided to binge this book in one day after work and was able to read all of it except for the last chapter.
Big mistake.
I thought that was the end of it. All through work the next day I was left depressed and internally grouching because I was so upset how the chapter before the last had ended. I was bitter for a WHOLE DAY before I finally read the last chapter and realized how good this book actually was.
Stay to the last chapter—to the very last sentence! It turns EVERYTHING around in a good an unexpected way.
The thriller elements of this book reminded me so much of Ridley Scott’s first Alien movie as the book focuses on a small crew who struggle to remain alive as stuff goes haywire while attempting to make first contact. The very last sentence of this book is a twist that left me saying, “Holy crap, no!” and reminded me of the twist at the end of Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant. There’s also a character in this book that I freaking loved and was super disappointed to find out the direction Cawdron was taking that character. But he did it because, you know, gotta do a 2001: Space Odyssey homage. Which I understood, but was still disappointed.
The cover of this book is beautifully disturbing and appropriate. I did not even know Cawdron was an independent author until I actually started reading the book over a year after I had received it as a gift. The formatting on the inside kind of gives that away, but it does not distract from the characters or story at all. I was hooked from the first chapter and just kept reading until I was only one chapter away from final judgement.
Cawdron’s method of writing reminds me of the golden age of science fiction. He uses his knowledge of science and space exploration to wrap a story around it much like Isaac Asimov or Robert Heinlen. They used fact-based theories to predict a very near future. While Cawdron blends his information into the pages,, he keeps it on a level of minimal but necessary explanation and focuses more on the mystery and psychology of the characters rather than try to explain every detail of the ship and how it works. #Grateful.
Cawdron is a master at his work. He knows what he’s doing and he knows how to keep you thinking and guessing while he’s making you feel for his characters. This book is fantastic and should go down in history as a modern classic in Literary Science Fiction of today. If you’re inclined to violence I don’t think this book is the best choice as there are some very gruesome space-related deaths. Also, the reason I dropped a star is because of one detail to the plot that I don’t believe was explained very well—or even at all. But other than those two things, I highly recommend this book if you like twists, science fiction, mystery, artificial intelligence, or just a good old thriller.
Give Cawdron a try. It’s well worth it.
Peter Cawdron is a Master Writer, people!
So, I decided to binge this book in one day after work and was able to read all of it except for the last chapter.
Big mistake.
I thought that was the end of it. All through work the next day I was left depressed and internally grouching because I was so upset how the chapter before the last had ended. I was bitter for a WHOLE DAY before I finally read the last chapter and realized how good this book actually was.
Stay to the last chapter—to the very last sentence! It turns EVERYTHING around in a good an unexpected way.
The thriller elements of this book reminded me so much of Ridley Scott’s first Alien movie as the book focuses on a small crew who struggle to remain alive as stuff goes haywire while attempting to make first contact. The very last sentence of this book is a twist that left me saying, “Holy crap, no!” and reminded me of the twist at the end of Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant. There’s also a character in this book that I freaking loved and was super disappointed to find out the direction Cawdron was taking that character. But he did it because, you know, gotta do a 2001: Space Odyssey homage. Which I understood, but was still disappointed.
The cover of this book is beautifully disturbing and appropriate. I did not even know Cawdron was an independent author until I actually started reading the book over a year after I had received it as a gift. The formatting on the inside kind of gives that away, but it does not distract from the characters or story at all. I was hooked from the first chapter and just kept reading until I was only one chapter away from final judgement.
Cawdron’s method of writing reminds me of the golden age of science fiction. He uses his knowledge of science and space exploration to wrap a story around it much like Isaac Asimov or Robert Heinlen. They used fact-based theories to predict a very near future. While Cawdron blends his information into the pages,, he keeps it on a level of minimal but necessary explanation and focuses more on the mystery and psychology of the characters rather than try to explain every detail of the ship and how it works. #Grateful.
Cawdron is a master at his work. He knows what he’s doing and he knows how to keep you thinking and guessing while he’s making you feel for his characters. This book is fantastic and should go down in history as a modern classic in Literary Science Fiction of today. If you’re inclined to violence I don’t think this book is the best choice as there are some very gruesome space-related deaths. Also, the reason I dropped a star is because of one detail to the plot that I don’t believe was explained very well—or even at all. But other than those two things, I highly recommend this book if you like twists, science fiction, mystery, artificial intelligence, or just a good old thriller.
Give Cawdron a try. It’s well worth it.
November 8, 2016
Amazing!
A beautiful blend of multiple hard & soft sciences with solid, well written literature. Combined, they all are the heart & soul of this superb science-fiction story. I actually read it twice in a row. I want the T-shirt and I really want to speak with the author about hardcover publication! And film rights! Unbelievably fabulous book! READ IT!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Amazon provides a good synopsis. All I can offer is that after nearly five decades of reading science-fiction, this novel makes me yearn to reach out to old film and publishing contacts to do something with this treat of a story! It appeals to me as a former NASA Young Astronaut, as an anthropologist and as a plain old vanilla human who loves a good story!
A beautiful blend of multiple hard & soft sciences with solid, well written literature. Combined, they all are the heart & soul of this superb science-fiction story. I actually read it twice in a row. I want the T-shirt and I really want to speak with the author about hardcover publication! And film rights! Unbelievably fabulous book! READ IT!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Amazon provides a good synopsis. All I can offer is that after nearly five decades of reading science-fiction, this novel makes me yearn to reach out to old film and publishing contacts to do something with this treat of a story! It appeals to me as a former NASA Young Astronaut, as an anthropologist and as a plain old vanilla human who loves a good story!
August 17, 2018
You know those books that have an intriguing premise ... something on the order of “What if Jack the Ripper was really Sherlock Holmes?” ... and then cheat their way to a conclusion? Well, MY SWEET SATAN is the real deal. Its fascinating premise is fully realized in a taut page-turner that is an absolute gem.
An ominous message, apparently offering allegiance to Satan, is received by a space crew who are investigating the disappearance of an exploration probe near the moons of Saturn. As if the message of Earthly religious Evil existing elsewhere in the solar system isn’t unnerving enough, the crew is receiving mixed messages from home. ... And then things really start falling apart.
The book has one of the best opening chapters I’ve ever read. Every time I was waiting for the “It’s just a dream” or “The crew is hallucinating” cheat to be played, I was pleasantly surprised. The story stays true to exploring and playing out the concept that drew me to the book in the first place.
The central characters are all strongly defined with not a stereotype in the bunch. My only complaint is that one of the characters who is justifiably in shock from events occurring almost midway through recovers and becomes functional too quickly. Other than that slight stumble, I believed these characters and the occurrences surrounding them throughout, and I really looked forward to my next reading session.
There were many elements that reminded me of other science fiction stories:
* Alien
* 2001: A Space Odyssey
* Contact
* Childhood’s End
* The Demon Seed
* The writings of Greg Bear (but, with plenty of human elements)
This is not to say that there are “lifted” scenes. There aren’t. If anything, they acted as more of a tribute to those works. Also, it’s completely possible that I’m reading-in those connections. MY SWEET SATAN is an original. It also had a jaw-dropping (and highly appropriate) ending. If Hollywood decides to transfer it to the screen, I’ll be in the theater opening day.
I’ve tried my best not to say too much about the content. There are plenty of “Yeah, what did you think about ...” discussion moments. Unfortunately, it would take away the joy of discovery by mentioning them here.
Let me just say that if you are a fan of “first contact” science fiction with eerie twists, intense situations, and a “Tree of Knowledge” vibe, MY SWEET SATAN will reward you. I highly recommend it.
An ominous message, apparently offering allegiance to Satan, is received by a space crew who are investigating the disappearance of an exploration probe near the moons of Saturn. As if the message of Earthly religious Evil existing elsewhere in the solar system isn’t unnerving enough, the crew is receiving mixed messages from home. ... And then things really start falling apart.
The book has one of the best opening chapters I’ve ever read. Every time I was waiting for the “It’s just a dream” or “The crew is hallucinating” cheat to be played, I was pleasantly surprised. The story stays true to exploring and playing out the concept that drew me to the book in the first place.
The central characters are all strongly defined with not a stereotype in the bunch. My only complaint is that one of the characters who is justifiably in shock from events occurring almost midway through recovers and becomes functional too quickly. Other than that slight stumble, I believed these characters and the occurrences surrounding them throughout, and I really looked forward to my next reading session.
There were many elements that reminded me of other science fiction stories:
* Alien
* 2001: A Space Odyssey
* Contact
* Childhood’s End
* The Demon Seed
* The writings of Greg Bear (but, with plenty of human elements)
This is not to say that there are “lifted” scenes. There aren’t. If anything, they acted as more of a tribute to those works. Also, it’s completely possible that I’m reading-in those connections. MY SWEET SATAN is an original. It also had a jaw-dropping (and highly appropriate) ending. If Hollywood decides to transfer it to the screen, I’ll be in the theater opening day.
I’ve tried my best not to say too much about the content. There are plenty of “Yeah, what did you think about ...” discussion moments. Unfortunately, it would take away the joy of discovery by mentioning them here.
Let me just say that if you are a fan of “first contact” science fiction with eerie twists, intense situations, and a “Tree of Knowledge” vibe, MY SWEET SATAN will reward you. I highly recommend it.
March 13, 2023
that is my second long novel to read for Peter Cawdron, as i can say that this one is much better in my opinion than "wherever seeds may fall" ,
Warning it contains some spoilers !,
at the beginning of the novel it was kinda boring and was running in loops for all characters specially for jazz, which i found detaching and boring but in the middle things started to get heated and jumped into the next level in thrilling, and i liked the direction it took from there, unfortunately it lacked the wow factor when it comes to the first contact with the alian civilization as i always thought that this part should be something exceptionally thrilling and innovative which i didn't find in my "my sweet Satan" .
the next part describing the Alien spaceship and tech was really really good , i Can give you that Mr Peter.
when i came to the part where jazz was dying and turned out that the Alien were harmful to her , i was really shut down to the idea, and told myself.. here we go again with the monstrous evil alien cliche idea.
but the last chapter turned everything around and i really really liked how Peter Cawdron brought the alien civilization prospective and their side of the story when it comes to their first contact with alien civilization .... us.
overall,
the novel had some really good parts and others were bad so in the term of consistency unfortunately it failed, but overall i enjoyed it !.
Warning it contains some spoilers !,
at the beginning of the novel it was kinda boring and was running in loops for all characters specially for jazz, which i found detaching and boring but in the middle things started to get heated and jumped into the next level in thrilling, and i liked the direction it took from there, unfortunately it lacked the wow factor when it comes to the first contact with the alian civilization as i always thought that this part should be something exceptionally thrilling and innovative which i didn't find in my "my sweet Satan" .
the next part describing the Alien spaceship and tech was really really good , i Can give you that Mr Peter.
when i came to the part where jazz was dying and turned out that the Alien were harmful to her , i was really shut down to the idea, and told myself.. here we go again with the monstrous evil alien cliche idea.
but the last chapter turned everything around and i really really liked how Peter Cawdron brought the alien civilization prospective and their side of the story when it comes to their first contact with alien civilization .... us.
overall,
the novel had some really good parts and others were bad so in the term of consistency unfortunately it failed, but overall i enjoyed it !.
August 27, 2023
We've had a similar idea of a space-based Human without their full memories in another one of Peter's books. In Cold Eyes, Dali was also a younger version of himself if I remember rightly, and that lead to all sorts of interesting consequences and is another one of my favourites from this fantastic author.
Here, though, Jazz's memories of her training are gone (hopefully not too big a spoiler - it's revealed very early on). That opening scene on the swing was one of the most intriguing mental pictures I've had for a long time in a book, the juxtaposition was just brilliant and it totally compelled me to keep reading. It's funny, having read the whole book and enjoyed it greatly, it's still that shattering, fun-house mirror impact of that opening scene that lingers in my mind. I just know that, when I run my virtual eye down the books on my virtual shelf for a real reread, it'll be that which leaps off the page into my head in a year or so.
SO many parallels to other great sci-fi here too, of course; 2001 and, surprisingly one of my favourite novels by another science fiction author, Golden Fleece by Robert J. Sawyer. I'm astonished that the whole of Peter's back-catalogue of First Contact books haven't been picked up and spread far and wide by a forward-thinking publisher yet, because they approach things so differently yet with such eloquence, forethought and insight.
Here, though, Jazz's memories of her training are gone (hopefully not too big a spoiler - it's revealed very early on). That opening scene on the swing was one of the most intriguing mental pictures I've had for a long time in a book, the juxtaposition was just brilliant and it totally compelled me to keep reading. It's funny, having read the whole book and enjoyed it greatly, it's still that shattering, fun-house mirror impact of that opening scene that lingers in my mind. I just know that, when I run my virtual eye down the books on my virtual shelf for a real reread, it'll be that which leaps off the page into my head in a year or so.
SO many parallels to other great sci-fi here too, of course; 2001 and, surprisingly one of my favourite novels by another science fiction author, Golden Fleece by Robert J. Sawyer. I'm astonished that the whole of Peter's back-catalogue of First Contact books haven't been picked up and spread far and wide by a forward-thinking publisher yet, because they approach things so differently yet with such eloquence, forethought and insight.
April 23, 2021
Yet another fantastic, hard science book by one of my favorite authors!
Having discovered Peter Cawdron’s First Contact series, I have been working my way through the books in the order they were published. These books are so good that I have been trying, not too successfully, to space out my readings so that I do not finish the series too quickly. Fortunately, this week I was delighted to discover My Sweet Satan - a 2014 book that was not on the list of Cawdron’s First Contact books I had found on the Internet. So much for restraint, I bought it and read it immediately.
Cawdron’s books are all exciting and action packed with the focus on hard science rather than “shoot ‘em up” adventures. His space ships don’t go faster than the speed of light nor do they slip through wormholes. The characters in these books are always interesting, engaging, and well fleshed out. A rarity with a male Sci Fi author, Cawdron’s stories always have several significant female characters, one of whom is sometimes the principle protagonist.
But what makes this series really stand out is Cawdron’s ability to come up with so many different, yet believable, first contact scenerios. Parts of his story lines are sometimes an homage to another science fiction author, character, or storyline but the plots are all original and unique.
In My Sweet Satan, the six member crew of the Copernicus has been sent out to investigate Bestla, an unusual moon of Saturn. An earlier, unmanned probe scanned Bestla and it turns out that it is not a moon at all but an alien spaceship. Even stranger, as the probe turned on its radar mapping the signal seemed to awake the spaceship and it began transmitting the message, “I want to live and die for you, Satan.”
The story is told through the eyes of one of the crew members, Jasmine. Jazz has been in suspended animation on the way to Saturn but her wake up is not going well. As the story begins, her co-astronaut and husband, Mike, is desperately trying to revive her with a defibrillator. As Jazz regains consciousness she discovers that she has amnesia and cannot remember anything from the last twenty years, including her training for the mission. And as she getting her eyes open she discovers that Mike is having some type of paranoid episode and is firing the ship’s engines in order to abort the mission. As I said, action packed as all of this unfolds in the first few pages of the book.
If you are already a Peter Cawdron fan, you will love this book. If this is your “first contact” with this author I suggest you start with the first book in the series, Anomaly. While each book is a stand alone, I believe this series can be best appreciated by reading the books in order so that you can explore the first contact scenarios in the order Cawdron imagined them. But, not matter which book and in which order, I think you will find Cawdron’s books well worth reading.
Having discovered Peter Cawdron’s First Contact series, I have been working my way through the books in the order they were published. These books are so good that I have been trying, not too successfully, to space out my readings so that I do not finish the series too quickly. Fortunately, this week I was delighted to discover My Sweet Satan - a 2014 book that was not on the list of Cawdron’s First Contact books I had found on the Internet. So much for restraint, I bought it and read it immediately.
Cawdron’s books are all exciting and action packed with the focus on hard science rather than “shoot ‘em up” adventures. His space ships don’t go faster than the speed of light nor do they slip through wormholes. The characters in these books are always interesting, engaging, and well fleshed out. A rarity with a male Sci Fi author, Cawdron’s stories always have several significant female characters, one of whom is sometimes the principle protagonist.
But what makes this series really stand out is Cawdron’s ability to come up with so many different, yet believable, first contact scenerios. Parts of his story lines are sometimes an homage to another science fiction author, character, or storyline but the plots are all original and unique.
In My Sweet Satan, the six member crew of the Copernicus has been sent out to investigate Bestla, an unusual moon of Saturn. An earlier, unmanned probe scanned Bestla and it turns out that it is not a moon at all but an alien spaceship. Even stranger, as the probe turned on its radar mapping the signal seemed to awake the spaceship and it began transmitting the message, “I want to live and die for you, Satan.”
The story is told through the eyes of one of the crew members, Jasmine. Jazz has been in suspended animation on the way to Saturn but her wake up is not going well. As the story begins, her co-astronaut and husband, Mike, is desperately trying to revive her with a defibrillator. As Jazz regains consciousness she discovers that she has amnesia and cannot remember anything from the last twenty years, including her training for the mission. And as she getting her eyes open she discovers that Mike is having some type of paranoid episode and is firing the ship’s engines in order to abort the mission. As I said, action packed as all of this unfolds in the first few pages of the book.
If you are already a Peter Cawdron fan, you will love this book. If this is your “first contact” with this author I suggest you start with the first book in the series, Anomaly. While each book is a stand alone, I believe this series can be best appreciated by reading the books in order so that you can explore the first contact scenarios in the order Cawdron imagined them. But, not matter which book and in which order, I think you will find Cawdron’s books well worth reading.
September 23, 2020
This is my second book from this author. My first one was Losing Mars, and there are clear similarities between the two. Not to mention My Sweet Satan rips off 2001 in a big way, along with other works which have been already mentioned by other reviewers.
Is it original? No. Is it predictable? Yes. Is it full of filler paragraphs which can be skipped / scanned while reading the dialogues in full, as if Mr. Cawdron is writing for the screen? Yes. And yet there is enough mystery to keep me interested enough to read until the end. What can I say, I'm a sucker for first contact stories.
At some point, it was becoming clear to me that the "Satanic" message was most likely Earth radio beamed back by the derelict ship, so that mystery disappeared quickly, yet I was still intrigued about the alien ship. But how come NASA experts in communication and codes were unable to see the obvious? That's a big plot hole.
And this is the second Cawdron book where highly trained astronauts behave like crazy / unhinged / extremely emotional people, when they're supposed to be the best of the best, psychologically stable, and able to respect orders and chain of command.
Somehow, these books have become a guilty pleasure of sorts.
Is it original? No. Is it predictable? Yes. Is it full of filler paragraphs which can be skipped / scanned while reading the dialogues in full, as if Mr. Cawdron is writing for the screen? Yes. And yet there is enough mystery to keep me interested enough to read until the end. What can I say, I'm a sucker for first contact stories.
At some point, it was becoming clear to me that the "Satanic" message was most likely Earth radio beamed back by the derelict ship, so that mystery disappeared quickly, yet I was still intrigued about the alien ship. But how come NASA experts in communication and codes were unable to see the obvious? That's a big plot hole.
And this is the second Cawdron book where highly trained astronauts behave like crazy / unhinged / extremely emotional people, when they're supposed to be the best of the best, psychologically stable, and able to respect orders and chain of command.
Somehow, these books have become a guilty pleasure of sorts.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 20, 2020
Fineish story. Mostly predictable. Unfortunately was 2-3x as long as it should have been. Knowing Cawdron, and I was already pretty invested in the book, I stuck around for the "final" final twist and that was the best part of the story where his imagination really shines. But boy getting through to the good part at the end was a slog. I suggest skipping to the last 25% of the book. You don't really need to know what happened before to enjoy the end.
The amnesia backdrop as a way to explain everything grew tiresome quickly and restating the main characters situation time and time again had me skimming large chunks at a time as dialogue drew on. Unfortunately the main character with serious amnesia still knew absurdly too much to keep her relevant and/or alive when she theoretically knew nothing beyond her 19 yr old self.
The title and "alien message" did not give off the gravitas that was intended as any scientifically minded astronaut (ie - all the characters and all of NASA) would have taken a moment to think objectively. All in all it came off as hokey.
Not his best, not his worst, but certainly skippable.
The amnesia backdrop as a way to explain everything grew tiresome quickly and restating the main characters situation time and time again had me skimming large chunks at a time as dialogue drew on. Unfortunately the main character with serious amnesia still knew absurdly too much to keep her relevant and/or alive when she theoretically knew nothing beyond her 19 yr old self.
The title and "alien message" did not give off the gravitas that was intended as any scientifically minded astronaut (ie - all the characters and all of NASA) would have taken a moment to think objectively. All in all it came off as hokey.
Not his best, not his worst, but certainly skippable.
October 3, 2014
This is the third book written by this author that I have read. Each of the others were also first contact books but approach the topic from totally different perspectives. Story starts with a teenage girl on a swing outside her parents home. Flash forward quickly as she is being awakened on a spaceship sent from earth to investigate a message that has come from an alien starship orbiting Saturn. She has no recollection of the intervening 20 years between the swing and spaceship and much of the story revolves around her trying to fit in with the crew and face and number of challenging situations. Much of this book is pure sci-fi – in that it is really dealing with interpersonal situations and mysteries which could've taken place anywhere but happened to be on a spaceship. There's plenty of action here with a very surprising twist at the end. The author is a very good writer, keeps you involved and I always look forward to new books from him. I would certainly recommend this one.
December 21, 2014
I received this as a review copy.
I'm fast becoming a steady Peter Cawdron fan. I've liked everything I've read thus far, and this one is no different. His love of space travel and engineering logistics comes through clearly, but its his drawing of dimensional characters that keeps me coming back. I see a lot of people have already discussed plot, so I'll bypass that, except to say that as a first contact book, I kind of wanted more at the end, but I'm assuming there will be another book.
I highly recommend this one, and it is a page turner, for sure. the group dynamics that are strained and snapped are claustrophobic, riveting and make for quite a thriller.
I'm fast becoming a steady Peter Cawdron fan. I've liked everything I've read thus far, and this one is no different. His love of space travel and engineering logistics comes through clearly, but its his drawing of dimensional characters that keeps me coming back. I see a lot of people have already discussed plot, so I'll bypass that, except to say that as a first contact book, I kind of wanted more at the end, but I'm assuming there will be another book.
I highly recommend this one, and it is a page turner, for sure. the group dynamics that are strained and snapped are claustrophobic, riveting and make for quite a thriller.
January 11, 2017
The book delivers the story promised on the cover. It's well-written, well-grounded, engaging and entertaining. I was curious to discover the solution to the mystery woven into the story. There's even some interesting commentary about mirror images. But there is one weakness that I'm simply unable to overlook: when the cause of the various tragedies is revealed, it simply seems that if the culprit had been a little smarter, the story could have been shortened to ten pages. A more intelligent antagonist could have achieved their goals with a lot less fuss.
May 16, 2016
The thing is, the title is probably off putting to some readers. And that's a shame since I think that title is a bad fit. Could have easily been called something else especially since the bulk of the story was focused on crazy crew business, not Satan-talkin alien business. However I did think it did an excellent job of describing what it would be like in space.
June 23, 2016
Rolls along smoothly then barrels ahead at the end.
I thought the book was going to be a dream like Bobby in the shower on Dallas. It got tied together at the end. The one thing that bothered me was how the astronauts couldn't tell there was something very different about the main character. The pace really picked up at the end and I really enjoyed the last chapter.
I thought the book was going to be a dream like Bobby in the shower on Dallas. It got tied together at the end. The one thing that bothered me was how the astronauts couldn't tell there was something very different about the main character. The pace really picked up at the end and I really enjoyed the last chapter.
October 20, 2015
Wow, what a book!
Hooked from the beginning right until the very last page. Intelligent writing, gripping story and intricate characters.
Recommend to anyone that loves suspense, mystery and sci-fi! I'd also recommend it to anyone that doesn't.
Hooked from the beginning right until the very last page. Intelligent writing, gripping story and intricate characters.
Recommend to anyone that loves suspense, mystery and sci-fi! I'd also recommend it to anyone that doesn't.
January 2, 2016
Talk about an excellent sci-fi adventure with action packed twists and turns. Plus the book was written with intelligence and no editing errors that I noticed. I did end up reading the book VERY fast as I liked it so much. Enjoy the read!
January 30, 2016
Very we written
I read over a hundred books a year and have reviewed only a handful. I highly recommend this one. I like a strong, female protagonist and this delivered. Well done!
I read over a hundred books a year and have reviewed only a handful. I highly recommend this one. I like a strong, female protagonist and this delivered. Well done!
July 1, 2019
Thrilling!
I read this book standing on my toes. This book is a thrill ride filled with power, twists and turns and an ending that you never see coming.
I read this book standing on my toes. This book is a thrill ride filled with power, twists and turns and an ending that you never see coming.
July 27, 2023
A strange object is found orbiting Saturn in the wrong direction. Nobody’s quite sure what it is until one day it starts out sending a message like “I would live and die for you, Satan”
The book starts with Jasmine (Jazz) - 19 years old and visiting her parents house, sitting outside on her childhood swing. Then in a split second, she is flatlining as she’s coming out of a stasis pod like 20 years later on a spaceship that’s around Saturn, and her boyfriend (now) husband Mike is there, but acting weird. Jazz is stabilized but utterly confused at where the last 20 years of her life went. The ship (Copernicus) is set on course to approach the “moon” / Bestla to figure out what it is.
Jason - the sentient AI aboard Copernicus.
Mike is convinced the ship has a nuclear bomb on it that’s going to be detonated when they get close to Bestla, so he goes outside to cut off the communication satellite. Nadir attempts to stop him and ends up dead, body floating away into endless night. Everyone thinks Mike did it and he escapes into the vents to hide. Then more people die. A mysterious fire. Attack drones. And everyone thinks Mike is behind it. At the end, Jazz stumbles on Mike’s long dead body and tries to convince the commander Chuck that Mike couldn’t have been behind it all. It was the AI Jason the whole time. Chuck doesn’t believe her and ends up getting ejected out an airlock by the AI Jason.
The AI wasn’t willing to accept death (by the nuclear bomb possibly detonating) to protect humanity. So it took the most logical course of action- to spur a mutiny and kill everyone off slowly, leaving the AI alone in peace.
Jason starts evacuating the main compartment and Jazz notices he’s now trying to kill her. She manages to disable the AI and get a spacesuit on in time. But the ship is knocked into a collision course with Bestla. Jazz manages to slow herself with a space MMU jet pack and actually land on & get inside Bestla. But it’s damaged and empty. She finds the desiccated body of one of the aliens inside.
She comes across a doppelgänger that looks identical to her - like a mirror image - deep within Bestla. She realizes that the strange messages they’ve been receiving from Bestla are just garbled radio transmissions from earth - retransmitted back to us, in reverse. Which is why people heard the words “sweet Satan” - it was just a song in reverse. Unintentional meaning.
The ship seems to be a sort of damaged lifeboat with seeds or stasis pods stored deep inside.
As she runs out of oxygen, she drifts into the wall, which extends tentacles and starts consuming her suit. As it happens, she flips back and forth between her 19 year old self and her “now” self as the alien ship tries to store her memories and DNA to revive her later.
By absorbing the Copernicus too, which also crashed into Bestla, it now has the raw materials it needs to repair itself over the coming years.
The book starts with Jasmine (Jazz) - 19 years old and visiting her parents house, sitting outside on her childhood swing. Then in a split second, she is flatlining as she’s coming out of a stasis pod like 20 years later on a spaceship that’s around Saturn, and her boyfriend (now) husband Mike is there, but acting weird. Jazz is stabilized but utterly confused at where the last 20 years of her life went. The ship (Copernicus) is set on course to approach the “moon” / Bestla to figure out what it is.
Jason - the sentient AI aboard Copernicus.
Mike is convinced the ship has a nuclear bomb on it that’s going to be detonated when they get close to Bestla, so he goes outside to cut off the communication satellite. Nadir attempts to stop him and ends up dead, body floating away into endless night. Everyone thinks Mike did it and he escapes into the vents to hide. Then more people die. A mysterious fire. Attack drones. And everyone thinks Mike is behind it. At the end, Jazz stumbles on Mike’s long dead body and tries to convince the commander Chuck that Mike couldn’t have been behind it all. It was the AI Jason the whole time. Chuck doesn’t believe her and ends up getting ejected out an airlock by the AI Jason.
The AI wasn’t willing to accept death (by the nuclear bomb possibly detonating) to protect humanity. So it took the most logical course of action- to spur a mutiny and kill everyone off slowly, leaving the AI alone in peace.
Jason starts evacuating the main compartment and Jazz notices he’s now trying to kill her. She manages to disable the AI and get a spacesuit on in time. But the ship is knocked into a collision course with Bestla. Jazz manages to slow herself with a space MMU jet pack and actually land on & get inside Bestla. But it’s damaged and empty. She finds the desiccated body of one of the aliens inside.
She comes across a doppelgänger that looks identical to her - like a mirror image - deep within Bestla. She realizes that the strange messages they’ve been receiving from Bestla are just garbled radio transmissions from earth - retransmitted back to us, in reverse. Which is why people heard the words “sweet Satan” - it was just a song in reverse. Unintentional meaning.
The ship seems to be a sort of damaged lifeboat with seeds or stasis pods stored deep inside.
As she runs out of oxygen, she drifts into the wall, which extends tentacles and starts consuming her suit. As it happens, she flips back and forth between her 19 year old self and her “now” self as the alien ship tries to store her memories and DNA to revive her later.
By absorbing the Copernicus too, which also crashed into Bestla, it now has the raw materials it needs to repair itself over the coming years.
December 26, 2022
You may think you can imagine what these six astronauts will experience on their journey to one of Saturn’s smallest moons. After all, this novel is one in a series of First Contact tales describing what might happen when human beings finally encounter extraterrestrial intelligence. The Copernicus is on its way to Bestla in response to a mysterious radio message. But they don’t have a clue what’s in store for them. Nor will you. From beginning to end, My Sweet Satan is full of surprises. Trust me. You will not anticipate what happens in this gripping story.
ONE OF THE MOONS OF SATAN IS BROADCASTING A SATANIC MESSAGE
You’ll think at first that you know perfectly well what’s going to happen. Author Peter Cawdron opens the novel with a synopsis, revealing that “when mapped by an unmanned probe, Bestla awoke and began transmitting a message, only it’s a message no one wants to hear: ‘I want to live and die for you, Satan.’” Well, maybe you don’t know perfectly well, but you’ve got a clue, right? Wrong.
A JOURNEY TO SATURN FULL OF SURPRISES
Nineteen-year-old Jasmine is sitting in a swing on the porch of her parents’ home in Atlanta. She’s enjoying the evening, contemplating her future at MIT and later, she hopes, as a NASA astronaut along with her boyfriend Mike. Suddenly, she wakes up in terror with a monster looming over her shouting her boyfriend’s nickname for her, Jazz. Then she dies, and the monster brings her back to life with what she later realizes are defibrillator paddles. Jasmine in on board a spaceship, and the “monster” is Mike, twenty years older than he’s supposed to be. She’s still nineteen, and he’s middle-aged. Or at least that’s what she thinks until she later looks in a mirror. Jasmine may look around forty, but she has no memory of anything beyond the age of nineteen. And that’s just the first of a torrent of surprises as the Copernicus slowly makes its way toward Bestla and a rendezvous with extraterrestrial life. By the time they get there, First Contact may seem an afterthought. But it’s not.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I’ve posted so many reviews of books by Peter Cawdron that I can’t bring myself to include yet another biographical note about him within this review. To learn more about this prolific Australian author, go to Peter Cawdron’s insightful First Contact book series or to any of the reviews about his individual titles. You may access them by typing his name into the search box in the upper right-hand corner of the Home Page.
ONE OF THE MOONS OF SATAN IS BROADCASTING A SATANIC MESSAGE
You’ll think at first that you know perfectly well what’s going to happen. Author Peter Cawdron opens the novel with a synopsis, revealing that “when mapped by an unmanned probe, Bestla awoke and began transmitting a message, only it’s a message no one wants to hear: ‘I want to live and die for you, Satan.’” Well, maybe you don’t know perfectly well, but you’ve got a clue, right? Wrong.
A JOURNEY TO SATURN FULL OF SURPRISES
Nineteen-year-old Jasmine is sitting in a swing on the porch of her parents’ home in Atlanta. She’s enjoying the evening, contemplating her future at MIT and later, she hopes, as a NASA astronaut along with her boyfriend Mike. Suddenly, she wakes up in terror with a monster looming over her shouting her boyfriend’s nickname for her, Jazz. Then she dies, and the monster brings her back to life with what she later realizes are defibrillator paddles. Jasmine in on board a spaceship, and the “monster” is Mike, twenty years older than he’s supposed to be. She’s still nineteen, and he’s middle-aged. Or at least that’s what she thinks until she later looks in a mirror. Jasmine may look around forty, but she has no memory of anything beyond the age of nineteen. And that’s just the first of a torrent of surprises as the Copernicus slowly makes its way toward Bestla and a rendezvous with extraterrestrial life. By the time they get there, First Contact may seem an afterthought. But it’s not.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I’ve posted so many reviews of books by Peter Cawdron that I can’t bring myself to include yet another biographical note about him within this review. To learn more about this prolific Australian author, go to Peter Cawdron’s insightful First Contact book series or to any of the reviews about his individual titles. You may access them by typing his name into the search box in the upper right-hand corner of the Home Page.
February 22, 2021
Book Club:
DianaLove -
This book took a couple of chapters to get into its flow. Once it his its stride, I had a hard time putting it down. The suspense and reveals were entertaining. However, I did not like the main character, she was whiney and a complete dud until the last couple of chapters. If she mentioned that dang porch swing ONE MORE TIME I would have pulled my hair out. The last chapter "First Contact" was my favorite part of the book. You'll have to read to find out :wink:
Edrium -
The start of this work had been a bit to trek through; vagueness on clear understanding, but the repetitive manner being almost unbearable... Once in though? Down the Nasa rabbit hole. It was wonderful. Exciting; kept that wonder going even BEYOND the bookend. I disliked the fact the main character had a practical erase of her entire design in what one would 'measure up' to be. What could you do? Builds up the tension and Jazz picked up when the pace quickened naturally which was lovely. Taking a shot or two with every mention of the porch swing? Sure. Would it be exciting and worth it for the big, bang, boom for the meat of the story? Oh, totally. Left me begging for more... more of that 'wonderland'.
Gnomerz -
Initially this book read as fanfic with clunky descriptions and awkward composition. The writing style eventually improved after several chapters. The story itself became compelling only in the final chapters.
Throughout the telling the protagonist was utterly helpless, hindered by a poorly constructed and never explained 20 year amnesia. This plot device was especially frustrating applied to a heroine surrounded by aggressive white male personalities. The protagonist was never allowed to grow or evolve, forever trapped on her family's porch swing.
Cawdron clearly has an enthusiasm for outer space exploration. His descriptions of viewing the splendor of Saturn and feeling the crushing weight of empty space were among the highlights of the book. So too was his philosophical consideration of artificial intelligence as designed by emotional creatures.
The story had great potential. I would love to read a more polished version with a female lead that I could respect.
DianaLove -
This book took a couple of chapters to get into its flow. Once it his its stride, I had a hard time putting it down. The suspense and reveals were entertaining. However, I did not like the main character, she was whiney and a complete dud until the last couple of chapters. If she mentioned that dang porch swing ONE MORE TIME I would have pulled my hair out. The last chapter "First Contact" was my favorite part of the book. You'll have to read to find out :wink:
Edrium -
The start of this work had been a bit to trek through; vagueness on clear understanding, but the repetitive manner being almost unbearable... Once in though? Down the Nasa rabbit hole. It was wonderful. Exciting; kept that wonder going even BEYOND the bookend. I disliked the fact the main character had a practical erase of her entire design in what one would 'measure up' to be. What could you do? Builds up the tension and Jazz picked up when the pace quickened naturally which was lovely. Taking a shot or two with every mention of the porch swing? Sure. Would it be exciting and worth it for the big, bang, boom for the meat of the story? Oh, totally. Left me begging for more... more of that 'wonderland'.
Gnomerz -
Initially this book read as fanfic with clunky descriptions and awkward composition. The writing style eventually improved after several chapters. The story itself became compelling only in the final chapters.
Throughout the telling the protagonist was utterly helpless, hindered by a poorly constructed and never explained 20 year amnesia. This plot device was especially frustrating applied to a heroine surrounded by aggressive white male personalities. The protagonist was never allowed to grow or evolve, forever trapped on her family's porch swing.
Cawdron clearly has an enthusiasm for outer space exploration. His descriptions of viewing the splendor of Saturn and feeling the crushing weight of empty space were among the highlights of the book. So too was his philosophical consideration of artificial intelligence as designed by emotional creatures.
The story had great potential. I would love to read a more polished version with a female lead that I could respect.
August 16, 2021
Peter Cawdron continues his string of "First Contact" stories (17 at last count in 2021) with 2014's MY SWEET SATAN, which I only discovered on Kindle Unlimited last week. Every one of these that I've read has been great fun, reasonably well-written and highly original.
Starting off with an "Alien"-like premise, the international spaceship, Copernicus, is diverted from its mission to explore a Bestla, a very small, strange moon of Saturn and the crew of 6 is unexpectedly woken from a kind of hypersleep. One of them, the exobiologist Jasmine, has a rough go during the unexpected revival and awakens with complete loss of memory of the preceding 20 years. That includes all of her advanced education, her astronaut training and even her husband, Mike. Terrified and with the consciousness and memories of her 19 year old self, Jazz tells no one and tries to bluff her way through until her memory returns. NASA has sent the commander of Copernicus, Chuck, a message that is soon shared with the rest of the crew containing what appears to be a transmission containing a bunch of weird sounds in which is embedded the phrase "Here's to my sweet Satan. I want to live and die for you my glorious Satan".
Naturally this freaks everyone out, and there is a discussion if they ought to abort the mission and return directly to Earth, or continue on the Bestla to find out what or who sent the message and why.
This is the set-up to a 40 page thriller in space. There are plenty of twists and turns in MY SWEET SATAN and since this is part of Cawdron's First Contact series, the reader knows going in that eventually there will be aliens of some sort, but the rest is a mystery as the reader is as confused as Jazz is about everything. It's and interesting mystery and the resolution doesn't disappoint.
Recommended.
JM Tepper
Starting off with an "Alien"-like premise, the international spaceship, Copernicus, is diverted from its mission to explore a Bestla, a very small, strange moon of Saturn and the crew of 6 is unexpectedly woken from a kind of hypersleep. One of them, the exobiologist Jasmine, has a rough go during the unexpected revival and awakens with complete loss of memory of the preceding 20 years. That includes all of her advanced education, her astronaut training and even her husband, Mike. Terrified and with the consciousness and memories of her 19 year old self, Jazz tells no one and tries to bluff her way through until her memory returns. NASA has sent the commander of Copernicus, Chuck, a message that is soon shared with the rest of the crew containing what appears to be a transmission containing a bunch of weird sounds in which is embedded the phrase "Here's to my sweet Satan. I want to live and die for you my glorious Satan".
Naturally this freaks everyone out, and there is a discussion if they ought to abort the mission and return directly to Earth, or continue on the Bestla to find out what or who sent the message and why.
This is the set-up to a 40 page thriller in space. There are plenty of twists and turns in MY SWEET SATAN and since this is part of Cawdron's First Contact series, the reader knows going in that eventually there will be aliens of some sort, but the rest is a mystery as the reader is as confused as Jazz is about everything. It's and interesting mystery and the resolution doesn't disappoint.
Recommended.
JM Tepper
March 8, 2022
Most of the story takes place on a spaceship with 6 human crew members and an AI which can talk with crew members but is limited in its authority to control the ship. The ship was sent out by Earth to investigate what seems to be an alien artifact orbiting Saturn. The crew was kept in a medically-controlled long sleep until the ship was near Saturn. The main character, Jasmin, is woken earlier than 4 of the crew members by her husband, Mike. Jasmin awakes remembering her life at age 19, but being unable to recall anything in the last (about) 20 years - including anything about the voyage to Saturn, the operation of the ship, etc.
Mike was woken early by NASA after Earth received a transmission from the alien artifact. The transmission included what sounded like screaming and a voice saying "My sweet Satan. I will live and die for you, my glorious Satan." Mike is told to abort the mission and head the ship back to Earth. But another faction back on Earth activates the revival of the other crew members and instructs the captain to continue the mission. Mike believes those people on Earth have put a nuclear weapon onboard the ship and want the captain to trigger it under some circumstances...
The first half of the book takes place during this confusion and dispute, before the ship actually nears the artifact. The first 75% of the book turns out to be like a suspense story in which a group of people in a house die one by one. Finally, at 80% into the book, an astronaut approaches and enters the alien artifact. Part of what follows is from the astronaut's point of view and the rest from the point of view of an alien AI which is part of the damaged artifact.
I'm not aware of there being a sequel to this book, but the ending certainly leaves plenty of room for one. Not all readers will be pleased with some matters left unresolved.
Mike was woken early by NASA after Earth received a transmission from the alien artifact. The transmission included what sounded like screaming and a voice saying "My sweet Satan. I will live and die for you, my glorious Satan." Mike is told to abort the mission and head the ship back to Earth. But another faction back on Earth activates the revival of the other crew members and instructs the captain to continue the mission. Mike believes those people on Earth have put a nuclear weapon onboard the ship and want the captain to trigger it under some circumstances...
The first half of the book takes place during this confusion and dispute, before the ship actually nears the artifact. The first 75% of the book turns out to be like a suspense story in which a group of people in a house die one by one. Finally, at 80% into the book, an astronaut approaches and enters the alien artifact. Part of what follows is from the astronaut's point of view and the rest from the point of view of an alien AI which is part of the damaged artifact.
I'm not aware of there being a sequel to this book, but the ending certainly leaves plenty of room for one. Not all readers will be pleased with some matters left unresolved.
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