Citadel 32: A Tale of the Aggregate

by Tom Merritt

In a base on the Moon, a man finds a strange discovery that could lead to reconnection with Earth. But someone wants to stop him from pursuing it. Meanwhile on Earth, a monk of the Citadel discovers a strange ancient artwork. Could it lead to truth of the myth of the Moon Men? Finding out the truth could kill him.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

175 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 24, 2015

About the author

Tom Merritt is a technology journalist and broadcaster. Tom has previously worked at TechTV, CNET and TWiT. He currently hosts the Sword and Laser book club podcast, Daily Tech News Show, Current Geek and Cordkillers among others.

photo by Andrew Mager

Reviews

[Carlex · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars.

The author explains in the beginning that this short novel was written in one month, as part of the NaNoWriMo challenge.

That said, I must admit that the story did not captivate me as I wanted. However, being fair, the plot and the characters, and the book as a whole are correctly written.

As a criticism, the tale has an excess of technical information in some parts. On the other hand, I consider that the worldbuidling is very good, and also that I liked the ending of the story.

[Aaron Eiche · Rating 4 out of 5]

Citadel 32 was a nice, quick read. A fun, quick SciFi story that takes place in two places: The Earth, and the Moon. The story moves pretty quickly and delves a bit into interesting policies and practices that would naturally come about from an independent moon colony, or a post-civilization-earth. Sometimes it seems like the story is going a bizarre direction, and it's not really ever clarified why it went that way, but the story is for the most part fulfilling.


The good:
Merrit does a great job of creating tension on the moon between factions, and describing the culture and community there. You get everything from politics to judicial system to behavior and culture.

Contrarily, much of what happens on the Earth side of the equation feels like you're left in the dark. As I approached the end of the book, I began to worry that I wasn't getting the entire story. You finish the book not having a great understanding of what the picture on Earth looks like. Only that there's some sort of religious order that lives well, and a bunch of people who don't, and some bad guys. And the bad guys might be pretending to be good guys.

It's only a disappointment in that I wanted to know more. It wasn't ever really clear why the bad guys were bad, and it Gutierrez was really a bad guy, or only kind of a bad guy. Who were Jackson and Chao? We spent the entire book reading about Heretics, but never seeing one.


I am pleased to say that I really enjoyed the book. Merrit created a fascinating world and I'd love to read more within it, especially with Corge and Michael.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A shorter novel but a fun and interesting story.

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the characters and world of this book absolutely fascinating, and I think Merritt has done a fantastic job of creating unique science fiction work that is genuinely interesting. I literally couldn't put it down and read it in two sittings.

Having said that, it does feel like it happened to quickly. Having drawn out the literal, Merritt misses some of the description and emotion that could really make this an amazing story. There's no outrage at being caught, little foreshadowing of a romantic interest, and less back story of how the characters tick than I would like.

Overall though, this book keeps you interested really mashed you want to know more about the world you are in. I hope for a sequel and think this could be a great series, it just needs more detail. Hope to see another one!

[J.-F. Dubeau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Citadel 32 feels like the outline for a much broader story. Everything one reads of the tale is interesting. The characters are well plotted out and the narrative flows well with good pacing. While there are certainly a few tropes that seem to pop up here and there, as is often the case with post-apocalyptic fiction, the story has its own voice and its own tone.

The biggest failing of Citadel 32 is that it feels rushed. There are large parts of the story, characters and events that are glossed over too quickly. Unlike a book that ends with unanswered questions and demands a sequel however, Citadel 32 isn't a meal with too few servings, but rather one where the servings are too small.

I'm eager to read a similar story but with a longer run time from this author.

[Heather Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want more!

I grew up with sci-fi. I watch the author's podcast, which is how I discovered the book. When I realized I had less than 10% of the book left to read, I knew I was in trouble; no matter how it ended, I would want more.
I consider that the ultimate sign of success in a story: you satisfyingly wrap up the current plot, tell the tale you started with (even if it's not the one your audience initially expected), but they want more. Congrats, Tom Merritt. I want more.

[Brian Guthrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique take on post apocalyptic scifi

A very enjoyable read with likable characters and interesting views on what society might become post a global disaster. The touches of recycling everything to survive were particularly cool and I loved how the author fed those into forming the culture. Overall a good read.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable classic sci-if novella. It takes me back to the stories by Campbell, Azimov, Heinlein and Clarke that I read as a kid in the 70s. If this were a movie, it would make a great double bill with Wool, by Hugh Howie.

[Jesse Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great Sci-Fi short story from my favorite tech news podcaster, Tom Merritt. It leaves you with many unanswered questions, yet also a glimpse of hope for the future world it occupies. Hopefully it is a world Mr. Merritt will return to in our own future.

[Josh Swartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

Interesting premise, and great story telling. Cit32 kept me interested and always wanting to find out what was next. I just hope we get some more tales and history from this universe.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! Looking forward to future books in the series

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great short sci-fi story.

[Wallyton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun fast original ride.

Tom invented a very cool, very original world, and really likable characters. I'd love to know more about this universe.

[Ryan Newell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way to go Tom!

[Javier · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting premise, but somewhat clumsily written.

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved the story, and became attached to the characters. would love to read more about them and their society.