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USS Obama 2112
" This is my first assignment as Captain of USS OBAMA. Our mission is to stop a prison insurrection at Solstice Galactic Prison. SGP is a reconditioned military starship, a maximum 3 Galactic Security Prison used to house the most wretched, murderous and barbaric inmates--both human and alien--captured in different star systems. We will board SGP four hours from now. Since some of these prisoners are more advanced than humans, I had to handpick my crew because there is no time for coward or nervous nannies. My crew includes my two bot-dogs, Ying and Yang; Mula, my half alien-human navigator, Ali, a huge 500-pound mesomorph B alien from the Tau-Ceti star system where they are bred to be warriors and last but not least, Dr. Love, our humanoid medbot. I only wished they hadn't sculpted his face like the famous pop star Michael Jackson."
39 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 20, 2015
1 person is currently reading
281 people want to read
About the author
John H. Sibley
13 books131 followers John H. Sibley is an accomplished artist/author/teacher/veteran--Art and music have always been a part of his life. He grew up in a Chicago household listening to his father play the Boogie Wookie on his Steinway Grand Piano. His father was offered a gig with the Count Basie Band, but he opted to marry and raise a family. John credits his cousin Levi, who is now blind, for mentoring
him in art.
His sci-fi novel BODYSLICK (he created 52 illustrations) was published in 2008 by Vibe/Kensington in New York. Articles written and about Mr. Sibley has been in numerous publications: " To keep me reading is truly saying something." John W. Fountain, New York Times
"With creative writers like Sibley the sky is the limit." Rob Kenner, Vibe fiction editor
" BODYSLICK" is set in a dystopian version of modern-day Chicago." Sam Feldman, Chicago Weekly
" An absurdly gory novel." Publishers Weekly"
"Sibley shows us that a futuristic Chicago is not for the timid." Library Journal, Rollie Welch
"There is an undulating jazz beat that courses through the work of John Sibley." Mary Houlihan, Chicago Suntimes
" The preface was the best I have ever read." Goodreads
Sibley is a 2007 American Sports Artist nominee. His paintings are owned by former Chicago Bull, John Salley, NFL icon Walter Payton, Mike Tyson, Revey Sorey,author Manik D.Dover, Mayor Richard J. Daley of Chicago.
He has appeared on WGN channel 9 in Chicago, ABC with Jim Rose, WNUA with jazz icon Ramsey Lewis, and was a courtroom artist for CNN--covered the FLN trial.
Mr. Sibley is a 1994 graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, holding a BFA in fine art. Sibley worked 23 years as a supervisor for a hi-tech acoustic company and now teaches in the Chicago public school system. He lives in Chicago and has two daughters and a son and five grandchildren.
him in art.
His sci-fi novel BODYSLICK (he created 52 illustrations) was published in 2008 by Vibe/Kensington in New York. Articles written and about Mr. Sibley has been in numerous publications: " To keep me reading is truly saying something." John W. Fountain, New York Times
"With creative writers like Sibley the sky is the limit." Rob Kenner, Vibe fiction editor
" BODYSLICK" is set in a dystopian version of modern-day Chicago." Sam Feldman, Chicago Weekly
" An absurdly gory novel." Publishers Weekly"
"Sibley shows us that a futuristic Chicago is not for the timid." Library Journal, Rollie Welch
"There is an undulating jazz beat that courses through the work of John Sibley." Mary Houlihan, Chicago Suntimes
" The preface was the best I have ever read." Goodreads
Sibley is a 2007 American Sports Artist nominee. His paintings are owned by former Chicago Bull, John Salley, NFL icon Walter Payton, Mike Tyson, Revey Sorey,author Manik D.Dover, Mayor Richard J. Daley of Chicago.
He has appeared on WGN channel 9 in Chicago, ABC with Jim Rose, WNUA with jazz icon Ramsey Lewis, and was a courtroom artist for CNN--covered the FLN trial.
Mr. Sibley is a 1994 graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, holding a BFA in fine art. Sibley worked 23 years as a supervisor for a hi-tech acoustic company and now teaches in the Chicago public school system. He lives in Chicago and has two daughters and a son and five grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 4, 2015
" USS Obama 2112 was quite a stimulating read for me.I grew up listening to John Coltrane and the P-Funk of George Clinton's Parliament funkeldelic.I was fascinated how Sibley interweaved contemporary earth pop culture into the narrative of a military star ships captain and navigator's dialog. I don't think you will find any other sci-fi author to create such dialog.
I was swept away by the great research and creativity he weaved throughout the novel. His vision of 2112 is a haunting and cautionary tale about the pitfalls of interstellar travel. He succeeds in making the reader view earth, and the universe through the lens of Captain Toussaint Barack Williams--a distant relative of Obama's oldest daughter.
As a teacher I was intrigued with his futurist vision of global capitalism.He uses aliens as galactic slaves in the same context that 19th century slavery was used as the catalyst for the industrial revolution and how global capitalism is flourishing in 2015 for the Western World. In that same context,the author suggests that 100 hundred years from now, in 2112,galactic capitalism and the greedy search for planetary commodities, will usher in the same ghastly terrors and horrors that were predicated on my enslaved African ancestors in the 19th century.
USS Obama 2112 is a cautionary tale about future encounters with alien life forms and how our human impulse to conquer, colonize new worlds must be tempered with tolerance and compassion.
I was swept away by the great research and creativity he weaved throughout the novel. His vision of 2112 is a haunting and cautionary tale about the pitfalls of interstellar travel. He succeeds in making the reader view earth, and the universe through the lens of Captain Toussaint Barack Williams--a distant relative of Obama's oldest daughter.
As a teacher I was intrigued with his futurist vision of global capitalism.He uses aliens as galactic slaves in the same context that 19th century slavery was used as the catalyst for the industrial revolution and how global capitalism is flourishing in 2015 for the Western World. In that same context,the author suggests that 100 hundred years from now, in 2112,galactic capitalism and the greedy search for planetary commodities, will usher in the same ghastly terrors and horrors that were predicated on my enslaved African ancestors in the 19th century.
USS Obama 2112 is a cautionary tale about future encounters with alien life forms and how our human impulse to conquer, colonize new worlds must be tempered with tolerance and compassion.
April 28, 2016
I'm giving this book 4 stars to applaud John Sibley's interesting use of extra-terrestrials and wars with other worlds as metaphors for the racism prevalent in current American society. His images are very powerful especially in his title story "USS Obama 2112."
In reality, however, I don't know how to evaluate this book. I am not a reader of science fiction and can't stand reading futuristic stories. Thus, I don't know how to compare this book to others of the same genre. Perhaps those who enjoy it would find this book exciting.
For me, I find enough violence and graphic descriptions of violence from reading the Chicago Tribune and the New York Times. Perhaps someday in a galaxy far, far away we can learn to live with each other even if we're different from one another and to enjoy those differences. That's the kind of future I like to read about. I don't have the stomach for the other kind.
In reality, however, I don't know how to evaluate this book. I am not a reader of science fiction and can't stand reading futuristic stories. Thus, I don't know how to compare this book to others of the same genre. Perhaps those who enjoy it would find this book exciting.
For me, I find enough violence and graphic descriptions of violence from reading the Chicago Tribune and the New York Times. Perhaps someday in a galaxy far, far away we can learn to live with each other even if we're different from one another and to enjoy those differences. That's the kind of future I like to read about. I don't have the stomach for the other kind.
October 26, 2015
“ON PAR WITH RIDLEY SCOTT’S “ALIEN”” – Lee Norris, Independent Reviews
In this review we will be exploring “USS OBAMA 2112” by John H. Sibley and digging a bit deeper into what it means to be an intergalactic space captain with soul.
This is the first book in a series and like any successful series, John has left a large amount to the imagination and keeps the reader wanting more. The book follows the young and gifted Captain Toussaint Barack Williams and his exploits as captain of the USS OBAMA. This book is a first-hand account of his battle with the once humanitarian, turned rouge leader, Elijah Comen.
The story moves seamlessly through the back story around Captain Toussaint’s family lineage to current United States president Barrack Obama (hence the name of the ship) and Toussaint’s childhood in future Chicago.
John H Sibley explores race and class as an issue in future times and expertly weaves these issues into the story as Toussaint has beaten the odds against him to ride through the ranks as a solider to control a space vessel given his ethnicity and background. Toussaint displays a certain amount of tact at all times and is constantly aware of his fortune and level of responsibility.
This gives the character a level of humility and makes him easier to relate to as we all can see a small part of our own background in this brave, self-aware and resilient man. Toussaint’s fondness for Earth and his pain in the loss of those dear to him, make for a strong emotional attachment and evoke our own emotions when it comes to loved ones who may or may not be with us.
Captain Toussaint is accompanied by his faithful crew of equally talented officers who each bring a certain specialism to the team and lends to character variety and depth. In addition to his two bot dogs, Ying and Yang, this crew is a very well matched group and demonstrate their usefulness to Captain Toussaint throughout the story.
Personally, I was really drawn to the references that tied in what we know today as earth memories and how those are populated throughout the story. Subtle references to Blues and Blue Grass style music (Muddy Waters and gold plated alien music discs live vinyl LP’s) really give the story a familiar feel and keeps the reader entertained.
The elderly of Earth also have a chance to participate and win a “life lottery” which I found amusing as a principle and was something that is not explored in current science fiction stories. The idea was that the elderly would play a lottery to win a chance to have their chromosomes treated by essentially cutting the parts out that led to ageing. This would prolong the winner’s life span by almost a century in some cases. This poses the question, would you want to live that long even if it was possible.
In a particular example, an elderly winner decides that she has had enough of the cloned organs and metallic joints necessary to prolong her human form and opts for dying a natural death. This uncovers an inconvenient truth in all of us - we would all like to live forever but at what cost? Nature has a particular order and to upset that order, is to defy nature itself which is unnatural.
My favourite character in the story was the villain Elijah Comen because of his all too human qualities and relatable greed for power. We see examples of human greed everywhere we look and John is able to manifest that greed in a form that is easy to dislike but who started with the best intentions. Elijah has an excellent grasp of “ancient” earth history as well and demonstrates such knowledge when he compares a character in the story to Adolf Hitler. Hitler seems to be the benchmark for evil in today’s society and the character in question is put on an evil scale comparative to how friendly and “cuddly” he makes Hitler look.
Elijah started out as a champion for the people and has the capacity to capture his audience’s attention in a way that I have always revered in people. However, that power is often abused and used for evil as is the case throughout history. Elijah is no different and his motives for domination and destruction has drawn the attention of Captan Toussiant and the crew of USS Obama.
As the story progresses, we start to get a feel for the intensity of the job ahead as Toussiant prepares for a battle with Elijah and hopes to stop this tyrant in his tracks. Just as every good hero has a group of companions who compliment him in different ways, the bad guys also have an equaling conflicting group of followers and Elijah’s are the worst in the galaxy (naturally).
The fight scenes in this story are visceral and well told. These are on par with Ridley Scott’s “Alien” where you can visualise a team of space marines engaging in fierce combat with alien creatures who are determined to end their lives. Gritty and well delivered, these scenes are sure to delight even the hardest sci-fi enthusiast.
There are moments in the story where the above visceral descriptions are a bit too much and make the reader slightly uncomfortable, but I suppose that is all a part of picture that the author paints.
“It was like listening to the screams of the Frenoi babies in the lobotomizing room, as the eight-inch hydroderm laser injects a zombie solution into their brains, so they can be butchered and sold as gourmet meat”
Yikes!!
My main criticisms comes from the lack of depth around the crew of the USS Obama. I would have liked to see their characters explored more and perhaps be given a back story on how they came to all serve on the ship at the same time. This is perhaps something that is addressed in future installments but in this current version, it would be good to see them grow.
I was also lost in a few parts throughout the story as there was a fair amount of jumping from one section to the next without a tie in of some kind. This led to a break in readability in a few spots as I had to go back and try to determine the relevance of the section I had just read and how it tied in with the next section. Other than those two points, the remainder of the story was gripping and easy to read.
There is a great bit of storytelling within the story as the characters interact well with each other in dialogue and each has their own personality when it comes to conversation. The female characters speak elegantly and the tough, seasoned characters are less eloquent when it comes to vocabulary. That level of consistency is good to see and is evident throughout the story.
This story also makes you question things while providing an entertaining and light hearted account of life aboard a space craft. There are undertones of sadness, personal loss and ethnic barriers that are offered up throughout the story and as a reader, you start to empathise with the burden of responsibility that is on Toussiant’s broad shoulders. We also start to get a sense of what it must be like to be the first of a certain ethnic group to do something of monumental importance or deemed impossible by society. Like being the first African American president for instance.
We look to the descendants of the great Captain Tossiant as a perfect example. Tossiant is of course a distant relative to Barack Obama and just like his relative, he too has experienced hurdles as a mixed race captain. In a future where intelligence can be purchased and the boundaries of class can cripple you, Captain Toussiant is a beacon of hope and equality. It’s amusing to think that in a galaxy where the human race is considered the odd one out, there are still issues within our own race that prevent us coming together and unifying under one banner.
The overall plot and story line is strong and leaves plenty of room for continuation and potential sequels. This can be tricky to pull off at times as your first instinct is to give the readers everything you have in the lockup to keep them engaged and hungry for more. John H. Sibley proves that given the right amount of material, you can capture and hold the audience without giving everything away.
In summary, I recommend this book to avid science fiction readers who are especially accustomed to a grittier display as this story does not lose its readability through intense battle scenes. This story would be suitable for young adults aged 16 and beyond and as a part of a series, there would be plenty to keep their imagination. This book is also a great selection for adults who enjoy a well put together story with action and humor rolled up into a page turning read. This book is a great start and I can’t wait for the subsequent books to follow so that I can get my Captain Toussiant fix and follow him on his journey of intergalactic peacekeeping. I give this book five stars out of five and keep up the good work John H. Sibley.
Lee Norris
Independent Reviews
In this review we will be exploring “USS OBAMA 2112” by John H. Sibley and digging a bit deeper into what it means to be an intergalactic space captain with soul.
This is the first book in a series and like any successful series, John has left a large amount to the imagination and keeps the reader wanting more. The book follows the young and gifted Captain Toussaint Barack Williams and his exploits as captain of the USS OBAMA. This book is a first-hand account of his battle with the once humanitarian, turned rouge leader, Elijah Comen.
The story moves seamlessly through the back story around Captain Toussaint’s family lineage to current United States president Barrack Obama (hence the name of the ship) and Toussaint’s childhood in future Chicago.
John H Sibley explores race and class as an issue in future times and expertly weaves these issues into the story as Toussaint has beaten the odds against him to ride through the ranks as a solider to control a space vessel given his ethnicity and background. Toussaint displays a certain amount of tact at all times and is constantly aware of his fortune and level of responsibility.
This gives the character a level of humility and makes him easier to relate to as we all can see a small part of our own background in this brave, self-aware and resilient man. Toussaint’s fondness for Earth and his pain in the loss of those dear to him, make for a strong emotional attachment and evoke our own emotions when it comes to loved ones who may or may not be with us.
Captain Toussaint is accompanied by his faithful crew of equally talented officers who each bring a certain specialism to the team and lends to character variety and depth. In addition to his two bot dogs, Ying and Yang, this crew is a very well matched group and demonstrate their usefulness to Captain Toussaint throughout the story.
Personally, I was really drawn to the references that tied in what we know today as earth memories and how those are populated throughout the story. Subtle references to Blues and Blue Grass style music (Muddy Waters and gold plated alien music discs live vinyl LP’s) really give the story a familiar feel and keeps the reader entertained.
The elderly of Earth also have a chance to participate and win a “life lottery” which I found amusing as a principle and was something that is not explored in current science fiction stories. The idea was that the elderly would play a lottery to win a chance to have their chromosomes treated by essentially cutting the parts out that led to ageing. This would prolong the winner’s life span by almost a century in some cases. This poses the question, would you want to live that long even if it was possible.
In a particular example, an elderly winner decides that she has had enough of the cloned organs and metallic joints necessary to prolong her human form and opts for dying a natural death. This uncovers an inconvenient truth in all of us - we would all like to live forever but at what cost? Nature has a particular order and to upset that order, is to defy nature itself which is unnatural.
My favourite character in the story was the villain Elijah Comen because of his all too human qualities and relatable greed for power. We see examples of human greed everywhere we look and John is able to manifest that greed in a form that is easy to dislike but who started with the best intentions. Elijah has an excellent grasp of “ancient” earth history as well and demonstrates such knowledge when he compares a character in the story to Adolf Hitler. Hitler seems to be the benchmark for evil in today’s society and the character in question is put on an evil scale comparative to how friendly and “cuddly” he makes Hitler look.
Elijah started out as a champion for the people and has the capacity to capture his audience’s attention in a way that I have always revered in people. However, that power is often abused and used for evil as is the case throughout history. Elijah is no different and his motives for domination and destruction has drawn the attention of Captan Toussiant and the crew of USS Obama.
As the story progresses, we start to get a feel for the intensity of the job ahead as Toussiant prepares for a battle with Elijah and hopes to stop this tyrant in his tracks. Just as every good hero has a group of companions who compliment him in different ways, the bad guys also have an equaling conflicting group of followers and Elijah’s are the worst in the galaxy (naturally).
The fight scenes in this story are visceral and well told. These are on par with Ridley Scott’s “Alien” where you can visualise a team of space marines engaging in fierce combat with alien creatures who are determined to end their lives. Gritty and well delivered, these scenes are sure to delight even the hardest sci-fi enthusiast.
There are moments in the story where the above visceral descriptions are a bit too much and make the reader slightly uncomfortable, but I suppose that is all a part of picture that the author paints.
“It was like listening to the screams of the Frenoi babies in the lobotomizing room, as the eight-inch hydroderm laser injects a zombie solution into their brains, so they can be butchered and sold as gourmet meat”
Yikes!!
My main criticisms comes from the lack of depth around the crew of the USS Obama. I would have liked to see their characters explored more and perhaps be given a back story on how they came to all serve on the ship at the same time. This is perhaps something that is addressed in future installments but in this current version, it would be good to see them grow.
I was also lost in a few parts throughout the story as there was a fair amount of jumping from one section to the next without a tie in of some kind. This led to a break in readability in a few spots as I had to go back and try to determine the relevance of the section I had just read and how it tied in with the next section. Other than those two points, the remainder of the story was gripping and easy to read.
There is a great bit of storytelling within the story as the characters interact well with each other in dialogue and each has their own personality when it comes to conversation. The female characters speak elegantly and the tough, seasoned characters are less eloquent when it comes to vocabulary. That level of consistency is good to see and is evident throughout the story.
This story also makes you question things while providing an entertaining and light hearted account of life aboard a space craft. There are undertones of sadness, personal loss and ethnic barriers that are offered up throughout the story and as a reader, you start to empathise with the burden of responsibility that is on Toussiant’s broad shoulders. We also start to get a sense of what it must be like to be the first of a certain ethnic group to do something of monumental importance or deemed impossible by society. Like being the first African American president for instance.
We look to the descendants of the great Captain Tossiant as a perfect example. Tossiant is of course a distant relative to Barack Obama and just like his relative, he too has experienced hurdles as a mixed race captain. In a future where intelligence can be purchased and the boundaries of class can cripple you, Captain Toussiant is a beacon of hope and equality. It’s amusing to think that in a galaxy where the human race is considered the odd one out, there are still issues within our own race that prevent us coming together and unifying under one banner.
The overall plot and story line is strong and leaves plenty of room for continuation and potential sequels. This can be tricky to pull off at times as your first instinct is to give the readers everything you have in the lockup to keep them engaged and hungry for more. John H. Sibley proves that given the right amount of material, you can capture and hold the audience without giving everything away.
In summary, I recommend this book to avid science fiction readers who are especially accustomed to a grittier display as this story does not lose its readability through intense battle scenes. This story would be suitable for young adults aged 16 and beyond and as a part of a series, there would be plenty to keep their imagination. This book is also a great selection for adults who enjoy a well put together story with action and humor rolled up into a page turning read. This book is a great start and I can’t wait for the subsequent books to follow so that I can get my Captain Toussiant fix and follow him on his journey of intergalactic peacekeeping. I give this book five stars out of five and keep up the good work John H. Sibley.
Lee Norris
Independent Reviews
October 19, 2015
This book had me gripped from the very beginning. Although it was science fiction, the snippets of history that the writer put in, really brought on a realistic characteristic in the book. The writer did an excellent job of describing everything in the book in explicit detail, I felt as though I was actually watching it in my mind. The main character was so well developed and I really loved how he took the time out to describe his lineage, linking him back to Obama and also giving you a bit of his whole life. I think it was really an awesome read and I look forward to reading more from this writer.
October 19, 2015
This was a very interesting read through and through. The blend of politics and sci-fi made the book so much enjoyable for me because I am a big fan of both genres. The plot was very well-developed with no discernible plot holes (which tend to ruin so many books for me). Mr. Sibley did a good job relating the pop culture and politics of today and evolving them into how it might look a hundred or so years from now. This book makes for a very enjoyable read and an even more enjoyable discussion afterward.
October 20, 2015
John Sibley delivers as he takes us on an imaginative and enthralling journey through space, as his character Toussaint Barack Williams takes command of the USS Obama and leads his crew on a mission to halt a prison insurrection on a reconditioned military starship. Throughout the book Sibley displays a masterful artistry in his writing and his imagination is on a parallel with JK Rowling as he creates for us a universe of wonder and amazement. So if you enjoy SciFi books and are looking for something just a little bit different, then look no further. USS Obama 2112 will not disappoint.
October 21, 2015
USS Obama 2112 is a great book. It is definitely a fun to read. It keeps you in suspense to the very end. I sincerely liked how the author “John Sibley” blended politics with sci-fi making for not only a captivating read but for an entertaining discussion as well. The stories are exciting and stimulate the imagination in ways that are unique to a great storyteller. I would highly recommend this book. As usual this is another great book by a great author.
May 4, 2017
John Sibley does not disappoint this time either, and he can create a real space saga that can instantly capture the reader's attention and transport it to a futuristic and extremely credible world.
The world created by Sibley is the best part of the story, is alive, incredibly detailed and perfectly believable, because all the events that led humanity to that point have been explained in details. An unsettling future, in some ways, but also very fascinating, and which attests John Sibley's ability to create ambiguous and highly detailed words for his stories, engaging the reader in the best way possible.
Characters are dotted out very well and are not absolutely the speckles of the usual fantasy science saga characters but are real and well-defined characters with realistic goals and realistic motivations. The danger was to create a copy of a thousand other characters, but John Sibley has endured this threat and set the bar for creating new characters in this kind of story.
The rhythm of the story is very tight, captivating, worthy of stories such as "Star Wars," "Alien," or "Star Trek," and the finale is a real drug that can not be abandoned. The reader must discover the end of the story in the shortest possible time.
I do not want to give spoilers or talk too much; I have only one advice. Read this story, and you will love three things:
- You will love John Sibley and his talent
- You will love the science fiction stories
- You will love the USS Obama and his crew.
The world created by Sibley is the best part of the story, is alive, incredibly detailed and perfectly believable, because all the events that led humanity to that point have been explained in details. An unsettling future, in some ways, but also very fascinating, and which attests John Sibley's ability to create ambiguous and highly detailed words for his stories, engaging the reader in the best way possible.
Characters are dotted out very well and are not absolutely the speckles of the usual fantasy science saga characters but are real and well-defined characters with realistic goals and realistic motivations. The danger was to create a copy of a thousand other characters, but John Sibley has endured this threat and set the bar for creating new characters in this kind of story.
The rhythm of the story is very tight, captivating, worthy of stories such as "Star Wars," "Alien," or "Star Trek," and the finale is a real drug that can not be abandoned. The reader must discover the end of the story in the shortest possible time.
I do not want to give spoilers or talk too much; I have only one advice. Read this story, and you will love three things:
- You will love John Sibley and his talent
- You will love the science fiction stories
- You will love the USS Obama and his crew.
January 31, 2022
The heart of this novella is its glimpse into a possible future. Despite the advancements in technology, problems in society haven't gone away. They've evolved. Drugs still plague the galaxy, animals are still hunted down and slaughtered with little regard for their intelligence or understanding, and its clear that racism is still very much alive and well.
The best piece of the story for me was the scene in the chow room, where the line between sentient animal and mindless creature is blurred, leaving our main character disgusted with himself for eating the food.
Overall, the story was fun and interesting to read. There are some great ideas in this story, and as one of Sibley's earlier published works, it shows how his writing has only gotten better over the years.
The best piece of the story for me was the scene in the chow room, where the line between sentient animal and mindless creature is blurred, leaving our main character disgusted with himself for eating the food.
Overall, the story was fun and interesting to read. There are some great ideas in this story, and as one of Sibley's earlier published works, it shows how his writing has only gotten better over the years.
August 23, 2019
Couldn't follow storyline.
November 19, 2025
I enjoyed this book. Good action and the connection to today's politics works. This is a solid Sci-fi story.
October 16, 2015
The book started off a little slowly for me and I was not sure what to expect, however it gradually picked up pace and I was pleasantly surprised. This is a futuristic book and is set in the year 2112. The author takes us on an unusual voyage where we are immediately thrown into a world totally different from the one we know. We encounter half alien –half human creatures, Xenoprees, Bot Dogs, Funkroids and many more foreign things.
The story is centred on Touissant Barak Williams who is in space. He is an officer in the USGF, a joint-federation of advanced planets with a charter protecting the rights of humans and non-human. He is on a mission which is his first assignment as Captain of USS OBAMA. His mandate is to stop a prison insurrection at Solstice Galactic Prison which Elijah Comen, has spearheaded. Elijah wants an armed revolution by any means necessary, to destroy all life in the galaxy based on greed and exploitation. As Touissant prepares for this job, he needs a formidable team of humans and half-humans, bot dogs etc. to overcome the enemy.
The author has a very vivid imagination, and this comes through in his writing, he describes his characters with precision and draws the reader in with his quirky style of writing; the author crafts this fiction very well.
Although this is not my usual kind of book, I enjoyed the many characters that were introduced, the twists and turns, as well as the discussion about galactic slavery and galactic capitalism. I do feel that the book could have been a bit longer however there is room for a sequel to follow.
There were a few gruesome bits which I did not particularly care for but, they made the book more interesting and vivid. This is my first book by this author; it is really imaginative. I look forward to reading more from John Sibley in the near future.
The story is centred on Touissant Barak Williams who is in space. He is an officer in the USGF, a joint-federation of advanced planets with a charter protecting the rights of humans and non-human. He is on a mission which is his first assignment as Captain of USS OBAMA. His mandate is to stop a prison insurrection at Solstice Galactic Prison which Elijah Comen, has spearheaded. Elijah wants an armed revolution by any means necessary, to destroy all life in the galaxy based on greed and exploitation. As Touissant prepares for this job, he needs a formidable team of humans and half-humans, bot dogs etc. to overcome the enemy.
The author has a very vivid imagination, and this comes through in his writing, he describes his characters with precision and draws the reader in with his quirky style of writing; the author crafts this fiction very well.
Although this is not my usual kind of book, I enjoyed the many characters that were introduced, the twists and turns, as well as the discussion about galactic slavery and galactic capitalism. I do feel that the book could have been a bit longer however there is room for a sequel to follow.
There were a few gruesome bits which I did not particularly care for but, they made the book more interesting and vivid. This is my first book by this author; it is really imaginative. I look forward to reading more from John Sibley in the near future.
April 22, 2017
I wonder if Author John H. Sibley will ever cease to amaze me, I can’t stop wondering-- I mean he seems to have a way of telling stories that makes them speak to the reader. John tells stories in a way that is unique and powerful. Which is why readers get captivated and almost addicted like me. Have you ever read a story and you literarily felt like you were present? Like you were there and you experienced every bit and inch of the event that occurred. Yes, that is how intriguing John stories are.
USS OBAMA, is a space ship that belongs to the United States Marine Galactic Force with her crew members aboard the mighty ship that is headed to The Solstice Galactic Prison,located in the Proximal Centauri galaxy, which is 4.3 light years from earth. The ship crew includes two bot-dogs, Ying and Yang; Mula, a half alien- human navigator; Ali, a huge 500-pound metamorph B alien and Dr Love the humanoid medbot.; Stromwell is the chief engineer of the ship and Sergeant Henchmon is the platoon leader. John continues to impress me with his palette-like descriptions that paints imagery in readers’ minds and makes you feel aware and conscious.
The name of the leader aboard the mighty ship is Captain Toussaint Barrack Williams, he is 32 years of age and stands a strapping 6 feet, 3 inches above the ground, who started out as a career officer in the USGF, and he is what I would like to put in my own words a tough guy. He didn’t have it easy like most rich kids when he was young. Rich kids parents could afford to implant a genechip into their pregnant mothers to enhance their intelligence .Toussaint’s parents were poor and could not afford that-- which is what makes Toussaint special. At every opportunity, knowing the odds were against him ,he made sure he squeezed the best out of it. This sheer determination made him rise amongst his peers from a career officer to being selected to the prestigious General Chappie James Leadership Academy. Once he graduated, he was promoted to a captain.
I like what John has done with Captain Toussaint, and do you know why? Let me bring you back to our world and look at men that has served their country at the highest level, they are all men with honor, integrity and character, he has just done the same thing with Toussaint, he is not just a soldier to his country but a cherished father, loving husband, and a caring son. All these wonderful attributes is what makes a great leader.
He grew up on the Southside of Chicago, In a complex called ‘Caprini’ which had over 500 apartments, an organic farm, stores, and a holo- gym, this environment is meant for the poor, it was here he played basketball and walked his bot dog Ming. The world he lived in is one where crimes and gangs are all under control because there is a GPS microchip placed under everyone’s skull so you could be identified from birth. There are cameras hidden in every corner of painted walls so as to show any criminals at work. He is an orphan, he had his siblings which includes four older sisters and a older brother wiped out from the XAIDS plague of 2080, his parents are also long dead now, imagine how difficult life was while growing up. One person that inspired him was his teacher from Nigeria Dr. Cornel Crestifo, PhD who back in 2094 taught him mathematics, history and science at Crane Westside Math and Science Pep High School, he admired Toussaint for his intelligence and brilliance. He would never forget his first day in Dr. Crestifo’s physics class where he said the most brilliant words he has ever heard.
“Students, it is important that you remember the name of Dr. Gabriel Aude Oyibo, who was Nigerian mathematician and physicist like myself, He solved the grand unification theory popularly known as ‘theory of everything’ or the holy grail of mathematics and physics in 1990, by discovering the GOD Almighty’s Grand Unified Theorem. Dr. Oyibo won the Nobel Prize for his GAGUT Theorem in 2016, and was the first African to win the prize.
In simple language, GAGUT states that God, everything including the Unified Force Field, or any fundamental force or particle interactions, is conserved with a transformation process over space and time, which cannot be disputed by any logical process.
We will use Dr Oyibo’s GAGUT theory in this class as a template for studying physics problems. Keep in mind all of you were handpicked for this advanced physics class, so I wish you all the best.”
His teaching helped shaped and molded Toussaint to one day become a Captain of a military starship.
Captain Toussaint and his crew are headed to the deadliest prison in the Milky Way Galaxy, a level 3 prison to be precise that houses some of the most ruthless, barbaric human and alien prisoners from across the galaxy. This brings us to the alpha male pack leader; Elijah Comen, born in Chicago, he was sentenced to 100 to 300 years after being convicted in 2102 for killing an alien steward for interfering with his Somellow cartel. Somellow, is the most sought out plant in galactic history that can cure all types of planetary diseases and it is also used as an anti-aging drug. I mean millions have died and galactic wars have started over who would harvest this plant.
Would you believe Elijah was once a galactic civil activist, the story is just insane, but he is now the most feared and wanted man in the entire galactic system. John made sure it wasn’t an easy war to fight for both sides and I kept wondering who was going to be victorious with Elijahs viscious gang that includes both human and aliens-- Akins, Jawbreakers ,Terrel, Antron, Kellog, and the communicator Watar Muddy. John made sure the story is a tale of a battle between Captain Toussaint’s crew and Elijah’s deadly alien gang unified for the first time to fight a common enemy. There is a saying that ‘if care is not taken then you can become an enemy to thyself, before being to others’. Elijah has promised the prisoners,freedom and their own planet full of the rich Somehellow plant to harvest and become wealthy. Both sides are ready to lay down their life for what they believed in and I am sure as hell can tell you that it was a bloody war.
For the sake of brevity, I can only point out some things to not give away the plot but the battle scenes—of Captain Toussaint’s mission to crush Elijah and his gang are visceral and epic. The battle is equal to blood sticking to your shoes, in war there are always casualties no matter how pure and innocent. In USS OBAMA 2112, the author paints a Darwinian universe of the survival of the fittest.
USS OBAMA, is a space ship that belongs to the United States Marine Galactic Force with her crew members aboard the mighty ship that is headed to The Solstice Galactic Prison,located in the Proximal Centauri galaxy, which is 4.3 light years from earth. The ship crew includes two bot-dogs, Ying and Yang; Mula, a half alien- human navigator; Ali, a huge 500-pound metamorph B alien and Dr Love the humanoid medbot.; Stromwell is the chief engineer of the ship and Sergeant Henchmon is the platoon leader. John continues to impress me with his palette-like descriptions that paints imagery in readers’ minds and makes you feel aware and conscious.
The name of the leader aboard the mighty ship is Captain Toussaint Barrack Williams, he is 32 years of age and stands a strapping 6 feet, 3 inches above the ground, who started out as a career officer in the USGF, and he is what I would like to put in my own words a tough guy. He didn’t have it easy like most rich kids when he was young. Rich kids parents could afford to implant a genechip into their pregnant mothers to enhance their intelligence .Toussaint’s parents were poor and could not afford that-- which is what makes Toussaint special. At every opportunity, knowing the odds were against him ,he made sure he squeezed the best out of it. This sheer determination made him rise amongst his peers from a career officer to being selected to the prestigious General Chappie James Leadership Academy. Once he graduated, he was promoted to a captain.
I like what John has done with Captain Toussaint, and do you know why? Let me bring you back to our world and look at men that has served their country at the highest level, they are all men with honor, integrity and character, he has just done the same thing with Toussaint, he is not just a soldier to his country but a cherished father, loving husband, and a caring son. All these wonderful attributes is what makes a great leader.
He grew up on the Southside of Chicago, In a complex called ‘Caprini’ which had over 500 apartments, an organic farm, stores, and a holo- gym, this environment is meant for the poor, it was here he played basketball and walked his bot dog Ming. The world he lived in is one where crimes and gangs are all under control because there is a GPS microchip placed under everyone’s skull so you could be identified from birth. There are cameras hidden in every corner of painted walls so as to show any criminals at work. He is an orphan, he had his siblings which includes four older sisters and a older brother wiped out from the XAIDS plague of 2080, his parents are also long dead now, imagine how difficult life was while growing up. One person that inspired him was his teacher from Nigeria Dr. Cornel Crestifo, PhD who back in 2094 taught him mathematics, history and science at Crane Westside Math and Science Pep High School, he admired Toussaint for his intelligence and brilliance. He would never forget his first day in Dr. Crestifo’s physics class where he said the most brilliant words he has ever heard.
“Students, it is important that you remember the name of Dr. Gabriel Aude Oyibo, who was Nigerian mathematician and physicist like myself, He solved the grand unification theory popularly known as ‘theory of everything’ or the holy grail of mathematics and physics in 1990, by discovering the GOD Almighty’s Grand Unified Theorem. Dr. Oyibo won the Nobel Prize for his GAGUT Theorem in 2016, and was the first African to win the prize.
In simple language, GAGUT states that God, everything including the Unified Force Field, or any fundamental force or particle interactions, is conserved with a transformation process over space and time, which cannot be disputed by any logical process.
We will use Dr Oyibo’s GAGUT theory in this class as a template for studying physics problems. Keep in mind all of you were handpicked for this advanced physics class, so I wish you all the best.”
His teaching helped shaped and molded Toussaint to one day become a Captain of a military starship.
Captain Toussaint and his crew are headed to the deadliest prison in the Milky Way Galaxy, a level 3 prison to be precise that houses some of the most ruthless, barbaric human and alien prisoners from across the galaxy. This brings us to the alpha male pack leader; Elijah Comen, born in Chicago, he was sentenced to 100 to 300 years after being convicted in 2102 for killing an alien steward for interfering with his Somellow cartel. Somellow, is the most sought out plant in galactic history that can cure all types of planetary diseases and it is also used as an anti-aging drug. I mean millions have died and galactic wars have started over who would harvest this plant.
Would you believe Elijah was once a galactic civil activist, the story is just insane, but he is now the most feared and wanted man in the entire galactic system. John made sure it wasn’t an easy war to fight for both sides and I kept wondering who was going to be victorious with Elijahs viscious gang that includes both human and aliens-- Akins, Jawbreakers ,Terrel, Antron, Kellog, and the communicator Watar Muddy. John made sure the story is a tale of a battle between Captain Toussaint’s crew and Elijah’s deadly alien gang unified for the first time to fight a common enemy. There is a saying that ‘if care is not taken then you can become an enemy to thyself, before being to others’. Elijah has promised the prisoners,freedom and their own planet full of the rich Somehellow plant to harvest and become wealthy. Both sides are ready to lay down their life for what they believed in and I am sure as hell can tell you that it was a bloody war.
For the sake of brevity, I can only point out some things to not give away the plot but the battle scenes—of Captain Toussaint’s mission to crush Elijah and his gang are visceral and epic. The battle is equal to blood sticking to your shoes, in war there are always casualties no matter how pure and innocent. In USS OBAMA 2112, the author paints a Darwinian universe of the survival of the fittest.
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