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Discovery Series #3
Black Infinity: Discovery's End
BLACK INFINITY reveals the nail-biting conclusion to the Discovery Series. The race to Mars is not without its peril. As the world’s superpowers vie for supremacy in space, the true intent of the aliens, and the ultimate destiny for the human species, is revealed. Can the world marshal the will and resources of its people to strike back and take control of its own fate? Can NASA, led by Richard “Rock” Crandon, and America’s adversaries find the ultimate courage to face what lies at Discovery’s End and save the world?
- GenresAudiobookScience Fiction
278 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 22, 2018
47 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
August 23, 2024
As with my reviews of the first two books in this series, it is a fun read but the science lacks credibility. There were some great characters, political issues, aliens, space travel, lots of suspense, and it picks up the storyline right after book two.
As I’ve mentioned before, Salvador Mercer clearly enjoys the idea of space flight and does present some real science related to launch loads, fueling, orbital mechanics, etc. Unfortunately, much of the space science is as close to real rocketry as a unicorn is to a Clydesdale.
So, if you can turn off your scientific mind and concentrate on the characters and action, Black Infinity is just as much fun to read as the first two books in the trilogy.
As I’ve mentioned before, Salvador Mercer clearly enjoys the idea of space flight and does present some real science related to launch loads, fueling, orbital mechanics, etc. Unfortunately, much of the space science is as close to real rocketry as a unicorn is to a Clydesdale.
So, if you can turn off your scientific mind and concentrate on the characters and action, Black Infinity is just as much fun to read as the first two books in the trilogy.
May 25, 2020
*deep breath* Okay. I am incredibly torn right now in how to review this one. I loved the story itself, especially the first half. But the PACING?? Or shall I say, the lack thereof?
WHAT. IS. THIS. ENDING.
Okay. So the ending was good. The WAY things ended was satisfying. But the way in which it was presented?? As I got further and further into this one and looked at how much of the story was left, I grew increasingly worried, knowing that this was the last book in the series and also being aware of how much ground needed to be covered to get there.
It basically starts off where the second book ends. That’s fine with me, because I wanted more anyway. We get back into the political posturing from the first book, okay. Same old thing there, but it moves the story along. Then we get to where Julie, Maria, and their military comrades storm the Martian Alien Construct. AWESOME stuff and totally riveting.
And from there, it was like someone hit the fast forward button, and when that wasn’t good enough they just started hitting the “skip to the next chapter” button. I’ve seen this before, and I always have to wonder: did the author just run out of ideas and plodded on with the skeleton of a story arc without filling in the blanks? Were there contractual obligations which demanded this book be the end of the series? I mean, the events of the second half of this book could EASILY have been 2-3 more BOOKS IN THIS SERIES.
Maria is rescued by her teammates. Boom! She suddenly has some weird sixth sense. Boom! Life on earth gets thrown a curveball. Boom! The Americans have a new high-tech ship ready to go to Jupiter so let’s go! Okay we made it to Jupiter, Maria and Craig drop down the gravity well on a suicide mission, Julie takes a nap and MARIA TAKES OVER THE ALIEN SHIP and they fly home and the aliens arrive and the humans kill them and then go to the aliens’ home world and kill them in retaliation. The End! Roll credits.
WHAT?!?!?!?
I got whiplash, I swear. I loved this story, and yet the way the ending was rushed pissed me off so much. There was a 5-6 book series here and it would have been immensely enjoyable. Instead we’re left with this fast forward catastrophe that’s supposed to tie up all the loose ends.
Why?
It did tie up nearly all of the loose ends, yeah. But the pacing sucked. It’s going to take me a while to get over this.
WHAT. IS. THIS. ENDING.
Okay. So the ending was good. The WAY things ended was satisfying. But the way in which it was presented?? As I got further and further into this one and looked at how much of the story was left, I grew increasingly worried, knowing that this was the last book in the series and also being aware of how much ground needed to be covered to get there.
It basically starts off where the second book ends. That’s fine with me, because I wanted more anyway. We get back into the political posturing from the first book, okay. Same old thing there, but it moves the story along. Then we get to where Julie, Maria, and their military comrades storm the Martian Alien Construct. AWESOME stuff and totally riveting.
And from there, it was like someone hit the fast forward button, and when that wasn’t good enough they just started hitting the “skip to the next chapter” button. I’ve seen this before, and I always have to wonder: did the author just run out of ideas and plodded on with the skeleton of a story arc without filling in the blanks? Were there contractual obligations which demanded this book be the end of the series? I mean, the events of the second half of this book could EASILY have been 2-3 more BOOKS IN THIS SERIES.
Maria is rescued by her teammates. Boom! She suddenly has some weird sixth sense. Boom! Life on earth gets thrown a curveball. Boom! The Americans have a new high-tech ship ready to go to Jupiter so let’s go! Okay we made it to Jupiter, Maria and Craig drop down the gravity well on a suicide mission, Julie takes a nap and MARIA TAKES OVER THE ALIEN SHIP and they fly home and the aliens arrive and the humans kill them and then go to the aliens’ home world and kill them in retaliation. The End! Roll credits.
WHAT?!?!?!?
I got whiplash, I swear. I loved this story, and yet the way the ending was rushed pissed me off so much. There was a 5-6 book series here and it would have been immensely enjoyable. Instead we’re left with this fast forward catastrophe that’s supposed to tie up all the loose ends.
Why?
It did tie up nearly all of the loose ends, yeah. But the pacing sucked. It’s going to take me a while to get over this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2020
Engaging series, if you like "light" astrophysics
No spoilers in here, for those who haven't read this yet.
I know some readers were unhappy with several aspects of this story (character development, accuracy of the science, etc.). There were a few things in the science that prompted me to go read some references, like LaGrange points, which was educational. I don't really care if the author misused some part of orbital physics - it is fiction and as far as I can tell, close enough to "reality". I would have liked to get to know some of the characters a bit better. That might have added a few thousand words to the series and I think it would have been worthwhile. I read all 3 books in less than a week, and would have gladly read a few more hours of this story to have more character development, and more detail on what happens at the end. Anyway, if you like hard SciFi and science, and having your mind challenged to think about the realities of space travel, you'll enjoy this. If not, maybe not so much. I enjoyed it but not quite 5 stars worth. If there were half stars, it would probably be a 4.5 for me.
No spoilers in here, for those who haven't read this yet.
I know some readers were unhappy with several aspects of this story (character development, accuracy of the science, etc.). There were a few things in the science that prompted me to go read some references, like LaGrange points, which was educational. I don't really care if the author misused some part of orbital physics - it is fiction and as far as I can tell, close enough to "reality". I would have liked to get to know some of the characters a bit better. That might have added a few thousand words to the series and I think it would have been worthwhile. I read all 3 books in less than a week, and would have gladly read a few more hours of this story to have more character development, and more detail on what happens at the end. Anyway, if you like hard SciFi and science, and having your mind challenged to think about the realities of space travel, you'll enjoy this. If not, maybe not so much. I enjoyed it but not quite 5 stars worth. If there were half stars, it would probably be a 4.5 for me.
February 7, 2022
Plot. China has discovered an alien object on the moon. China, Russia, and the United States are determined to possess the alien technology.
Liked. First contact! Friendly? Threatening? A creative space opera that will take you to the moon, Mars, Jupiter, and beyond. Pace, tempo, narration, and production are fine.
Not so hot. The DIscovery Series is more a story of world nations battling each other than the scientific wonder of first contact, even to the point of one country trying to destroy the object rather than let anyone else have it - and its purpose is yet unknown. Really? A bit of a stretch - are human beings this stupid? *yeah, they are*
The overall story is fine, just disappointed with the portrayal of humanity. Can't we all just get along for once? *sigh*
Lunar Discovery, Red Horizon, and Black Infinity are three books that make up the Discovery Series by Salvador Mercer. All books are narrated by Mark Boyett and range in length from eight to ten hours of listening, about 28 hours in total. Listen to all three in sequence or you'll miss character and event continuity. All released by Podium Audio from 2016-18.
Liked. First contact! Friendly? Threatening? A creative space opera that will take you to the moon, Mars, Jupiter, and beyond. Pace, tempo, narration, and production are fine.
Not so hot. The DIscovery Series is more a story of world nations battling each other than the scientific wonder of first contact, even to the point of one country trying to destroy the object rather than let anyone else have it - and its purpose is yet unknown. Really? A bit of a stretch - are human beings this stupid? *yeah, they are*
The overall story is fine, just disappointed with the portrayal of humanity. Can't we all just get along for once? *sigh*
Lunar Discovery, Red Horizon, and Black Infinity are three books that make up the Discovery Series by Salvador Mercer. All books are narrated by Mark Boyett and range in length from eight to ten hours of listening, about 28 hours in total. Listen to all three in sequence or you'll miss character and event continuity. All released by Podium Audio from 2016-18.
January 31, 2018
Good but not great
There was so much potential here from the setup of the previous 2 books. A mysterious alien race. What is their intention? What do they even look like? Can we communicate with them? A race between the super-power countries to be the first to discover or possibly destroy technology that is beyond our capability. Some really interesting plots that are distracted by several editing mistakes (half star deduction), and then the last couple of chapters just seemed too rushed to me. Way too much happened in the last few paragraphs. It could have been a book or series on its own (another half star deduction).
There was so much potential here from the setup of the previous 2 books. A mysterious alien race. What is their intention? What do they even look like? Can we communicate with them? A race between the super-power countries to be the first to discover or possibly destroy technology that is beyond our capability. Some really interesting plots that are distracted by several editing mistakes (half star deduction), and then the last couple of chapters just seemed too rushed to me. Way too much happened in the last few paragraphs. It could have been a book or series on its own (another half star deduction).
September 5, 2019
What?
What was the purpose of the third book? The ending threw me for such a loop that I have lost the meaning of the book. The ending didn't make sense to me. I read the last couple of pages of the book over and over to make sense of what was happening. Still can't figure it out. Also there was no tying up of the main characters and what happened, and of what happened to the teams out in space. After rating the first two books five stars which is usual enough for me, I was tempted to give this 2/12 stars if there was such a thing.
What was the purpose of the third book? The ending threw me for such a loop that I have lost the meaning of the book. The ending didn't make sense to me. I read the last couple of pages of the book over and over to make sense of what was happening. Still can't figure it out. Also there was no tying up of the main characters and what happened, and of what happened to the teams out in space. After rating the first two books five stars which is usual enough for me, I was tempted to give this 2/12 stars if there was such a thing.
May 24, 2022
Let’s keep this short.
This book series tries to tie up a story that should have gone for about 6 books, into 3. The last two chapters of this book felt like I somehow pressed the 10x speed fast forward button. I got to the end but the details of how were completely glossed over.
It honestly felt like I had memory loss because so many things that happened in the background just got skipped over. Quite disappointed as the concept was great, but the pacing kept it mediocre.
This book series tries to tie up a story that should have gone for about 6 books, into 3. The last two chapters of this book felt like I somehow pressed the 10x speed fast forward button. I got to the end but the details of how were completely glossed over.
It honestly felt like I had memory loss because so many things that happened in the background just got skipped over. Quite disappointed as the concept was great, but the pacing kept it mediocre.
May 22, 2020
A few tiny things I could find fault with, and I was concerned toward the end that it wasn't going to conclude enough for me - I was concerned for nothing. A totally satisfying end to a well written soft sci-fi series. Much to enjoy and I will be eagerly checking out this author in the future - well done!
June 18, 2022
Sad statement about intelligent beings us included
Excellent descriptions of technology and the science behind them. Descriptions of the human characters seemed a bit stereotypical but kept you engaged. Good guys are usually not that good and bad guys not just evil as the Chinese were portrayed.
Excellent descriptions of technology and the science behind them. Descriptions of the human characters seemed a bit stereotypical but kept you engaged. Good guys are usually not that good and bad guys not just evil as the Chinese were portrayed.
May 28, 2025
A decent story overall, and wraps up the trilogy, but the ending is rather rushed. I’m not sure if the author just got tired of writing the story, or if he was up against deadline or what. The first part of this book is more like book 2.5 in the series, and then he tries to fit at least a whole book’s worth of plot into the last few chapters.
October 29, 2020
Absolutely mind blowing!
Absolutely mind blowing! Fantastic series! This is a MUST READ series! I am not an avid fan of this genre, but this series grabbed me and wouldn't let go! The last book in the series was the BEST! Mr. Mercer, please write more like this.
Absolutely mind blowing! Fantastic series! This is a MUST READ series! I am not an avid fan of this genre, but this series grabbed me and wouldn't let go! The last book in the series was the BEST! Mr. Mercer, please write more like this.
February 18, 2023
That's what they mean by don't poke the bear.
This series started a little slow but picked up very quick. I like stories that bring justice to the bad guys. There were a bunch of sub plots throughout the series and they were great so I'm wondering where they go from here.
This series started a little slow but picked up very quick. I like stories that bring justice to the bad guys. There were a bunch of sub plots throughout the series and they were great so I'm wondering where they go from here.
February 4, 2018
Good way to spend a snowy day. Great book.
April 2, 2018
Gripping Sci Fi
The trilogy was gripping from start to finish. Needs making into movie! Ending was unexpected and well crafted. Best read for some time!
The trilogy was gripping from start to finish. Needs making into movie! Ending was unexpected and well crafted. Best read for some time!
April 17, 2018
The ending I felt was a little rushed and maybe enough room for a 4th book to fill in some gaps. all in all, a good ending to a good series.
September 22, 2018
Black Infinity
This is the second installment of the series, it is a spellbinding read. If you enjoy sifi this is a must read.
This is the second installment of the series, it is a spellbinding read. If you enjoy sifi this is a must read.
January 5, 2020
Loved.the series.
Can't wait for his next book. If its.anything like the Discovery Series, I'm in. Actually, I think he could have squeezed 1 or 2 more in this one.
Can't wait for his next book. If its.anything like the Discovery Series, I'm in. Actually, I think he could have squeezed 1 or 2 more in this one.
Read
October 1, 2020I enjoyed the series. I was disappointed with the ending of Black Infinity, could used a bit more time on the ending.
February 17, 2021
I enjoyed this trilogy of books. It was easy to get through and really engaging. Good characters and cheesy dialogue.
May 24, 2021
Wonderful series with a refreshingly different take on a common story line.
December 1, 2021
Nice tight conclusion to the series. I wish the ending had expanded to another book but I am satisfied with how it wrapped up.
March 9, 2022
I'd have to say this is the best of the three. Mercer did a great job creating drama and action leading up to the ending. Love the GRS as a plot device!!!
May 22, 2022
Loved the series.
Little disappointed at the very end with the fairly abrupt wrap up.
I suppose it's that line between trilogy and series
Little disappointed at the very end with the fairly abrupt wrap up.
I suppose it's that line between trilogy and series
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2022
I thought it was a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. It felt like it took a long time to get to the meat of the plot, but I was happy with the journey and end.
September 13, 2023
An ending not even worthy of a very shaky series. These three books could have been one long boring book instead of three short boring books.
July 30, 2020
Paybacks are Hell!
I enjoyed this three book series tremendously. It was a fast read and yet very entertaining. I will be looking for more works from this author.
I enjoyed this three book series tremendously. It was a fast read and yet very entertaining. I will be looking for more works from this author.
March 10, 2019
Black Infinity is the 3rd in the Discovery Series Trilogy, and continues the thrilling story of what started as a cryptic clue on the Moon, a space race between the US, Russia and the Chinese, and ultimately the discovery of Alien presence on the Moon. Even though the Chinese tried to destroy it with a nuclear device to prevent everyone having it, the US managed to gain access, and this led to a further space race to Mars, where there is another Alien Device meant to be located.
Book 2 covered a lot of the race to Mars, as well as the Military and Political games that are in full stride between all 3 nations, and this continues in Book 3 – Black Infinity.
Black Infinity continues to revolve around the same main characters, the NASA team on Earth, the crews of each of the respective ships for each Country, as well as the behind the scenes players for the Political games that are being played within the US, Russia and China.
The Author has created a very realistic environment, both with the space scenes and each of the individual countries political theatres as they argue out the various policies, ideas and concepts. It is obvious that a lot of research has gone into this book to give it this realistic edge.
In Black Infinity, the Alien objects also take on a greater meaning, and it is in this book that things are finally explored and explained in much greater detail, providing some very thrilling and dramatic chapters.
This is a difficult review to write without giving away too much information and spoilers.
However, it is safe to say, that if you have read the first 2 books, you will love the last book in the series, as it is probably the best in the series. The Author goes all out with the sheer intensity of capturing the Political engagements, and the Military engagements that occur in space. With the Special Forces included on-board the ships, it makes for an even more exciting Mission with the Russians and the Chinese.
This is an exceptionally well written story, the character writing is outstanding, and you will not be able to put it down.
If you have not read this series yet, Go Back to part 1 Lunar Discovery, and enjoy this incredible series. It is well worth the read for anyone who likes a good Sci-fi thriller, or even just a Political thriller that has a Sci-fi theme.
This is a series not to be missed.
Book 2 covered a lot of the race to Mars, as well as the Military and Political games that are in full stride between all 3 nations, and this continues in Book 3 – Black Infinity.
Black Infinity continues to revolve around the same main characters, the NASA team on Earth, the crews of each of the respective ships for each Country, as well as the behind the scenes players for the Political games that are being played within the US, Russia and China.
The Author has created a very realistic environment, both with the space scenes and each of the individual countries political theatres as they argue out the various policies, ideas and concepts. It is obvious that a lot of research has gone into this book to give it this realistic edge.
In Black Infinity, the Alien objects also take on a greater meaning, and it is in this book that things are finally explored and explained in much greater detail, providing some very thrilling and dramatic chapters.
This is a difficult review to write without giving away too much information and spoilers.
However, it is safe to say, that if you have read the first 2 books, you will love the last book in the series, as it is probably the best in the series. The Author goes all out with the sheer intensity of capturing the Political engagements, and the Military engagements that occur in space. With the Special Forces included on-board the ships, it makes for an even more exciting Mission with the Russians and the Chinese.
This is an exceptionally well written story, the character writing is outstanding, and you will not be able to put it down.
If you have not read this series yet, Go Back to part 1 Lunar Discovery, and enjoy this incredible series. It is well worth the read for anyone who likes a good Sci-fi thriller, or even just a Political thriller that has a Sci-fi theme.
This is a series not to be missed.
October 10, 2018
Enjoyed this trilogy because I'm a space nerd. The grander picture events are wrapped up a little too quickly at the end. When there were only two hours left in the audiobook and there was still much story to be told I was wondering if it wasn't a trilogy after all.
Narration was good.
HAHAHA! "The Obama Class carriers" Why not just call that class the limp-wrist 3000s?
Spoilerish?
Something I just remembered:
"I'm sure we've both been through the same gender discrimination" Spoken by one of two women on Mars shortly after a woman has become the first human to step foot on another planet. Yeah, sure sounds like a man's world...
Narration was good.
HAHAHA! "The Obama Class carriers" Why not just call that class the limp-wrist 3000s?
Spoilerish?
Something I just remembered:
"I'm sure we've both been through the same gender discrimination" Spoken by one of two women on Mars shortly after a woman has become the first human to step foot on another planet. Yeah, sure sounds like a man's world...
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews