What do you think?
Rate this book
Red Dots
Deep Space One was sent on a one-way mission to save the people of Earth. Their mission was to find a new home for the survivors of a dying planet. They trusted each other and in the importance of their mission. What they found out en route was not expected and the information they learned changed everything for them and the people they left behind.
- GenresScience Fiction
111 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 25, 2018
17 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
Ray Jay Perreault
54 books141 followersI’m a retired Aeronautical Engineer who is trying to bring a different style to science fiction writing. I’ve always loved science fiction and I’m trying to write with deeper characters and create stories and situations that a reader can feel part of. The be honest I love a hero that has amazing weapons, takes on hundreds of aliens and can survive anything, but I also want to read a situation and be able to relate to it. An extrapolation of what might really happen with a little less stretch in my imagination.
I’ve been fortunate and I flew in the US Air Force for 10 years, during which time I flew C-130’s and visited 27 countries, then I flew T-38's and trained the best pilots in the world, as well as the first female US Air Force pilots. I then was fortunate to spend 28 years in a major aerospace firm and worked on some of the best programs in the world including the F-23, F-35, B-2, Global Hawk and many I can’t tell you about….
I hope I can bring my real life experiences into my writing so you can appreciate my work.
I’ve been fortunate and I flew in the US Air Force for 10 years, during which time I flew C-130’s and visited 27 countries, then I flew T-38's and trained the best pilots in the world, as well as the first female US Air Force pilots. I then was fortunate to spend 28 years in a major aerospace firm and worked on some of the best programs in the world including the F-23, F-35, B-2, Global Hawk and many I can’t tell you about….
I hope I can bring my real life experiences into my writing so you can appreciate my work.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 2, 2018
I’ve read a lot of books lately that throw a ton of terms and names at you, and it takes most of the book to figure out what anything means or what’s going on. This novelette went to the other extreme by clearly explaining the entire situation (all telling) before getting into the story. It was a nice change, but it felt long even though it was just ten pages.
The science bits dealing with space travel and communication were really cool; it’s a solid sci fi story. The captain was a good character, fully developed. There were a couple good twists at the end.
I don’t know if this will be edited before final publication, but if not, it really, really needs it. There are tons of errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation as well as some typos and awkward constructions. This is a sample paragraph. (Extra spaces are in the original.)
She looked at the message, and she was shocked; it fits in perfectly with the concerns that Robert had passed to her early. … When encrypting a file was a pain in the butt, people tended not to use it or forgot.
I received a free copy from the author.
The science bits dealing with space travel and communication were really cool; it’s a solid sci fi story. The captain was a good character, fully developed. There were a couple good twists at the end.
I don’t know if this will be edited before final publication, but if not, it really, really needs it. There are tons of errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation as well as some typos and awkward constructions. This is a sample paragraph. (Extra spaces are in the original.)
She looked at the message, and she was shocked; it fits in perfectly with the concerns that Robert had passed to her early. … When encrypting a file was a pain in the butt, people tended not to use it or forgot.
I received a free copy from the author.
May 31, 2018
“People of Earth, we have reached a point in human history where we must seek another path.”
I was a bit biased with the book at the beginning, eventually I started to appreciate the tech descriptions and their usefulness as part of the plot, a very conceptual and interesting help, overwhelming though. A slow beginning at first, it starts to mount up the pressure bit by bit, a great plot building, twists where you don’t expect them, the suspicious turnabout keeps you wondering and guessing how this is going and where... you get the answer at the very end! It left me like, Wow!
My thanks to the author for the ARC. This review is voluntary.
I was a bit biased with the book at the beginning, eventually I started to appreciate the tech descriptions and their usefulness as part of the plot, a very conceptual and interesting help, overwhelming though. A slow beginning at first, it starts to mount up the pressure bit by bit, a great plot building, twists where you don’t expect them, the suspicious turnabout keeps you wondering and guessing how this is going and where... you get the answer at the very end! It left me like, Wow!
My thanks to the author for the ARC. This review is voluntary.
August 8, 2020
Review originally published at: https://lomeraniel.com/book-review-re...
Earth resources are scarce, so several people are sent in the Deep Space One in order to find new worlds for humankind. Ray Jay Perrault always creates interesting sci-fi stories, so I was looking forward to this book. The premises were interesting and although the characters were not fully developed, the action was interesting enough to keep me engaged. Perrault is an aeronautic engineer and it shows, as his books are usually technical, something I enjoy. The writing was a bit clunky, though, and I think the book would have benefited from an editor. Some sentences just did not sound completely right.
The book was presented as a short story by the author, but I believe it had the ingredients to be longer. Just when we see that something is not right, the book reaches its end, creating an opportunity for a sequel. I found this often happens with Ray Jay Perrault’s books, which are published in short parts. I wish that he would wait until he got a polished complete story, but I guess it is just his way of writing.
I was surprised that this book was narrated by Perrault himself. I wonder why some authors decide to do this themselves without having technical knowledge nor the skills. His narration was monotone and with strange pauses. The recording also had several issues, like some background noise and volume changes; also, the beep between chapters was not a good choice. At first, I thought it was a mistake in the final mix. I also noticed several audio edits that were distracting. Next time I hope Perrault hires a professional narrator.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Earth resources are scarce, so several people are sent in the Deep Space One in order to find new worlds for humankind. Ray Jay Perrault always creates interesting sci-fi stories, so I was looking forward to this book. The premises were interesting and although the characters were not fully developed, the action was interesting enough to keep me engaged. Perrault is an aeronautic engineer and it shows, as his books are usually technical, something I enjoy. The writing was a bit clunky, though, and I think the book would have benefited from an editor. Some sentences just did not sound completely right.
The book was presented as a short story by the author, but I believe it had the ingredients to be longer. Just when we see that something is not right, the book reaches its end, creating an opportunity for a sequel. I found this often happens with Ray Jay Perrault’s books, which are published in short parts. I wish that he would wait until he got a polished complete story, but I guess it is just his way of writing.
I was surprised that this book was narrated by Perrault himself. I wonder why some authors decide to do this themselves without having technical knowledge nor the skills. His narration was monotone and with strange pauses. The recording also had several issues, like some background noise and volume changes; also, the beep between chapters was not a good choice. At first, I thought it was a mistake in the final mix. I also noticed several audio edits that were distracting. Next time I hope Perrault hires a professional narrator.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
November 28, 2018
( Format : Audiobook and ebook)
"Looking for New Home."
With humanity's sustainability on Earth no longer viable, and the moon too extreme for life except in very small numbers, nations United with the Salvation Corporation to send a crew of six into deep space to explore the potential of an Earth-like planet they were calling New Home. The journey would take over four years to reach it's destination, so the three couples would spend most of the journey in cryosleep, being women every six months for a short duration to ensure everything was going to plan and that they were on course for their destined planet. It would be a one way trip, no return possible.
Meanwhile, on Earth, an amada of ships were being constructed to take the world's population to their last home provided the feedback about New Home was possitive.
Mr.Perreault writes his excellent science fiction in the old style, clearly introducing his characters and describing their surroundings and the technology in a cleary understandable way without much superfluous baggage. Red Dots is a satisfying novella, clearly ending but leaving questions in the mind of the reader. Both ebook and Audio work well. The author himself reads the Audible version. His delivery is well modulated and he gives fair voice to each individual protagonist, but the pace is a tad fast, without tiny pauses which would have enhanced the reading. Overall, a good performance, if a little flat.
Good, solid science fiction with a predictable twist plus another that isn't. Recommended.
"Looking for New Home."
With humanity's sustainability on Earth no longer viable, and the moon too extreme for life except in very small numbers, nations United with the Salvation Corporation to send a crew of six into deep space to explore the potential of an Earth-like planet they were calling New Home. The journey would take over four years to reach it's destination, so the three couples would spend most of the journey in cryosleep, being women every six months for a short duration to ensure everything was going to plan and that they were on course for their destined planet. It would be a one way trip, no return possible.
Meanwhile, on Earth, an amada of ships were being constructed to take the world's population to their last home provided the feedback about New Home was possitive.
Mr.Perreault writes his excellent science fiction in the old style, clearly introducing his characters and describing their surroundings and the technology in a cleary understandable way without much superfluous baggage. Red Dots is a satisfying novella, clearly ending but leaving questions in the mind of the reader. Both ebook and Audio work well. The author himself reads the Audible version. His delivery is well modulated and he gives fair voice to each individual protagonist, but the pace is a tad fast, without tiny pauses which would have enhanced the reading. Overall, a good performance, if a little flat.
Good, solid science fiction with a predictable twist plus another that isn't. Recommended.
February 12, 2020
Deep Space One is sent out from a deteriorating Earth to find the best candidate New Earth in a region that has several promising choices. They're a small crew, just six people, three couples, and they can all trust each other.
Surely they can all trust each other.
They're spending most of their time in deep sleep, waking for seven-day periods at long intervals, to maintain the ship, review new data, make any course adjustments, check for problems and receive mail from home. Shortly before the halfway point, when the ship will need to reverse itself and start decelerating for arrival at what is now determined to be the right planet.
Small glitches in the received transmissions prompts two members of the crew to take a much closer look at what one member of the crew in particular has been receiving.
The mission isn't what they though it was, and suddenly they can't all trust each other.
And then they receive another surprise.
This is nicely done, good plotting and good characters. Like pretty much all of Perreault's work, it has the things I liked about Golden Age science fiction, while having 21st century social mores, with racial and gender equality baked in, not worked in after the fact. There's so much Golden Age sf I can't go back and reread if I still want to have fond memories of it.
(Yes, there are other things he doesn't deal with at all, perhaps because he doesn't feel comfortable that he can handle them well.)
I really strongly recommend this and all of Perreault's work that I've read so far.
I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author, and am reviewing it voluntarily.
Surely they can all trust each other.
They're spending most of their time in deep sleep, waking for seven-day periods at long intervals, to maintain the ship, review new data, make any course adjustments, check for problems and receive mail from home. Shortly before the halfway point, when the ship will need to reverse itself and start decelerating for arrival at what is now determined to be the right planet.
Small glitches in the received transmissions prompts two members of the crew to take a much closer look at what one member of the crew in particular has been receiving.
The mission isn't what they though it was, and suddenly they can't all trust each other.
And then they receive another surprise.
This is nicely done, good plotting and good characters. Like pretty much all of Perreault's work, it has the things I liked about Golden Age science fiction, while having 21st century social mores, with racial and gender equality baked in, not worked in after the fact. There's so much Golden Age sf I can't go back and reread if I still want to have fond memories of it.
(Yes, there are other things he doesn't deal with at all, perhaps because he doesn't feel comfortable that he can handle them well.)
I really strongly recommend this and all of Perreault's work that I've read so far.
I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author, and am reviewing it voluntarily.
June 9, 2018
With life no longer sustainable on Earth, the President, with the support of other world leaders, made the announcement that the people would be leaving for another planet. Deep Space One was being constructed to take a 6-person crew to check out a new home for the rest of the population. In the meantime, a fleet of ships would be built. Then the human migration would begin. Tild Hoares saw his plans finally coming together.
The CEO’s of large corporations joined into the newly created Salvation Corporation where they could pool their resources for this project of saving the people of Earth. They would build the armada of ships that would take everyone to New Home. Work was started for the mining on the moon to provide raw materials. The project was underway!
This is a well done story that describes all the activities needed to be done in exquisite detail to shape the story and make it all more realistic. It also gave the reader a chance to get to know the characters much deeper as their personalities and expertise could be readily observed in action. The story line was good and well-paced. Knowing that New Home had to be carefully determined among the viable choices provided kept a tension always present. So the readers are led inexorably to the twist at the end which no one saw coming!
The CEO’s of large corporations joined into the newly created Salvation Corporation where they could pool their resources for this project of saving the people of Earth. They would build the armada of ships that would take everyone to New Home. Work was started for the mining on the moon to provide raw materials. The project was underway!
This is a well done story that describes all the activities needed to be done in exquisite detail to shape the story and make it all more realistic. It also gave the reader a chance to get to know the characters much deeper as their personalities and expertise could be readily observed in action. The story line was good and well-paced. Knowing that New Home had to be carefully determined among the viable choices provided kept a tension always present. So the readers are led inexorably to the twist at the end which no one saw coming!
February 3, 2022
This is a very good short story with a couple of twists at the end, one I say coming and the other one was a surprise. This is a story that has been covered before. A crew spending years travelling to a distant planet I the hope of saving Earth if the planet is suitable. It works very well and is entertaining, well written with good characters with real relationships, The author narrates his own work and does a good job, I did find his delivery a bit flat and the reading a bit quick, needed the slight pauses to help with the listening. Overall a very good one. I received a complimentary copy from the author and am leaving a honest voluntary review
May 30, 2018
Savior or Selfish?
Earth is in a great decline. A crew of six men and women are sent into space to search for a new world for the people of Earth. Billions of people are depending on them. Will they achieve their goals? Red Dots: DSO is a great stickler of science fact. Much of the technology in this story is based on reality of known science. Despite this, the book has you so enthralled in the mystery, you forget you are even reading science fiction.
Earth is in a great decline. A crew of six men and women are sent into space to search for a new world for the people of Earth. Billions of people are depending on them. Will they achieve their goals? Red Dots: DSO is a great stickler of science fact. Much of the technology in this story is based on reality of known science. Despite this, the book has you so enthralled in the mystery, you forget you are even reading science fiction.
November 23, 2018
An exploratory mission to a far off planet to confirm its suitability for colonization is progressing well until the crew makes 2 unexpected discoveries that change everything.
This is a well written story that explores the problems with long distance space travel while spinning an interesting tale about a colourful crew of people.
It's an enjoyable story with a pair of unexpected twists.
Well worth your time of you're a space travel fan.
This is a well written story that explores the problems with long distance space travel while spinning an interesting tale about a colourful crew of people.
It's an enjoyable story with a pair of unexpected twists.
Well worth your time of you're a space travel fan.
December 3, 2018
An interesting short sci-fi story in which the world is on its last legs and will not sustain life for much longer. A spaceship is sent to checkout a new world where humanity can live, in the meantime the earth scrambles to build a fleet of ships big enough to take the people of Earth to the new world should it be suitable. This is a well done story with great twists and the author does a good job of the narration too.
July 2, 2019
Good short story. Could have been longer. Would love to know more of what comes next.
Of course it’s not a completely original story but it does stand on its own.
The science behind the whole sleep for months at a time and just travel through space is explained fairly well. I want to know more about the ‘red dots’ and what’s going to happen to the people of earth.
I was voluntarily provided this review copy at no charge by the author, publisher and or narrator.
Of course it’s not a completely original story but it does stand on its own.
The science behind the whole sleep for months at a time and just travel through space is explained fairly well. I want to know more about the ‘red dots’ and what’s going to happen to the people of earth.
I was voluntarily provided this review copy at no charge by the author, publisher and or narrator.
June 17, 2018
Really enjoyable tale, but unfortunately felt a wee bit too long at the start, and really needs the services of a good proofreader/editor. Does the author have a review team?
It's a very good intelligent story, feels realistic, and the twists are excellent. Would be five stars if the problems were ironed out.
It's a very good intelligent story, feels realistic, and the twists are excellent. Would be five stars if the problems were ironed out.
June 10, 2019
Too technical.
While I do enjoy a good sci-fi book, sadly this one was not one of them . It was cold, lifeless, far too technical and absolutely no character development. I didn't like any of the crew and the story was so boring, I found myself skimming over way too many paragraphs. Too bad because I was expecting a lot more by the description given.
While I do enjoy a good sci-fi book, sadly this one was not one of them . It was cold, lifeless, far too technical and absolutely no character development. I didn't like any of the crew and the story was so boring, I found myself skimming over way too many paragraphs. Too bad because I was expecting a lot more by the description given.
January 26, 2021
I am reviewing the audio version of this title. It was rather interesting, similar to other stories I have read but that is not a issue for me I personally enjoy different senerios to similar circumstances. I enjoyed the plot and found the characters easy to like. The author did a great job with the narration of this story as well. I would recommend this book.
June 12, 2018
What a scifi story Deep Space Mission One was sent to save the people on earth. Unfortunately for them they find out things that come as a big surprise to them. Exciting story that kept my interest until the end. Definitely ready for another one by this talented author.
August 20, 2018
Very nice novel with a solid technological background and a nice twist in the end. A few repetition and a couple issues in the book as some have pointed out but that shouldn't stop you from reading it. Because it really is a lot of fun !
February 11, 2020
Earth is dying and a ship is sent out to find a new planet to populate. When the search ship is close to it's destination they get surprising info. Earthlings may not survive in space, or on the earth. I was gifted this from the author.
May 30, 2018
A interesting short book, which I had the pleasure of getting an advance copy of. I recommend this authors work to you all.
July 2, 2018
Pretty standard
But I enjoyed it. Good character development and the science is not so far out there as to be unbelievable. Eager to see what follows.
But I enjoyed it. Good character development and the science is not so far out there as to be unbelievable. Eager to see what follows.
August 4, 2018
This is a great afternoon read with a twisted ending. This short story is written in the tradition of Isaac Asimov.
November 19, 2018
No surprise!
That is exactly what I suspected from page one. Have you ever wondered if Homo Sapiens are worth savings! I'm not sure
That is exactly what I suspected from page one. Have you ever wondered if Homo Sapiens are worth savings! I'm not sure
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews