Freefall: Vol 1 The Amalie Noether Chronicles

by Jana Williams

Elle Silver knew there would be questions in space - she just didn't know they would be so personal and so urgent! She begins to question the use of their space-travel drug, HCH. Elle notices a growing number of her friends and fellow colonists awaken from their 90-day sleep cycles exhibiting a variety of negative side-effects and she begins to believe the drug is the culprit. Some of the effects are minor, dry eyes and lack of appetite. Other symptoms are a bigger concern on a tiny ship packed with colonists. With each sleep cycle completed, more and more colonists awaken both confused and barely concealing a simmering rage - rage that could be a catastrophe on a ship as crowded as the Vera Rubin. Elle needs proof, but she also needs a plan. If the drug that allows them to travel deep-space is at fault, what then? Elle and her friends Ashok, Achebe and Jin-Hai are pressed to their limits to find a solution to their problem before the ship erupts into chaos... with light years left to travel. This is what she trained for her whole life; yet now everything feels so untethered.

Genres: Science Fiction

392 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 23, 2018

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[T.J. Dallas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this!!

Elle, one of 150 colonists aboard a spaceship destined for an uninhabited planet, Amelie Noether, is suspicious of strange goings-on aboard the ship. The crew hibernate for a few months at a time during the three year journey, but the drug used has certain side effects that turn some friends into foes. While trying to investigate, one particular friend-to-foe is determined to make life hard for Elle, so when the ship is close to docking at a station near the intended planet, Elle launches her escape pod early. Alone on a brand new planet, she discovers aspects of the new world that ask more questions than it answers. Elle takes her duty as a colonist seriously, impregnating herself in order to begin building a community, when suddenly some other crewmates from the ship are thrust back into her world. Thankfully, she still has a few friends among them...

I can't wait for book 2! I've already purchased it (even though I'm supposed to be on a ban from buying books until I've read what's on my Kindle already, lol.) I'm not 100% sure how this ended up on my Kindle mind you... It's not lesfic, which is what I predominantly read, but this was a lovely surprise nonetheless. Would recommend. 👍

[N.N. Heaven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elle Silver is a scientist on board the Vera Rubin, heading through space to colonize a faraway planet. All of the people on the Vera Rubin have been trained on how to endure the long journey and for all contingencies except one: negative side effects of the space-travel drug known as HCH. The biggest side effect being an uncontrollable rage, even in the most docile persons. The more Elle investigates, the more troubling things become on the Vera Rubin. Can Elle and the colonists maintain control of these urges before they reach their destination or are they all doomed to die?

Freefall is an intense science fiction story dealing with many themes, the biggest centering around space travel's effects on human beings. It's not a new theme in the realm of science fiction but Jana Williams puts an intriguing spin on it. The plot moves at a good pace, though it is slow at the beginning. But once Elle goes exploring, that's when the plot takes on new dimensions and speeds up. Her exploration and discoveries captured my attention and I found it impossible to put down. Intricate description narration plunges the reader into the world Elle is discovering. By the time the reader reaches the end, there are more questions than answers but I found it compelling and added to my enjoyment of the story. A brilliant addition to the science fiction lexicon and one I highly recommend! I can't wait for the next one in the series.

My Rating: 4.75 stars

Reviewed by: Mrs. N

This review first appeared: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/po...

[Susan Welch]

DNF at 27% Too much stuff just didn't make sense. Not in the "mystery" way, just in the "why would they put a person with sleep apnea on a hibernation-dependent mission" and "does this ship actually have any command staff" and "how is this person a scientist" and "why is the brilliant AI mystified by colloquialisms" sort of stuff.

[Renee Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really, really wanted to like this. The story has so much potential, and I couldn't stop reading because I wanted to know the answers to all the questions that popped up along the way. The problem is, we never get those answers.

Unfortunately there are just too many things that don't make sense throughout the book. The characters are also two dimensional, there are a lot of opportunities to build on their character and set them apart from each other that the author just didn't take. These factors make the book feel unfinished, as though it needed a few more drafts before it became the story it's supposed to be.

[Rowena Redman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read with a lot of detail and mystery. Definitely makes you want to read on but ultimately not sure it was for me.

[shalini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our tale begins in 2418 when Paris is buried knee-deep in sand and deep space exploration is quite a thing of the present. In fact teams are trained and set into space to colonise habitable planets with Earth-like atmosphere. A group of 150 colonists have been just jettisoned aboard the Vera Rubin into deep space journey to a new planet in the Three Sisters star system.

A new sleep inducing drug has been discovered which allows for suspended deep sleep akin to hibernation. This allows for conservation of food rations, energy and fuel while on a mission in space. Elle is one of the 150 colonists who begins to suspect something amiss with the drug and its side effects.

She begins to investigate this anomaly, when her partner-lover turns violent on her. Terrified, she escapes from the ship just before it's about to dock at its final destination - a space station above the new planet.

Read my full review here - https://www.shalzmojo.in/2018/11/book...

[Enakshi J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Freefall’ explores the predicament in a small deep-space ship that is light years away from Earth.

Freefall is a thrill-packed avant-garde that promises to elicit heightened feelings of surprise, anticipation, anxiety and suspense. Revolving around Elle, who travels light years ahead into deep space along with several other crew members to colonize another planet, this story elaborates on the troubles and restrictions in space research. The main conflict of the story is the drug that is a potential sleep inducer. But it has side-effects and no one is sure about it. The quest to unravel the aberration in the medication that has given some instances of furore, rage and anxiety forms the major part of the plot.
Read the complete review here: http://aliveshadow.com/category-bookr...

[Melanie A · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book has a great beginning and middle. Colonists on their way to a new world. There's lots of science and some weirdness that is enjoyable. But then, it just became less about science and more about feelings. Not what I was in the mood for.