Star Of Epiphany

by Omar Fink

When a cluster of large comet pieces threaten to destroy Earth, scientists scramble to find a way for humanity to survive. They quickly rule out the “destroy or deflect” option leaving them with evacuation as the only plan. They’ll need to build a thousand space elevators, move eight billion people up them into space, and construct hundreds of giant space habitats to provide permanent living quarters.

513 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 3, 2019

About the author

Grew up reading science-fiction (Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Bradbury...) and now I'm writing it.

Some favorites include: Dune, Foundation Trilogy, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Stranger in a Strange Land, Robot series (Asimov), Gateway/Heechee series (Pohl), Martian Chronicles, Enders Game, Contact, The World of Null A, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, ... many more and many short stories.

Currently live in Georgetown, TX.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, Omar, I didn't know what to think when you suggested I read your book. I had never heard of you, until you commented on my review of another book, and I have read several first novels (I think this is your first?), and pretty much have not had a good experience reading them.

That said . . .

I definitely didn't waste my time on this book. In fact, I already have another person reading it, before I even finished it.

I am going to try to leave out any spoilers in the following short review.

First, please explain the title to me (offline, in Goodreads). I enjoyed the plot, and the solution(s). I liked the way you tracked characters. I liked the pace of the book, there didn't seem to be any words/$$ fillers. Many of your predecessor authors were obviously paid by the word. I thought, at the outset, that 500+ pages would be far too many, but you needed every one, and thank goodness, there was no rush to the climax (that will be another thing I'd like to talk to you about offline).

I haven't read all of the SF books written, nor have I read any of the other reviews of this book, but I thought the plot was fairly unique, and the development of the solutions to the problem, presented by the plot, was very enlightening.

Thank you for writing this book, and recommending it to me. I hope to pay it forward many times.

[Jerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The author did a great job of creating a new society with a fascinating (and hopeful) look at how the world could be. I am so glad he didn't fall into the trap of just talking about the conflict humans would inevitably fall into. That story has been done thousands of times. Instead he focused on the possibilities that a huge, world threatening disaster would bring forth in science, technology and human nature. The book reminds me a bit of "The Martian" in that it uses science and the creative mind to create the drama. The only criticism for me is the character of Lee Martin - she starts out as a top astronomer but the only story we really get about her is her sex drive. Ugh. But a great read all the same.

[Sharron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional read! I am not a Sci-Fi reader, however I picked up this book and I could just not put it down. The science has been well researched and is extremely accurate as well as fascinating.

You have action, science, some romance, and growth of character. What more could you ask from one book? Well worth the read.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to one and all!

[JW Dillingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book

This is a great story, the science seems doable with the advances/discoveries introduced. The characterizations are solid and believable.

Why only 4 stars? I found the numerous grammar errors very distracting from the story line. But that is mainly because of some proofreading/editing background so errors jump out at me. I imagine the average reader won’t even be aware of them.

Definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys science fiction mixed with hard science. It was definitely a fun read.

[Roxie Klinksiek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heavy on the science

If you like your science fiction heavy on the science you will love this book. The science is fantastic. Multi faceted characters and excellent dialogue made for a delightful read.

[Read Ng · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a GoodReads giveaway of a Kindle Edition book.

This was a Hard Science based book. It went to great effort to get the details mostly right. I think there was a little science bending to make the story flow. It is a bit of a fairy tale. Events just fall into place a bit too nicely and one never gets the feeling that humanity is doomed.

The technology needed for this concept to work would be several years in the future, but the many musical references (the soundtrack) would make it appear to be just next month.

For the most part, the ugly selfish side of humanity did not come through. Well, the rich guy's wife happens to die while in the middle of a divorce, but that was just a ticker tape news flash. This lack of realism made it more of a fairy tale than a thriller.

I loved the hard science, there was just not enough threat of eminent failure. There were many concepts introduced, but a lack of follow up. For instance, we have a self aware AI, but it never really has an interesting subplot. The author was too caught up with wowing us with science and not enough effort in creating conflict and suspense.

Go find your next GoodReads.

[Dr. T Loves Books · Rating 1 out of 5]

From the first paragraph, the writing felt very forced, as if the author was trying to prove themself. The description was too detailed, offering irrelevant information that was neither helping establish character, nor creating setting, nor conveying tone, unless the tone was "pedantic and overly expository". There were three different vague summaries of portions of the lyrics from "Stairway to Heaven" in the same paragraph.

I tried to push on, but the dialogue was so stiff and unnatural, and every two pages, multiple new characters were introduced in ways that got them into the story, but didn't actually move the story forward. It was either exposition unnaturally crammed in, or scenes that didn't have enough context to make sense. The details offered could have been more effectively introduced as asides, flashbacks, or conversations during portions of the story that actually advanced the plot, if they were important enough to know.

After reading several of these prologue-like chapters and being no closer to the story actually beginning, I had to walk away.

[Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is A LOT of story. And for fans of science fiction works, that's a good thing. This story is about the Earth about 10 years away from a comet colliding with it and wiping out most of humanity. So, all of the Earth must band together to build space elevators and space stations and travel away from the planet to survive.

It reminds me a lot of Arthur C. Clarke and "Seven Eves" by Neal Stephenson in a good way. There's a lot of technical information but if you're interested in science and politics in relation to it, it's all very intriguing.

Hoping there's a sequel so after the ending we can find what's next.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best science fiction books I've read in a long time. It starts with the breakup of a comet that threatens to destroy the earth and goes on to to address a host of topics that are current today ... from the new financial environment of the bitcoin, to self-realizing artificial intelligence, to the issue of national states vs. world government and much, much more. The technological issues are fascinating; the characters are varied and complex; the chapter heading quotes are thought provoking. I found this a really interesting read.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.

[Clay · Rating 2 out of 5]

In spite of the main story line of "our planet is about to die," this story lacked any real adversity. The characters were so poorly developed I think 2 dimensional would be generous. Most of the characters were gratuitous at best. Hard to get invested in any of them. The salvation story line was beyond any stretch of the imagination. The mechanics of this salvation story were neither satisfying or remotely realistic or believable. Realistic human behavior was mostly absent. Even worse, I was bored through most of the book.

[Thomas Lennek · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Nice Dream

A comet striking Earth, killing all living things. Humanity banding together to move all humans to space for survival. Believable catastrophe, somewhat implausible cooperation amongst humankind. Good story, somewhat Tom Clancyish in that all the technology works, nothing breaks down, fuel doesn't run out, or isn't requisitioned, etc. Believable characters,

[Traci · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

Sorry, I can only get through 15 pages. This feels like someone took a creative writing class and is using all of the cliches.