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Breathless
When Earth loses contact with a ship near Saturn, Fenroe and her crew are sent to search for survivors. But deep into their journey, cut off from support, their mission unravels.
And so it was.
The travelers went into the darkness.
And dreamt with the stars.
__
Breathless is a journey through inner and outer space. Introspective sci-fi about loneliness and feeling lost while gazing into the abyss. In the vein of films like Alien and The Thing, a fusion of hard science and cosmic horror, blended by a common theme: what humanity finds in deep-space is its unconscious.
And so it was.
The travelers went into the darkness.
And dreamt with the stars.
__
Breathless is a journey through inner and outer space. Introspective sci-fi about loneliness and feeling lost while gazing into the abyss. In the vein of films like Alien and The Thing, a fusion of hard science and cosmic horror, blended by a common theme: what humanity finds in deep-space is its unconscious.
423 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 27, 2019
1 person is currently reading
1153 people want to read
About the author
Shane Lindemoen
7 books29 followersShane Lindemoen is an award winning novelist from Minnesota and the owner of Mobius Books, a boutique publishing company focused on contemporary genre fiction. Shane received a Glimmer Train nomination for his short story Lucretius in 2007. His debut novel, Artifact (Boxfire Press, 2013) received the Golden National Independent Book Award for Science Fiction. His second novel is Breathless (Beacon Publishing Group, 2019).
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 15, 2019
Shane Lindemoen’s Breathless is a harrowing deep dive into the eternal dark. It combines the suffocating cosmic loneliness of AC Clarke’s 2001 with the visceral unrelenting terror of Aliens, but is greater than the sum of these parts - because it’s also philosophical and unpredictable, constantly zigging when I thought it would zag. Around every turn the story gets deeper, edging constantly into ever more fascinating phenomena. But there’s a personal story at the heart of this epic, and this single, fragile human thread provides a lifeline through the horrifying and bizarre. In the end it’s a story of personal loss and determination, told against the most incredible backdrop imaginable.
In short, it’s really, really cool.
If you like sci-fi horror, speculative sci-fi with hard science foundations, or just love to ponder the vastness of the universe and our relative insignificance in that hierarchy, do yourself a favor: pick it up, settle in -
- and forget to breathe.
In short, it’s really, really cool.
If you like sci-fi horror, speculative sci-fi with hard science foundations, or just love to ponder the vastness of the universe and our relative insignificance in that hierarchy, do yourself a favor: pick it up, settle in -
- and forget to breathe.
January 23, 2023
Once in a while, I get an itch for a big, fat, sci-fi novel. And while this one isn't fat (411 pages), it is big—especially in the central question that it poses:
Is time constant or is it malleable? Does time only move forward, in one direction? Or can we slip through time? If so, what would happen?
Well, In Lindemoen's very capable hands, a LOT of stuff happens, and most of it is nasty, horrific, incomprehensible, and oh.so.freakishly.violent. Two thumbs up!
So ah yup, I liked this book. The mind-fuckery of the time question was handled uniquely and quite beautifully toward the end. The descriptions of Saturn were gorgeous. Sometimes, though, I felt assaulted with similes—especially during the many attack sequences that were gloriously gross but sometimes too long and felt too similar.
Still, I'll probably read his first book sooner than later.
Is time constant or is it malleable? Does time only move forward, in one direction? Or can we slip through time? If so, what would happen?
Well, In Lindemoen's very capable hands, a LOT of stuff happens, and most of it is nasty, horrific, incomprehensible, and oh.so.freakishly.violent. Two thumbs up!
So ah yup, I liked this book. The mind-fuckery of the time question was handled uniquely and quite beautifully toward the end. The descriptions of Saturn were gorgeous. Sometimes, though, I felt assaulted with similes—especially during the many attack sequences that were gloriously gross but sometimes too long and felt too similar.
Still, I'll probably read his first book sooner than later.
January 7, 2021
Wanted to like it. Tried to like it. Very confusing. Run! Vomiting! Squirmy appendages. Blood, gore, ichor. Back in time. Repeat. Maybe we're all alive again. Maybe we're all dead? Wormhole? Chess game? Scientific terminology....
Kind of like if you've ever listened to someone announce a race or football game on the radio. Very exciting words, nothing happening.
I'll pass it on to my other sci fi reading friends and they can tell me if they disagree. I received this in a goodreads giveaway.
Kind of like if you've ever listened to someone announce a race or football game on the radio. Very exciting words, nothing happening.
I'll pass it on to my other sci fi reading friends and they can tell me if they disagree. I received this in a goodreads giveaway.
December 1, 2019
Man, I never want to be one of Shane Lindemoen's characters.
October 5, 2019
Very good
Well written sci-fi. A rescue mission goes wrong. Many plot twists. The story keeps expanding as you read. When you think you have this book figured out - it just goes deeper and deeper. Nice job.
Well written sci-fi. A rescue mission goes wrong. Many plot twists. The story keeps expanding as you read. When you think you have this book figured out - it just goes deeper and deeper. Nice job.
January 30, 2021
Do you like sci-fi, action, monsters and abstract concepts? Then this is your jam.
Candidly, I Iove sci-fi, but don't generally read sci-fi as it's often hard to follow the descriptions and concepts to imagine things that don't exist. This was no exception, but once I fell into the style, there was a mesmerizing cadence to the images. There were a couple points where things were so abstract, I had to go back and re-read where I lost the thread, but once back in, the descriptions had a flow that swept you along.
Admittedly, the physics references were a bit above my head, but I think it would have taken away from the overall picture without them.
My favorite part of the whole book was th AI Eos - so cool, but don't want to say anything more than that. Some of the characters were a little one dimensional, but they also weren't the focus either and the story arc with the main character was worth the wait.
Candidly, I Iove sci-fi, but don't generally read sci-fi as it's often hard to follow the descriptions and concepts to imagine things that don't exist. This was no exception, but once I fell into the style, there was a mesmerizing cadence to the images. There were a couple points where things were so abstract, I had to go back and re-read where I lost the thread, but once back in, the descriptions had a flow that swept you along.
Admittedly, the physics references were a bit above my head, but I think it would have taken away from the overall picture without them.
My favorite part of the whole book was th AI Eos - so cool, but don't want to say anything more than that. Some of the characters were a little one dimensional, but they also weren't the focus either and the story arc with the main character was worth the wait.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2021
Started this book knowing that I would start school again! No fear of not finishing it though! This book was a fantastic combination of Alien, The Thing and Predator! I could not put it down! Do they survive or don’t they? Traveling through time and space to rescue survivors, if there are any on a mission that could be futile, these brave space travelers set forth on a mission of the unknown and hostile territory.
A must read for all Sci-Fi lovers!
A must read for all Sci-Fi lovers!
March 1, 2023
This book blew my mind over and over. As soon as I thought I knew what was going to happen, BAM! Nope, think again! The added bonus of gore and terror was like a cherry atop this psychological journey.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews