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Colony Launch
Humanity is at war...
...many citizens want no part of it.
Governor Antony Lemkin has done the unthinkable as a politician--voluntarily stepping down from his post in protest of Earth's escalating war with the Aryshans.
With war drums beating and the machinery of government going full force, there's little he can do to but voice his dissent, until mega-industrialist Fabio DePino presents him with a plan: build a new Earth, far away from humanity's conflicts.
But will Earth's government simply let colonists leave their control?
Fans of Babylon 5 and Robert Heinlein's classic The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress will love this new space colonization adventure by #1 Bestselling author Jon Del Arroz!
...many citizens want no part of it.
Governor Antony Lemkin has done the unthinkable as a politician--voluntarily stepping down from his post in protest of Earth's escalating war with the Aryshans.
With war drums beating and the machinery of government going full force, there's little he can do to but voice his dissent, until mega-industrialist Fabio DePino presents him with a plan: build a new Earth, far away from humanity's conflicts.
But will Earth's government simply let colonists leave their control?
Fans of Babylon 5 and Robert Heinlein's classic The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress will love this new space colonization adventure by #1 Bestselling author Jon Del Arroz!
- GenresScience Fiction
300 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 17, 2020
34 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
Jon Del Arroz
78 books451 followersJon Del Arroz is a powerhouse in speculative fiction and comics, celebrated as "the leading Hispanic voice in science fiction" by PJ Media, and a #1 Amazon bestselling author whose works resonate with fans craving bold, unapologetic storytelling. His novels, like the swashbuckling steampunk adventure For Steam And Country and the space opera The Stars Entwined, have earned accolades for their fast-paced plots and richly drawn characters. He is a Dragon Award finalist and 2018 CLFA Book of the Year Award winner, as well as N3F Speculative Fiction winner for best graphic novel.
Beyond the page, Jon Del Arroz is a prolific journalist and cultural commentator, with incisive pieces in outlets like The Federalist and Fandom Pulse that tackle the intersections of pop culture, gaming, and politics with fearless clarity. His investigative work and YouTube livestreams have built a loyal following, offering a sharp alternative to mainstream narratives.
Beyond the page, Jon Del Arroz is a prolific journalist and cultural commentator, with incisive pieces in outlets like The Federalist and Fandom Pulse that tackle the intersections of pop culture, gaming, and politics with fearless clarity. His investigative work and YouTube livestreams have built a loyal following, offering a sharp alternative to mainstream narratives.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 9, 2020
A thoughtful and character-driven slow-burn piece of sci-fi. The tone for the majority of the book reminds me of The Martian: if you like seeing capable people work through the logistics of the problems ahead of them (like I do) you'll enjoy Colony Launch. The real excitement begins in the third act as the various POV characters begin to come together. I'm definitely excited to see more of Ixora!
March 10, 2022
A disenchanted former politician, a man imprisoned for a foolish mistake, a security officer with PTSD, and a biologist living in the shadow of her father all new purpose for life when Fabio DePino builds a starship to take colonists on a one-way 100 year trip to a distant planet, there to start a new life far away from Earth’s war with the violent Aryshans.
This story follows four primary protagonists, all with their own interesting journeys, which come together near the end. This book is the story of how these people came to be on the colony ship, so you’ll have to wait for the sequel to see them settling in to their new world. However, that doesn’t mean you won’t see aliens worlds and spaceships. Colony Launch has surprising a lot to offer.
I enjoyed all the characters but I especially felt sympathy for Dalton, a largely honest businessman who finds himself in jail for signing documents without reading them, thus being found cupable for his boss’s criminal activity. Surrounded by dangerous criminals, his only chance to protect himself might be to get in with some nasty individuals. Even the promise of travelling to this distant colony might not be enough to get him out from under the thumb of the notorious spider clan.
The climax was a thrilling. It brought all the characters together and really helped me reframe the way I saw the prisoners.
The Aryshan War series run parallel to this story, which I’ll be checking out, but I’m very much looking forward to following the story of these colonists in Ixora Colony book 2.
This story follows four primary protagonists, all with their own interesting journeys, which come together near the end. This book is the story of how these people came to be on the colony ship, so you’ll have to wait for the sequel to see them settling in to their new world. However, that doesn’t mean you won’t see aliens worlds and spaceships. Colony Launch has surprising a lot to offer.
I enjoyed all the characters but I especially felt sympathy for Dalton, a largely honest businessman who finds himself in jail for signing documents without reading them, thus being found cupable for his boss’s criminal activity. Surrounded by dangerous criminals, his only chance to protect himself might be to get in with some nasty individuals. Even the promise of travelling to this distant colony might not be enough to get him out from under the thumb of the notorious spider clan.
The climax was a thrilling. It brought all the characters together and really helped me reframe the way I saw the prisoners.
The Aryshan War series run parallel to this story, which I’ll be checking out, but I’m very much looking forward to following the story of these colonists in Ixora Colony book 2.
September 1, 2024
Only the 3rd story by Jon Del Arroz that I've read, but I enjoyed the first two (the comic "Flying Sparks" and the first in the steam-punk series "The Adventures of Baron von Monocle".
And I enjoyed this one. The writing is a little rough in places, which could have been cleaned up with better editing, but the story, tho off to a slow start, soon got me interested.
A very rich inventor/entrepreneur plans to build a spaceship ark and move himself and a few thousand other souls to a new planet in a far away galaxy. However, there are many high hurdles to overcome before fruition: political obstacles, recruitment difficulties, gathering the required supplies, etc. The inventor believes the Earth is doomed and hopes his daughter, a plant biologist working on her PhD, will accompany him.
There are several different characters each with their own story, some on distant planets, and these threads gradually come together in a satisfying manner.
The main characters are all quite different from each other: apart from the elderly inventor, there are also a politician and his wife, the inventor's daughter who has no plans to leave Earth, a female soldier suffering from PTSD, a white-collar worker in jail for fraud who may or may not be innocent, and some seriously vicious criminals in the same jail-planet.
Things become interesting as unexpected problems arise one after the other: an alien race attacks the planet the female soldier is on, causing the event that traumatises her and starting her downward spiral. The politician is brought on board but the negotiations with the government hit a speed bump: a non-negotiable condition for permission to leave is that the project includes 2,000 prisoners in order to help ease the serious over-crowding. Meanwhile, on the prison-planet, our white-collar hero uses his brains to get protection from a prison gang leader, but he wants out: he applies for the colony project and is accepted, only to discover...
It is one serious problem after another and it begins to look like the ark project is doomed. It all starts to unravel at an increasing speed.
I found the traumatised soldier one of the more interesting characters. I've no idea how accurate Del Arroz' description of a PTSD-sufferer is, but the unexpected, abnormal reactions and choices of this character kept my interest.
I'll be downloading Book 2 today.
This book is available in paperback as well as on Kindle.
And I enjoyed this one. The writing is a little rough in places, which could have been cleaned up with better editing, but the story, tho off to a slow start, soon got me interested.
A very rich inventor/entrepreneur plans to build a spaceship ark and move himself and a few thousand other souls to a new planet in a far away galaxy. However, there are many high hurdles to overcome before fruition: political obstacles, recruitment difficulties, gathering the required supplies, etc. The inventor believes the Earth is doomed and hopes his daughter, a plant biologist working on her PhD, will accompany him.
There are several different characters each with their own story, some on distant planets, and these threads gradually come together in a satisfying manner.
The main characters are all quite different from each other: apart from the elderly inventor, there are also a politician and his wife, the inventor's daughter who has no plans to leave Earth, a female soldier suffering from PTSD, a white-collar worker in jail for fraud who may or may not be innocent, and some seriously vicious criminals in the same jail-planet.
Things become interesting as unexpected problems arise one after the other: an alien race attacks the planet the female soldier is on, causing the event that traumatises her and starting her downward spiral. The politician is brought on board but the negotiations with the government hit a speed bump: a non-negotiable condition for permission to leave is that the project includes 2,000 prisoners in order to help ease the serious over-crowding. Meanwhile, on the prison-planet, our white-collar hero uses his brains to get protection from a prison gang leader, but he wants out: he applies for the colony project and is accepted, only to discover...
It is one serious problem after another and it begins to look like the ark project is doomed. It all starts to unravel at an increasing speed.
I found the traumatised soldier one of the more interesting characters. I've no idea how accurate Del Arroz' description of a PTSD-sufferer is, but the unexpected, abnormal reactions and choices of this character kept my interest.
I'll be downloading Book 2 today.
This book is available in paperback as well as on Kindle.
November 14, 2020
Gave this a try due to a suggestion. Ended up not finishing it because I couldn't get past or accept the stupid contrivance. The gazillionaire hires lobbyists to smooth out things with the world government for his project. They freely admit there's nothing they or anyone else can do to stop it. All they can do is talk bad or good about it. The only way they'll talk good about it is if they agree to ruin the entire project by including 2,000 violent criminals.
Just say "no." It's not that difficult. Maybe if the author had set it up that the Earth government would blow them out of the sky if they don't, I might go with it. But they've made the point there's nothing stopping the project.
Also ignore how piss simple it would be to resolve the overcrowding issue of 2,000 criminals on a prison planet. Just build more. It's not like you don't have the manpower. Force the prisoners to work for their own shelter. Knock off 6 months from their incarceration if they do so. It's immaterial.
I just can't suspend my disbelief this far to accept such stupidity. It's purely a contrivance on the author's part to ensure violent conflict in the resettlement project.
No thanks.
Just say "no." It's not that difficult. Maybe if the author had set it up that the Earth government would blow them out of the sky if they don't, I might go with it. But they've made the point there's nothing stopping the project.
Also ignore how piss simple it would be to resolve the overcrowding issue of 2,000 criminals on a prison planet. Just build more. It's not like you don't have the manpower. Force the prisoners to work for their own shelter. Knock off 6 months from their incarceration if they do so. It's immaterial.
I just can't suspend my disbelief this far to accept such stupidity. It's purely a contrivance on the author's part to ensure violent conflict in the resettlement project.
No thanks.
November 14, 2020
Not worth it
This story started off with great intentions and interesting storyline. However as the story continues it seems that the author lost enthusiasm in writing this story. It went slowly down hill afterwards and even I wished for it to end.
This story started off with great intentions and interesting storyline. However as the story continues it seems that the author lost enthusiasm in writing this story. It went slowly down hill afterwards and even I wished for it to end.
January 26, 2025
Not a bad sci-fi romp.
Mildly disappointed because I realized that it isn't part of the main story. I really want to know how the colony develops. Maybe JDA will revisit it.
More mature than many other JDAs works but nothing that you wouldn't see or hear on a PG-13 movie these days.
Mildly disappointed because I realized that it isn't part of the main story. I really want to know how the colony develops. Maybe JDA will revisit it.
More mature than many other JDAs works but nothing that you wouldn't see or hear on a PG-13 movie these days.
October 17, 2024
This book is terrible.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews