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The Far Horizons #1
The Farthest Star
In the far future, a dormant android awakes on a vast starship to find humanity's last hopes rest with him.
Launched to carry the human species across the galaxy, Starship's generations-long journey has crumbled as machines took everything from their human creators, including life itself. Given a mission by humanity's last digital remnants, Gamma must traverse Starship's vast, dangerous bulk in search of a way to preserve Starship's original purpose.
Yet Gamma isn't the only intelligent machine on Starship, and some want a very different end as the spacecraft approaches its final destination. As he confronts the mechs that've claimed Starship as their own, the key to Gamma's survival will come not only from his metal fists, but from figuring out why Starship's humans fell in the first place.
A far-future science fiction action adventure that blends the real and virtual worlds, The Farthest Star kicks off a series that will have you wondering whether our biology or our beliefs make us human.
Launched to carry the human species across the galaxy, Starship's generations-long journey has crumbled as machines took everything from their human creators, including life itself. Given a mission by humanity's last digital remnants, Gamma must traverse Starship's vast, dangerous bulk in search of a way to preserve Starship's original purpose.
Yet Gamma isn't the only intelligent machine on Starship, and some want a very different end as the spacecraft approaches its final destination. As he confronts the mechs that've claimed Starship as their own, the key to Gamma's survival will come not only from his metal fists, but from figuring out why Starship's humans fell in the first place.
A far-future science fiction action adventure that blends the real and virtual worlds, The Farthest Star kicks off a series that will have you wondering whether our biology or our beliefs make us human.
386 pages, ebook
Published September 22, 2020
620 people are currently reading
416 people want to read
About the author
A.R. Knight
530 books32 followersI spin stories in a frosty house in Madison, WI, primarily owned by a pair of cats. After getting sucked into the working grind in the economic crash of the 2008, I found myself spending boring meetings soaring through space and going on grand adventures.
Eventually, spending time with podcasting, screenplays, short stories and other novels, I found a story I could fall into and a cast of characters both entertaining and full of heart. That story became Wild Nines, and eventually became a trilogy.
I've got a basket, maybe even a barrel of ideas for more stories coming after these, so if you'd like to see what I'm scribing, feel free to visit me at adamrknight.com or sign up for my newsletter at http://bit.ly/bkbnewswn.
Thanks for reading!
Eventually, spending time with podcasting, screenplays, short stories and other novels, I found a story I could fall into and a cast of characters both entertaining and full of heart. That story became Wild Nines, and eventually became a trilogy.
I've got a basket, maybe even a barrel of ideas for more stories coming after these, so if you'd like to see what I'm scribing, feel free to visit me at adamrknight.com or sign up for my newsletter at http://bit.ly/bkbnewswn.
Thanks for reading!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
July 20, 2024
It got hoaky when the MCs sparked a ditritus-assembled dog to animation and it behaved as a pet and protector. Hoo boy.
Interesting concept but ultimately flat imo. A massive shuffle of cards where each is a scenario, but the ultimate meaning to the whole excerise is rather banal.
But 3 Stars because it's readable and if you're in the mood, have-at.
Interesting concept but ultimately flat imo. A massive shuffle of cards where each is a scenario, but the ultimate meaning to the whole excerise is rather banal.
But 3 Stars because it's readable and if you're in the mood, have-at.
April 11, 2025
I will give this book credit for having a very interesting and unique concept. There are no living, human characters in this book, and instead the reader follows the journey of a humanoid android through a space craft that has been destroyed presumably by the former human occupants.
That said the book was confusing and suffered from excessive world building at the expense of plot and character development. Gamma’s internal struggle with humanity is interesting, but as the only attempt at character development it doesn’t carry the novel. Otherwise, I found his character to be relatively boring. And in a book with only 3 characters total, this was significant.
I did enjoy the other two, female characters in the book. Although one of these characters is not introduced until the end. I personally don’t feel like this makes up for the flaws in this book enough to make it a worthwhile read.
That said the book was confusing and suffered from excessive world building at the expense of plot and character development. Gamma’s internal struggle with humanity is interesting, but as the only attempt at character development it doesn’t carry the novel. Otherwise, I found his character to be relatively boring. And in a book with only 3 characters total, this was significant.
I did enjoy the other two, female characters in the book. Although one of these characters is not introduced until the end. I personally don’t feel like this makes up for the flaws in this book enough to make it a worthwhile read.
May 14, 2024
It wasn’t very long into this that I started getting Pilgrim’s Progress vibes – a book I’ve not read in a long, long time. What you’ve got here is the same basic premise, just without all the heaven and hell, and sin and grace.
Gamma awakes with no recollection of who he is or where he came from. But he does have a mission. He sets out on a quest. Along the way, he meets various characters, who set him off on various side quests or try to block his path or deceive him. Some travel with him for a while, others come and go, and some disappear quite quickly.
Ultimately, his quest is in search of what it means to be human.
For me, it felt like it could have been a little bit shorter. But definitely a worthwhile read.
Gamma awakes with no recollection of who he is or where he came from. But he does have a mission. He sets out on a quest. Along the way, he meets various characters, who set him off on various side quests or try to block his path or deceive him. Some travel with him for a while, others come and go, and some disappear quite quickly.
Ultimately, his quest is in search of what it means to be human.
For me, it felt like it could have been a little bit shorter. But definitely a worthwhile read.
April 14, 2023
I found this to be highly imaginative and well thought out. I have kind of a soft spot for stories from a sentient machine point of view. So much of sci-fi these days seems to revolve around a military plot with galactic battles that after awhile, just have a sameness to them. Not that they can't be excellent, but you can already see the arc of the story 20 pages in.
I basically like the smaller stories, either poignant or thoughtful, because that's where the surprises lie. For example, C. Robert Cargill's 2 stories Sea of Rust and Day Zero fit the bill and were a pleasure to read. This is like that. The entire story takes place on one ship - a gargantuan one to be sure - but there's no fleet actions going on here.
The author shows promise. His characters are interesting. He leaves plenty of mystery for future books but still largely satisfies as a one-off. That said, I would have liked to see a better resolution for one of the main characters rather than holding off for at least Book 2. To say which one I think would be a spoiler alert, but it nagged at me as I thought they would come back in this book to resolve - at least better, that character.
I basically like the smaller stories, either poignant or thoughtful, because that's where the surprises lie. For example, C. Robert Cargill's 2 stories Sea of Rust and Day Zero fit the bill and were a pleasure to read. This is like that. The entire story takes place on one ship - a gargantuan one to be sure - but there's no fleet actions going on here.
The author shows promise. His characters are interesting. He leaves plenty of mystery for future books but still largely satisfies as a one-off. That said, I would have liked to see a better resolution for one of the main characters rather than holding off for at least Book 2. To say which one I think would be a spoiler alert, but it nagged at me as I thought they would come back in this book to resolve - at least better, that character.
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September 5, 2023AI becomes Human
At first I was a little confused and didn't realize what the author was doing in setting up the story. But as the realization dawned I became intrigued by the concept and the grand scheme of the novel--- AI becoming human.
At first I was a little confused and didn't realize what the author was doing in setting up the story. But as the realization dawned I became intrigued by the concept and the grand scheme of the novel--- AI becoming human.
September 21, 2024
TL;DR
A decent read, main problem is I didn't like the protagonist. I really don't like quirky, goofy always trying to be funny characters and that's exactly what we're dealing with here. The story was interesting and I did like the whole ship full of robots. It reminded me of a game called "NieR: Automata".
My Scoring System
I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:
✓ - Main Story: I liked it, all the different robots and areas in the ship were cool to visualize and read about.
✓ - Side Stories (if it applies): I enjoyed reading about Kaydee's backstory, I found her an interesting character.
✓ - Characters: Pretty much every character except our main protagonist was great. Even the evil robots that we fight.
✓ - Setting/Ambiance: The whole story is in a ship composed of different areas and they were all interesting and cool to go though.
X - Ending: Wasn't anything spectacular but it didn't ruin the story. Average in my opinion.
Extensive Review
Our main protagonist is a vessel that it's purpose is to be filled with a mind, at the beginning we meet The Librarian, which will be our mind, a few pages later he gets killed and we get a different one called Kaydee. I don't understand the purpose of The Librarian. I guess it was so that our mind can have access to his memories and explain why he can do some stuff...
The important thing is that at least Kaydee is a cool character and I like her. This would have been a rough read if it were just our main protagonist alone.
Later on we will meet Delta, if this book had Delta as our protagonist with Kaydee as her mind it would be a way better story I have no doubt about that.
The side characters we meet along the way were interesting and the hacking part that the vessels and robots do was interesting. A nice story overall, wish we had Delta as our main girl but alas...
A decent read, main problem is I didn't like the protagonist. I really don't like quirky, goofy always trying to be funny characters and that's exactly what we're dealing with here. The story was interesting and I did like the whole ship full of robots. It reminded me of a game called "NieR: Automata".
My Scoring System
I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:
✓ - Main Story: I liked it, all the different robots and areas in the ship were cool to visualize and read about.
✓ - Side Stories (if it applies): I enjoyed reading about Kaydee's backstory, I found her an interesting character.
✓ - Characters: Pretty much every character except our main protagonist was great. Even the evil robots that we fight.
✓ - Setting/Ambiance: The whole story is in a ship composed of different areas and they were all interesting and cool to go though.
X - Ending: Wasn't anything spectacular but it didn't ruin the story. Average in my opinion.
Extensive Review
Our main protagonist is a vessel that it's purpose is to be filled with a mind, at the beginning we meet The Librarian, which will be our mind, a few pages later he gets killed and we get a different one called Kaydee. I don't understand the purpose of The Librarian. I guess it was so that our mind can have access to his memories and explain why he can do some stuff...
The important thing is that at least Kaydee is a cool character and I like her. This would have been a rough read if it were just our main protagonist alone.
Later on we will meet Delta, if this book had Delta as our protagonist with Kaydee as her mind it would be a way better story I have no doubt about that.
The side characters we meet along the way were interesting and the hacking part that the vessels and robots do was interesting. A nice story overall, wish we had Delta as our main girl but alas...
April 17, 2023
Help me buy more books
A generation starship, but does it still qualify as a generation starship when there aren't any humans left? That's a good question, and although the story doesn't explore that aspect of things, it does tackle other questions, just as interesting. The story isn't spectacular, but it does offer some interesting perspectives, and is probably worth the read for anyone who likes generation ship stories, as well as those who enjoy the kind of science fiction that provokes deep thinking. Admittedly, the story could have been done better, there's too much mixing of the virtual and the real for my tastes here, often to the point where even the characters themselves can't tell the difference, and that tends to confuse the issues a bit, but for the most part, the story is relatively well done, so it should work for a lot of scifi fans.
A generation starship, but does it still qualify as a generation starship when there aren't any humans left? That's a good question, and although the story doesn't explore that aspect of things, it does tackle other questions, just as interesting. The story isn't spectacular, but it does offer some interesting perspectives, and is probably worth the read for anyone who likes generation ship stories, as well as those who enjoy the kind of science fiction that provokes deep thinking. Admittedly, the story could have been done better, there's too much mixing of the virtual and the real for my tastes here, often to the point where even the characters themselves can't tell the difference, and that tends to confuse the issues a bit, but for the most part, the story is relatively well done, so it should work for a lot of scifi fans.
May 22, 2023
I wanted to enjoy this book, the whole concept sounded fun, but for some reason, while I was able to finish it I just didn't feel connected to it.
I wanted to write something about it but since finishing it all I can muster to say about the book is 'meh'.
It has all the components I like, space flight, robots, etc. However it just was too jumbled for me. I lost track of who's perspective we were telling the story through about half way through, kept getting the delta/gamma character confused.
The Delta character just seemed to be there to be the warrior class, but running around with a sword fighting mechs seemed weird at best to me, and the fight scenes kinda just 'happened' with mcguffins that healed them up after.
I'm not sure if I'll continue the series or not, book left with more to come. It was a lot like Red Mars to me in that none of the characters were redeemable and if they all died who cares. Maybe?
I wanted to write something about it but since finishing it all I can muster to say about the book is 'meh'.
It has all the components I like, space flight, robots, etc. However it just was too jumbled for me. I lost track of who's perspective we were telling the story through about half way through, kept getting the delta/gamma character confused.
The Delta character just seemed to be there to be the warrior class, but running around with a sword fighting mechs seemed weird at best to me, and the fight scenes kinda just 'happened' with mcguffins that healed them up after.
I'm not sure if I'll continue the series or not, book left with more to come. It was a lot like Red Mars to me in that none of the characters were redeemable and if they all died who cares. Maybe?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 17, 2023
the farthest star
It took me forever to finish this book. It was not at all what I expected. I’m NOT a computer techie, therefore I didn’t understand the majority of it. I found it to be incredibly boring and not at all understandable! I’m one of those people who when they start something they have to finish it. This includes books. Like I said, it was boring and long, but I finished it, it wasn’t until the last chapter that I finally began to be interested, only to be slapped in the face when I realized I would have to read a whole other book to have a satisfactory ending, (maybe—was there a 3rd book, a 4th, etc…..?). I quit, I will not be reading another book from this author. The only reason I gave it a 2 rating was because of the last chapter.
It took me forever to finish this book. It was not at all what I expected. I’m NOT a computer techie, therefore I didn’t understand the majority of it. I found it to be incredibly boring and not at all understandable! I’m one of those people who when they start something they have to finish it. This includes books. Like I said, it was boring and long, but I finished it, it wasn’t until the last chapter that I finally began to be interested, only to be slapped in the face when I realized I would have to read a whole other book to have a satisfactory ending, (maybe—was there a 3rd book, a 4th, etc…..?). I quit, I will not be reading another book from this author. The only reason I gave it a 2 rating was because of the last chapter.
October 10, 2024
Robots, Voices and more.
I almost put the digital book down, as the start did not really appeal to me. However, I stuck with it. The plot thickened and he storyline gave life to the characters. Maybe the characters needed that slow start. I cannot image what it would be like to wake up and have most memories wiped from existence. After reading so many sci-Fi books, I kind of predicted the end. An end that was good, plus keeps you interested in continuing to the next book.
Thanks for the entertaining read.
I almost put the digital book down, as the start did not really appeal to me. However, I stuck with it. The plot thickened and he storyline gave life to the characters. Maybe the characters needed that slow start. I cannot image what it would be like to wake up and have most memories wiped from existence. After reading so many sci-Fi books, I kind of predicted the end. An end that was good, plus keeps you interested in continuing to the next book.
Thanks for the entertaining read.
September 2, 2025
This review is for my own personal memory. Not sure it will be a use to anyone else.
I seem to have got into a strange trend of reading books about sentient robots.
Not sure why I liked this one so much. It is not as funny, witty, or charismatic as Murderbot. At the same time I liked it much better than Service Model. The character of the main vessel is interesting and naive, yet somehow engaging. Not sure I liked it enough to read the next one in the series.
About 1,600 books left in my lifetime.
I seem to have got into a strange trend of reading books about sentient robots.
Not sure why I liked this one so much. It is not as funny, witty, or charismatic as Murderbot. At the same time I liked it much better than Service Model. The character of the main vessel is interesting and naive, yet somehow engaging. Not sure I liked it enough to read the next one in the series.
About 1,600 books left in my lifetime.
July 4, 2023
This review also applies to the 2nd and 3rd books of the series -
It was a very enjoyable read. The concept was interesting, and the characters were very well-developed and likeable. The plot has very good pacing too. My only (slight) criticism is that transitions between the physical world and digital were understated, making it difficult for readers to follow which reality was being described at the time. Still, I would definitely recommend this series.
It was a very enjoyable read. The concept was interesting, and the characters were very well-developed and likeable. The plot has very good pacing too. My only (slight) criticism is that transitions between the physical world and digital were understated, making it difficult for readers to follow which reality was being described at the time. Still, I would definitely recommend this series.
October 10, 2022
At P. 75, I am totally and completely lost….
WTF ?????????
I keep reading….
OK…now I mostly understand it….
…BUT I HATE THIS FOKKING BOOK !!!!!!
Every time they say, “vessel,” I think of the old Danny Kaye routine, The Vessel With The Pestle: https://youtu.be/TJ9f2rnjB84
I HATE IT!!!!
And I keep seeing all the “mech” faces this way: https://youtu.be/0W1QU27Ot7Q
However, it seems very Original.
I can NOT follow this fokking thing.
.
.
WTF ?????????
I keep reading….
OK…now I mostly understand it….
…BUT I HATE THIS FOKKING BOOK !!!!!!
Every time they say, “vessel,” I think of the old Danny Kaye routine, The Vessel With The Pestle: https://youtu.be/TJ9f2rnjB84
I HATE IT!!!!
And I keep seeing all the “mech” faces this way: https://youtu.be/0W1QU27Ot7Q
However, it seems very Original.
I can NOT follow this fokking thing.
.
.
August 13, 2024
I enjoyed this book. Knight has a great imagination, and his style of writing allowed me to use my imagination while I was reading. I found the characters interesting, but after a while, the plot became predictable. I guess this is necessary because how would the story continue if something permanent occurred? I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys SciFi.
September 12, 2024
It was hard to relate to a character that is not human. This book was both fascinating and boring. Lots of physical fighting (mechanical against mechanical). Just as we were finally going to get to the good stuff, the actual resolution of the problem, the book ends. I didn't care enough to get the next one and read on, especially if it was going to be more of the same.
January 10, 2023
A great read
A really enjoyable read, a sci fi story with more than one twist that keeps you enthralled all the way from start to finish.
I look forward to reading the next in the series.
A really enjoyable read, a sci fi story with more than one twist that keeps you enthralled all the way from start to finish.
I look forward to reading the next in the series.
October 27, 2023
Not my kind of Sifi
I’m more of a Star Wars type. This just wan’t my cup of tea. There are some exceptional themes that I’ve never seen in a SiFi story before. I accept that. It’s just that I did not get that excitement I usually have when reading good SiFi.
I’m more of a Star Wars type. This just wan’t my cup of tea. There are some exceptional themes that I’ve never seen in a SiFi story before. I accept that. It’s just that I did not get that excitement I usually have when reading good SiFi.
March 24, 2024
I think this as close as you can get to being in the head of an Android.
It is a very well told story. The changes of perspective from internal (in his program) to real world can be disorienting at first but eventually add greatly to the tale.
It is a very well told story. The changes of perspective from internal (in his program) to real world can be disorienting at first but eventually add greatly to the tale.
August 7, 2024
The Farthest Star!
Well I did like this book. It took a while to get into the story and it is worth the read. I am going to read book 2. If you enjoy science fiction you will like this book.
Well I did like this book. It took a while to get into the story and it is worth the read. I am going to read book 2. If you enjoy science fiction you will like this book.
December 28, 2022
good yarn
Plot kept moving, advancing the characters, adding mew twists. Interesting differentiation between robots and different levels of AI and uploaded human minds.
Plot kept moving, advancing the characters, adding mew twists. Interesting differentiation between robots and different levels of AI and uploaded human minds.
January 24, 2023
Crazy Good
Mech/AI vs human memories. Who wins? Who dies? Questions partially answered yet shrouded in mystery. Continuing the series to find out the answers becomes a must.
Mech/AI vs human memories. Who wins? Who dies? Questions partially answered yet shrouded in mystery. Continuing the series to find out the answers becomes a must.
March 1, 2023
An awesome book!
The starship became corrupted and humans code robots to do everything then then other people code robots to destroy everything.
The starship became corrupted and humans code robots to do everything then then other people code robots to destroy everything.
April 1, 2023
Okay, could have done so much more with the subplot.
April 6, 2023
Moderately entertaining
The writing is blocky and clumsy at times, and the book seems to be written for those who spend more time in virtual reality than in the real world
The writing is blocky and clumsy at times, and the book seems to be written for those who spend more time in virtual reality than in the real world
May 6, 2023
All right
Endless challenges, one thing after another. I'm still wondering what killed off the humans.Was it the mechs or there leaders.
Endless challenges, one thing after another. I'm still wondering what killed off the humans.Was it the mechs or there leaders.
May 13, 2023
No direction
Led to believe that it was going to be about humans settling on another world. Whole story could have been condemned to about a hundred pages
Led to believe that it was going to be about humans settling on another world. Whole story could have been condemned to about a hundred pages
August 21, 2023
Starting Again
This is an interesting novel about a Starship with nothing but downloaded human minds and A.I. machines preparing for a landing at an unknown destination.
This is an interesting novel about a Starship with nothing but downloaded human minds and A.I. machines preparing for a landing at an unknown destination.
October 14, 2023
Different read
I had to read this book slowly...I had some trouble getting interested in it. But the plot finally made sense and I'm glad I stuck with it. On to book 2!
I had to read this book slowly...I had some trouble getting interested in it. But the plot finally made sense and I'm glad I stuck with it. On to book 2!
November 11, 2023
Excellent! A Must Read
I love the personalities of the robots! The interaction is fun reading with lots of internal and external twists and turns. Superb!
I love the personalities of the robots! The interaction is fun reading with lots of internal and external twists and turns. Superb!
February 12, 2024
I liked it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews