The Year Before the End

Sovereign Earth #1

by Vidar Hokstad

Forty years ago humanity found out we were not alone. The Centauri offered us the galaxy.With one year to go before the gate is ready, Captain Zara Ortega learns of a conspiracy between Mars separatists and the Centauri to split the solar system between them. The crew of the ship Black Rain goes on a daring raid from one of the most well-guarded stations in the system to uncover the truth, but an attack on their ship raises more questions.A meeting with their contact near Mars goes badly wrong and leads them into a chase through the asteroid belt in a desperate bid for survival.Deceit and betrayal have put not just their lives on the line, but the future of humanity.

Genres: Science Fiction

235 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 23, 2020

About the author

I've been writing for myself for about 30 years, and had a blog for my technical work for many years as well, but started writing for publication much more recently.

I grew up in Norway, but have lived in London since 2000. I live with my son.

My blog is here - I'd import it to Goodreads, but the Goodreads blog sync mangles the formatting badly.

Reviews

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very nice outing in Sci-Fi adventure with lots of action. I read this so fast since it doesn't slow too much so it's a good fun read.

The one thing I thought made the story-telling drag for me was when there was too much explanation, but maybe that's the thing with sci-fi and fantasy -- the world-building. I just think it's better when the descriptive building is interwoven with the rest of the story. For example, I think it's not until around page 60 that Zo and her crew are at the doors of the space ship they're going to infiltrate. Up until then, there's world-building and it's like reading blueprints written by an engineer. Granted, it's so detailed that you could build a dome on Mars all yourself. Well-researched and thought out by the author, so maybe it's me. Still, that was the least favourite thing I had reading other sci-fi authors. I wanted the building to be finished and the plot to begin. Here it seems like the plot stops for building to be done, then it resumes once the structures are up and running. Meaning: by the second half of the novel, all the world building is done and we the readers can concentrate on the action-packed plot.

Speed up, don't slow down, is essentially what I'm saying. I understand the need for details, but they're better when woven in. Philip K. Dick does this well.

But the end of this story makes the reader want to know what happens next, when the aliens finally come a-knocking.

Thanks, Vidor, for sending me your book. Keep writing!

[Kayla Kay's Hidden Shelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 Stars

I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A fast paced sci-fi, with gritty characters you can’t help but cheer for. The Year Before the End is a self-published sci-fi and book one in the Sovereign Earth series.

When humanity found out they weren’t alone in the galaxy, they were met with instructions on how to build a gate. This gate would allow humans to connect with a larger system of space travel across the stars. The Centauri, promised humanity the galaxy. Captain Zo, a mercenary, takes jobs with great care. Valuing her crew’s safety above all else. After learning of a conspiracy between Mars separatists and the Centauri to split the solar system between themselves. Zo decides to act and must infiltrate a heavily protected station to uncover the truth. When things turn bad, can Zo save her crew and humanity?

This is packed with action and doesn’t waste time pulling you into the story. While we’re met with a quick introduction to the world and its history, readers are thrown right into the fire.

With great characters that feel grounded, have an engaging dynamic between them, it was easy to fall into their personalities. These are characters who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty and were charming in their own ways. This had well explored characters and world building that gives us just enough to get lost into the pages. While elements of characters backstory or the world building are shown through their expositions, it flowed well with the story.

There were small details in the world building and the characters reactions to those things, that made it feel more probable.

At 235 pages, Vidar Hokstad accomplishes a lot in a short page count. The pacing starts medium, switching to a fast pace right to the end. This is the kind of sci-fi you could binge in a day or two.

An entertaining read and great start to a new series. This has a heist, great characters, political intrigue, factions, mystery, action, high stakes, betrayal and leaves you pondering.

The Year Before the End also sets up for book two, Galaxy Bound.

I’d recommend this for sci-fi readers looking for their next epic sci-fi.

[Lynn DeLong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zo, a mercenary, takes a job that may be the most difficult and dangerous task she has ever undertaken. Zo and her crew are hired to retrieve proof of a paradigm altering conspiracy from one of the most fortified space stations in Earth’s orbit.

Zo, and her crew, devise a perfect way to break into the station. Everything goes to plan, until a few ships from Mars start firing on the station while the crew is in the middle of stealing the ‘proof’. In the confusion of the station attack, the crew is able to get away with what they had been hired to steal.

Once free of the station, and on their way to the drop-off, Zo begins having concerns about what they’ve stolen, and they turn out to be true. The shadowy figure that hired them to steal the ‘proof’ is the same shadowy figure at the head of Sovereign Earth, a political movement arguing for full Earth control of colonies, and an end to the Earth-Centauri gate. He plans on using the ‘proof’ to start a war. Can Zo and her crew stop him before it’s too late?

This space age story is rich with detail and feeling. The background information is incorporated in such a way that it doesn’t constrict the narrative. The reader feels for the main characters and wants them to succeed. I would love to read more about Zo and her team.

I received this book for free for this review.

[Vesna S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Forty years ago humanity found out we were not alone. The Centauri offered us the galaxy. With one year to go before the gate is ready, Captain Zara Ortega learns of a conspiracy between Mars separatists and the Centauri to split the solar system between them. The crew of the ship Black Rain goes on a daring raid from one of the most well-guarded stations in the system to uncover the truth, but an attack on their ship raises more questions. A meeting with their contact near Mars goes badly wrong and leads them into a chase through the asteroid belt in a desperate bid for survival. Deceit and betrayal have put not just their lives on the line, but the future of humanity.

I’m usually used to sci-fi adventures being well over 500 pages and this book being just a little over 200 pages it was quite a breath of fresh air. It turned out to be a page turner with an exciting plot that grabbed my attention and not being overly extended it fits quite well to the sometimes busy schedule.
The story is action packed and is really well written. I thought it might lack some aspects since it’s not really a long book but I was mistaken. The story is quite rich with detailing and world building and the characters are well presented. The descriptions of the battles in space and locations were the best part of the novel. They were so detailed it made them very realistic and the same goes to locations, I could picture every single view from the spaceship. I also loved the dynamic between the characters in the Black Rain crew and their different views on events, which also, with different reactions, turned out to be pretty realistic. It showed their differences quite well despite having a common goal.
As I mentioned, the book is very detailed with information. For some purposes it is great and on some occasions it went a bit over the line. As much as I love the “science” in science fiction, some technical descriptions were a bit over-explained and at moments it felt like reading some sort of manual. But once getting through that point the book just flows to the end. What I was also missing is getting to know the characters a bit more, and some back story might be useful but the info might be held back on purpose since this is the first book in a series.
The conclusion: it’s a great short sci-fi page turner. If you need a break from long adventures this is absolutely a great choice. It serves everything you need: science, space battles, politics and much more. As since this is the first book in the series, which is supposed to be a 6 books series, I really look forward to future releases.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book in the Sovereign Earth series by Vidar Hokstad. And it’s such a great start for this series. I enjoyed reading this book, and I’m looking forward to following the crew’s journey in the next installments.

Although there were some info dumps at the very beginning, the overall pace of the novel picked up quite a bit after the first few chapters, and I felt that the author did a great job pacing the story afterward.

The well-thought-out characters were the favorite part of this novel for me. Clarice, with her technical abilities, and augmented and enhanced by technology body has topped the chart.

If you like space operas filled with intrigue, great characters, space battles, and political drama, I believe this will be a great book for you. I highly recommend it.

I received a free review copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Joshua Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast-paced work of science fiction with an interesting plot and premise. However, the book felt more rushed than fast-paced to me. I would have preferred the author slow things down and spend more time on characterization, as all but a handful of characters felt more like names to me than fully realized characters. I didn't connect with the writing style - the short paragraphs and chapters reinforced the too-fast pacing for me, and I actually preferred the info dumps more than the scenes with the generic characters noted above. But that said, I really enjoyed the overall story, and think it will work for some fans of fast-paced science fiction. 2.5/5

[Eric Demarest · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Year Before the End by Vidar Hokstad is a fast-paced sci-fi thriller that completely immerses you in the world. It’s full of heists, double-crosses, and political intrigue. The author clearly understands the physics of space travel and spaceship / space station construction, and everything in the worldbuiding is incredibly thought-out. The action does take a while to get going because of the extensive worldbuilding, as there are some long tangents describing space travel, Mars habitats, warring political factions, and the like…but I have to admit, I enjoyed these passages more than the typical “info dump” because they are SO well thought-out. And when the action does get going, boy does it get going! It ultimately leads to a scenario where it’s impossible to say what the right path is, but picking the wrong one could cost not only their own lives but countless others.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and highly recommend!

[K Saju · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed reactions to this book.
I would likely rate this book around 3.5 out of 5 stars.
While I appreciate the level of detail in the descriptions and the exploration of different reactions to alien contact and especially the battle scenes, the technical language is more suited for serious sci-fi fans. However, the positive aspects such as the well-thought-out characters and the action-packed plot make it worth considering for fans of space operas and political dramas.
Thanks and apologies to Netgalley for the delayed review

[Ron Baumer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great start for a new series. The book was full of action and the author does a great job of developing characters that you can root for. I could not put this book down. A highly enjoyable sci-fi book and I cannot wait for the next one! Highly recommend this book.

Thank you to net galley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Frank Kelso · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lively military scott with non-stop action

A entertaining twist on first contact, and not every one welcomes the news. Zo, who operates a "freight" service also conducts "special clandestine" projects for a few$$$. A project with a big payoff goes bad. Zo's team she's why she hired each as they jump form frying pan jnto plasma fire. Great book one to introduce the series.

[Bert-Oliver Boehmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been trying many new (to me) authors this pandemic - this book was another great find! Good characters and fresh ideas. I will certainly read more books written by this author.

[Stine Hopsdal · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting and action packed adventure in space! I love any story with an ensemble cast, this not being an exception. This book is just fun and entertaining. To be recommended!

[Eddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC

[Steve's Book Stuff · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Year Before the End is an action packed introduction to the Galaxy Bound book series. Six books are planned by self-published author Vidar Hokstad.

It's the year 2144. Forty years ago humans first learned we are not alone. An alien civilization established contact by way of signals emanating from Alpha Centauri. The aliens, dubbed the Centari, provide a template for building gate pairs that allow a space ship to move instantly from one paired gate to another. Using this technology has allowed humans to build gate pairs throughout the solar system, allowing for a rapid uptick in colonization and exploitation of Mars and the Belt.

A large gate is being constructed to pair with a "gate core" being transported to Alpha Centauri by humans to integrate into a Centauri built gate. These paired gates will allow humanity to connect to a vast system of other paired gates throughout the galaxy. This Earth-Centauri gate pair is slated to go online in the next year.

Zara Ortega is the captain of the Black Rain. She and her crew are tasked by a shadowy figure with a mission to disrupt a purported conspiracy between Mars separatists and the Centauri to split the solar system between them once the Earth-Centauri gates are open. Their mission and all that comes from it are the subject of The Year Before the End .

From start to finish the action comes right at you on a roller coaster ride of a story. Hokstad does a great job of grounding the story in realistic science, which is doled out in just the right doses to support the action and keep it going.

As the story progressed, taking the captain and her crew from one encounter to the next, I couldn't help but think that it would make for a great adaptation into a graphic novel. The only sour note for me was that I wished there had been a bit more time spent on character development. While we do get back stories for the captain and her crew, they aren't as well developed as I would have liked, especially if we're meant to be following them through six books.

If you are a fan of action packed science fiction series, The Year Before the End looks to be the start of a good one. Book 2 of the series should be released later this year.

I give The Year Before the End Four Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐.

NOTES:
** The Year Before the End is self published by Hokstad Publishing and is available in Kindle and paperback formats from Amazon.
** I was provided a free review copy by the author in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

[Kassy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice book and I really enjoyed reading it.

I like the aspect of the characters traveling between planets like Earth and Mars, and they way they talk about space travel is like it's such a normal occurrence.

I love the main character, Zo is a kinda badass nickname, and the story of how she became a captain of her ship and crew is pretty cool. I like the story line, and the descriptions of the mars colonies are very cool and nicely detailed. Well done you have peaked my interest.

This place Vanguard that Zo and her crew are about to enter sounds pretty interesting, being an old military station turned into a trading outpost is a neat idea. I like all of the descriptions of the space travel and the different space stations and etc.

I really like the description of being stabbed in the low gravity space ship, with the blood and knife and people just floating in the air.

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and am definitely interested in reading the next one, however I am only rating it 4 stars because of how slow it felt for me. I have read 800+ page books faster than I read this book and I actually don't understand why. I loved the story and the plot, the characters were well written and the adventure in space was pretty cool. Anyway hope you like my review.

[Geoffreyjen · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are two types of writing in today's market. Well, maybe three if one counts really bad writing. The difference appears to be the level to which the writer has engaged with a process and/or editors who value good writing above the details of plotting and character development, although the latter depends on the quality of the writing as well. Note that not all well-written texts are great stories, although overall that tends to be the case. Books in the second category, however, where writing quality has suffered, may still engage readers but will never rise above the crowd in other ways. They are hampered from the get go. In the market today, with a growing number of so-called indie writers, there is a tendency to see many examples of this second category of books. Not all indie books suffer from this, but the writers whose books pass muster are those who have gone the extra mile in organizing good quality editing.

This book is in the second category, unfortunately. I found the finished writing lazy. There are too many words, and many of them do not carry the story. The book begins with long, overly wordy exposition about Mars and its infrastructures. There is no economy of language here. There are many missed opportunities to do something much more dynamic, such as to use conversations or remembered dialogue to present the information in more nuanced ways. The writer introduces a myriad of details, he has worked through the development of Mars, but the writing is heavy-handed. It lacks poetry as well as subtlety. This is not a good start.

I get to ch. 10 and there are still pages and pages of exposition with nothing really dynamic happening. I have trouble identifying with anyone, or getting any real sense of who they are as people. Most of the action seems to be highly technical in nature. There are times I feel the author is talking down to me, the reader, as if I needed explanations for things.

Reading some of the other reviews, however, suggests to me that not everyone has the same interest in the quality of the writing that I do. I read this after being invited to review. For me, this was a miss, but others may react differently.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first serious sci-fi novel I have read and I recommend this book to anyone interested in reading sci-fi or who already likes it. Vidar Hokstad draws the reader in with relatable characters (even in an advanced universe), vibrant imagery of the future (including a brief ‘how we got here’ explanation), scientific and technological accuracy, an exciting plot, and a fantastic story line. If all sci-fi books are like The Year Before the End I have found a new favorite genre.

I can understand some concerns about the credibility of this review as I have a sample set of 1 but allow me to explain. I’m a science and space nerd who’s a fan of sci-fi movies and shows. I have extremely high expectations of how accurately the real world and it’s workings are portrayed (i.e. If a technology breaks physics without an explanation the story line is no longer relevant as I can’t watch anymore). I hope that helps to offset some incredulity you may have in me as a reviewer of this genre. I hope to prove myself as you read the detailed review below.

I sense influences from some sci-fi shows and science itself, such as: The Expanse, Firefly, Contact, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Respective examples are: tensions between Earth, Mars and The Belt; a captain and crew who will do whatever job keeps them flying and is fiercely loyal to each other; an advanced civilization sending a signal to earth with imbedded data on building FTL transportation; referring to our place in the universe as a “sparsely populated galactic backwater” and aliens communicating with the human race like we are children. Being a fan of all of those I was totally geeked to see their influences in this book, even if they are falsely attributed. There are other ‘Easter eggs’ strewn throughout the book that I won’t spoil for future readers. I’m impressed how the author made the futuristic universe of Sovereign Earth realistic, relatable and, most importantly, plausible. The reader is immediately introduced to the protagonist, Zara Ortega or Zo, as she looks out over the Martian landscape. We learn about the colonization of Mars through Zo’s memories. An early example of the realism threaded throughout the book tells of how habitats on Mars started out small and basic. Function instead of form to protect residents from radiation and if you had to wander within domes between buildings, “You still didn’t want to spend much time out … because the lack of a magnetosphere still meant you would get bathed in more radiation than you should.” Scientific facts like that are woven into the book, turning my enjoyment up to 11. There is also some logically speculative points in the book like, “…local Mars-born muscle, well above average height for Earth.” Scientifically accurate sci-fi is something that I respect and helps to draw me into the story so I was hooked from the very beginning. Situations are so well portrayed that you feel like you are present in the moment, holding your breath, “Then there was the sound of metal under stress shifting and bending. The sound was almost that of someone crying. Piercing at first, the pitch dropping as the vibrations dampened. Slowly becoming a deep bass; a growl.”

The author doesn’t patronize the readers of this book. Common astronomical and physics names, places and theories are used without adding to the word count with definitions or getting into the weeds of the details. I presume there is an expectation that a reader of sci-fi to be familiar with certain tenants. Anyone reading a review may not be quite as familiar as myself so I’ll offer some advice if someone is going to delve into the genre with this book: brush up on/learn about our solar system (sol, Io, Ceres, the vast distances between asteroids in the belt, etc.), know and love SETI and go down the rabbit hole of the Fermi Paradox (pack a lunch if you choose to start looking into possible explanations to it). Some settings and situations are so well done that I had to sit back for a few minutes after reading them just to allow me to wrap my mind around them (e.g. Bridge design on the Black Rain).

The characters are so well written that I’m able to imagine them as real people that I wouldn’t mind sharing a ship with in the vast nothingness of space. Each of them has a ‘specialty’ which may be useful in different situations. I especially appreciate how the two female main characters are tough, smart and resourceful. Their skills are not demeaned by an emphasis on their appearance as the way they look is only mentioned a couple of times. The author doesn’t need to interject a seduction trope when the loyalty and skill of the Black Rain crew is so well done. The main characters are three dimensional with their own voice and personality. The humor (sometimes ill received) makes them even more likable.

There is enough action and conflict in The Year Before the End to keep even easily distracted readers engaged (trust me, I know). The protagonists face danger in many different forms throughout the book, with the ever present threat of just trying to avoid dying in space. The problems are complex and easy solutions are not readily available. The characters have to be creative and depend on each other in several instances. Just when it seems they are facing insurmountable odds one of them offers an idea so wild that it sort-of works for them… most of the time.

Not only does the main plot grab the reader quickly and make them want to continue reading to see what happens next, but it evolves over time and is multilayered. The first conflict introduced sets the stage for the series. The book has its own conflict with sub-plots that keep the reader engaged. I was happily and consistently reviewing details that had been provided trying to put the pieces of this galaxy sized puzzle together.

The Year Before the End has a satisfying conclusion and can be a stand-alone read. It’s not a fairytale ending where everyone lives happily ever after, adding to the realism. There are some threads that aren't tied up, allowing the reader to imagine possible outcomes. As it ends, the reader gets to see the dark side of Captain Zara Ortega foreshadowing the theme of Sovereign Earth book 2. This may have been the first serious sci-fi novel I have read and I already know what my second will be… Galaxy Bound.

[Joey Madia · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 2020 and early 2021 I wrote a number of reviews of novels in the dystopian future genre. As we were all locked inside and the future of the world grew more uncertain day by day, I had to add the caveat—although, to me, it is value-added—that these novels were in many ways less fiction and more handbooks for increasingly possible/probable futures.
Although I have been a paranormal investigator for 12 years—a situation I fell into after a very strange encounter in 2009—I never thought I would put a novel like Vidar Hokstad’s The Year before the End in this same category. However, after the big (public—it was well known and whispered about for years) unveiling of the U.S. Space Force, the recent and by and large hollow “disclosure” report, and the billionaire space race to colonize Mars and the Moon, this Old West–style space adventure is a cautionary tale about how it will most likely be corporate oligarchy meets military–industrial–intelligence complex business as usual in the, to borrow from Star Trek, “final frontier.”
It is also a well-paced, entertaining ride.
As the story opens, Mars and the Moon are colonized, with millions of inhabitants.
In 2105, SETI received a communication from outer space that let Earth know for sure that it was not alone. Similar to Carl Sagan’s Contact, the message—consisting of advanced math and physics elements—is an extended loop that takes months to decipher. A “gate” (portal or wormhole, if you’d like) was built eight years later, at the request of beings from Centauri, who embedded the plans in the cipher (but not Alpha Centauri—the origin point here is not disclosed).
Hokstad either has an excellent grasp of the science or is adept at faking it—famous sci-fi writers have fallen into both categories and it doesn’t matter. The rich detail adds to the three-dimensional, immersive world building without bogging down the story or confusing the reader with a bunch of jargon and references to complicated technologies. His detail of the surface features of both Mars and the Moon is impressive as well. I felt no need to look up the volcanoes and other geological points to see if they were real. Again, it doesn’t matter.
The Year before the End has all the tropes sci-fi readers love, from smugglers and mercenaries with steely nerves and snappy dialogue to up-tight commanders of space stations to ship battles and the resulting damage to the ships that improvisational hands and minds have to fix just in the nick of time. There are also rebel groups, spies, stolen schematics, and wealthy provocateurs.
And ubiquitous use of deep fake video and fake news.
In terms of predictive programming, religious cults spring up and military debates begin—very in line with Werner von Braun’s prediction that, after religious terrorism, which we have just lived through for decades, what is left is aliens.
The hero of the story is Zo, a fiery ship captain with a dark past. In vengeance for dead crew members, she once used a plasma rifle to remove body parts while simultaneously cauterizing the wounds—and she is willing to do it again.
Zo’s crew on the Black Rain has a wide mix of personalities, which every space opera needs. The solitude of space and confined area of a spaceship make for lots of “action is character” moments. Joss Whedon was masterful at this with Firefly. For Hokstad, this is an opportunity to bring in the mystery box—spies and turncoats abound as the narrative unfolds.
At the outset of the story, Zo is hired to retrieve a mysterious object from a space station, a job whose consequences fuel the rest of the narrative.
The Big Bads in this series are Sovereign Earth, a group that does not want Mars or the Moon to have independence. They are also warhawks and not at all fans of the completion of an Earth–Centauri gate. They are well funded, ruthless, and some readers may identify with them and their ideals more than a little.
The Centauri act as the wildcard, with the possibility that they would ally with Mars to give the Martian population its desired independence. Think France during the American Revolution.
With all the galactic intrigue and clashing personalities and philosophies you could want, The Year before the End will have you cheering for Zo and (most of) her crew as they increasingly get in over their heads in a cosmic conspiracy that our descendants may one day face.
Readers will enjoy the homages by way of names of ships, classes, and locations. There are Beastmaster-class warships; a Viking-class ship named the Leonidas; a station called Nautilus; references to pirates and the Jolly Roger; and Mars military stations called Hercules and Deimos, which means terror.
Nautilus—designed and decorated like its namesake in Verne’s 20,000 Leagues under the Sea— is owned by a wealthy industrialist named Terrell who is given to using phrases like “will to power.” I thought of Brandon Fugol, Robert Bigelow, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, and Jeff Bezos who are currently driving the exploration and colonization of space and the paranormal/supernatural. If I was casting this for film, Terrell would be David Warner, Terrence Stamp, or Derek Jacobi.
Given the popularity of The Mandalorian and the continued cult status of Firefly, there should be a considerable and eager audience for The Year before the End, which is a Galaxy Bound Novel, Book 1 of 6 of the Sovereign Earth Series. There is a compelling cliffhanger wherein Zo makes a deal that looks too good to be true for the circumstances she is in, so if you like the captain and crew’s first adventure, there is much more intrigue and dire warning to come.

[Zach Beelendorf · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting review for me. There is a lot to love in The Year Before the End, but there are also some negatives for me as well. I was super excited for the chance to get ahold of this novel, which I found through social media. Huge thanks to Vidar Hokstad for providing me a copy of his book in exchange for an honest review.

Starting with the positives, I think the biggest thing I enjoyed about The Year Before the End was the world Hokstad developed and what felt like a very fresh take on a first contact sci fi story for me.

The novel opens in an alternate Earth set in the future where space exploration has led to colonies on Mars and the asteroid belt. Commutation into distant space has connected humanity to an unknown alien race called the Centauri, who have provided humanity with the means to build an intergalactic gate network that will allow contact and trade. The Year Before the End is set as this gate is about to open and humans will meet aliens for the first time.

I loved this take, which didn't put the focus on humans venturing out into the distant reaches of the galaxy, but rather has an alien race reaching out to us. By the same token, I really liked how it wasn't some surprise alien invasion either, but rather simple communication and an offer for trade. The fact that it is known that a high tech race exists and that the solar system is about to open to them creates a tension that carries throughout the book. This unknown of how the Centauri will handle humanity, whether they will honor their trade agreements or simply invade and colonize our system is a fun dynamic to explore.

Hokstad is also clearly very knowledgeable and well-researched on space technology and what life in space would be like. In The Year Before the End, he takes a very non-romanticized approach to living in space. Rather than the Death Star or the Enterprise, we have ships and space stations with no artificial gravity that are uncomfortable to live on and difficult to operate. Technology is not a magic fix-all or some far-distant Star Wars level tech, but rather what we could easily imagine early Earth space colonists having.

Hokstad's more minimalist approach to technology creates some really interesting action sequences, with fighting having to take place in zero gravity or low gravity situations, and Hokstad rights conflict really well. He is also quite good at describing setting, making me feel as though I am actually in the places he's detailing.

The story is fairly fast-paced, and the plot is interesting. The novel tells a full story in a short amount of time while still leaving the reader wanting more.

There are, unfortunately some negatives as well. Firstly, Hokstad spends a lot of time info-dumping, particularly in the early part of the book. The first half of the book, particularly, feels almost like reading an encyclopedia or textbook rather than a novel. There are even whole pages and some chapters devoted exclusively to world building and explaining the technology. This does get better toward the middle and end of the book, but it makes getting to that part hard and feels very disconnected from the story. I found myself pulled out of the actual events while trying to follow the world building.

Another problem seems to come from a lack of good editing. The prose itself is acceptable, but I often found it hard to follow the dialogue and who was speaking. The random information dumps also made it hard to track with the story, and I found that when it came to telling the actual story, Hokstad used minimalistic writing, but when it came to explaining the world or the setting or the technology, he would devote large amounts of words.

My final major issue with The Year Before the End is more of a personal preference. Despite being a short work, Hokstad took on POVs from nearly every character, often switching POVs every paragraph or even from sentence to sentence. Because of this, it could be hard to track which character we were focusing on, and it felt like we didn't truly get to know any of the characters. While I was told how they felt or what their personalities were like, I didn't find myself feeling what Hokstad was describing. I think a narrower focus, taking POVs from only two or three characters rather than eight or more would have helped tighten the story in a good way.

Overall, I thought that this was an interesting and enjoyable take on first contact, especially for a self-published debut. I think with a tightening of focus and pulling back on the amount of information provided, this would have been very good. Based on Hokstad's website, it seems as though he has big plans for the Galaxy Bound universe, and I'm super excited to see where he takes this story next and how he grows as an author. Thanks again, Vidar, for allowing me to read and review your book!

[Nila Eslit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Given enough or more resources, would you grab the opportunity to take a time and space travel to Mars? In his book, The Year Before the End, Vidar Hokstad says the red planet is now habitable. He even claims that the number of Earth people traveling there has increased over a period of three decades.

Written by Vidar Hokstad, The Year Before the End is science fiction. This book is the first installment of a series of six. Its plot revolves around life in outer space. The first few sections of the book describe the infrastructure and setting in Mars. Vidar virtually tours the reader around to make them familiar of the surroundings.

The central character of the story is Zara Ortega or Zo. She’s from Earth, but she’s a frequent traveler to Mars, working as an ordinary transport operator at first. Her job involves delivering weapons to warring factions in Tharsis City. Sometimes, her work involves illegal deals. But, that’s fine with her since the pay is high. As she gets more adept in her trade, Zo receives more clients.

One day, she receives an important job offer. The client, or his representative, wants her to steal an important capsule from a highly fortified station. After some careful thoughts, Zo accepts the offer. She then gathers a crew of six able-bodied individuals and brief them of their mission.

Soon, Captain Zara Ortega leads her team and set out to the Vanguard station onboard the spaceship, Black Rain. They land on the fortified place according to plan. Using an effective strategy, Zo and her crew successfully got the item they were sent there for.

But, a sudden turn of events start coming up. Zara’s team is still in Vanguard when they realize they’re up to something. From this point onwards, the story takes momentum, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat. Fast-paced action begins as the team faces challenges one after another.

Follow Zo and her team in The Year Before the End and find out how they tackle each challenge.

The Year Before the End and its Author

The Year Before the End is a product of rich imagination. Vidar Hokstad virtually takes his readers on a unique adventure beyond Earth. His vivid descriptions of the scenes essentially make them feel like they are right where the story happens. Likewise, he shows that tourism, and even human habitation, is possible on Mars. Not only that! The author also introduces them to the technicalities of the infrastructure and the equipment found or used in outer space.

I appreciate Vidar’s keenness for detail. It’s an important factor in cultivating the reader’s interest. However, he seems to overdo it in the first few chapters of the book. Here, the author makes an extensive technical description of the spaceships and other equipment. In effect, The Year Before the End appears like an architectural and engineering manual. Also, to make the story duller, he hardly uses dialogues.

Thankfully, Vidar is able to pull away from this format before the story becomes a total bore. The story quickly ascends to a fast-paced action-packed drama after the technical descriptions. From this point onwards, Vidar shows the good storyteller that he is. His rich imaginative faculty is wild. I’m impressed at how he turns the story around.

What I like the most in the book is the author’s ability to build up his major characters. He skillfully builds each one’s persona and makes them consistent throughout. Likewise, I commend how the author organizes his plot.

The Technical Side and Rating of the Book

The first few chapters of The Year Before the End seem a bit flat. The lengthy technical descriptions and narratives make the book look like an engineering manual. Although these descriptions might appeal to people interested in engineering or architecture, they are rather boring to the general reading public.

Nevertheless, the book is a well-proofread work. Despite the flaws, Vidar makes sure his work is easy to follow. He can actually make The Year Before the End a better read. He just has to improve the first few chapters of the book to engage the reader right from the start.

In the meantime, I withhold the perfect score due to the flaws I found. Overall, I give The Year Before the End a rating of 3 out of 5 stars. But, I still recommend it to readers who love science fiction and fantasy stories.

[NOTE: The above review is also posted in The Catalyst.]

[N.J.M. Hemfrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: This is an opinion piece, not a statement of objective fact. Critiques should encourage discussion, not abject disagreement.

I received a free copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

“The Year Before the End” by Vidar Hokstad is a scifi adventure story following the criminal crew of the “Black Rain”. The book has a very strong title and cover art and is full of cool names for ships and stations. While the story does have a few dark moments, implications, and violence, I feel it’s mostly upbeat, humorous, and accessible for all ages. It’s a short novel, for me anyway, and the chapters are quick to get through once you get into the flow.

What was good:
I feel the world of the “The Year Before the End” was very well thought out and genuinely interesting. The story’s frequent sections of exposition to explain the purpose and mechanics of a particular station, ship, organization, or the Gates were my favourite parts of the book. There was always a good sense of logic to their existence and function, and the author addresses any ways a reader might poke holes in the reasoning. There’s a great air of mystery to the “Centauri” aliens who might be on the other side of the Gates, planning devil knows what. There’s a great variety of opinion between characters and governments about what those plans are and what contingencies should be in place. Hence, the tension between Earth and Mars, which reminded me of “Leviathan Wakes” by James A. Corey in a good way.

Another element which reminded me of the “Leviathan Wakes” in a good way was the author’s description of space travel, traversing zero-G, and the reality of spaceship/space station design. Again, these descriptions were fascinating and, for me, the best parts of the novel. The author made space seem as treacherous as it should be and it was great reading how characters would navigate certain obstacles or use physics to their advantage.

What could have been better:
The story is fairly simple, involving a heist, double-crosses, and a last-ditch attempt to survive all that goes down. I would have like the story to have the same complexity and intrigue as the world building.

The description could have better during the action and set pieces. I tend to like a lot of description, so the other isn’t at fault for not catering to my personal tastes, but I did wish when a set piece was reached, more time was taken to give environment some room to breathe. I often struggled to picture what a station or ship or general area looked like. I also found the description of the action difficult to follow. It was never enough to hinder my reading completely as I think I got the gist of what was occurring most of the time, but again I don’t think actions were given enough room to breathe.

This is a very fast paced novel in general, the problems and resolutions happen quickly. In this sense, the pace, I feel, also affected the character development. I didn’t feel I really got to know the crew of the Black Rain that well, yet I did feel attached enough to care if they got hurt or captured. I just wish I got to learn more of the “meat” of their cores, but perhaps this is expanded in later novels. I’m not a fan of head-hopping within chapters either. I like characters having their own chapters devoted to their world views. So, with the fast pace, there are a lot of perspectives to juggle in a relatively short space of time. Again, I felt breathing room was needed, but if you prefer a fast pace then you’ll be pleased.

Grammar and Punctuation:
In general, everything was well written. It wasn’t always obvious to me who was speaking dialogue though or why dialogue from the same person would be broken into two separate lines, or maybe it was two different people speaking but this does highlight my issue. This is very minor, however, and didn’t hinder my reading.

Conclusion:
I found the world building/exposition the most enjoyable aspects and the author has obviously done great research concerning the concepts. However, the story is fairly generic, and the characters need more fleshed-out, but the sequels could address all these issues. Thanks again for the book Vidar.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

All through last spring and into early summer, I read books two to eight of James S.A. Corey’s epic space opera series The Expanse, one after the other. Once I reached the end of book eight I knew I had a long wait ahead of me before the series was concluded. Now we have a date: Leviathan Falls will be published on November 16, 2021. I for one cannot wait. Until then, though, I was on the look out for something similar to read. I love edgy science-fiction. By this I mean, I like my futuristic universe to be both realistic and gritty. Just because humanity can reach for the starts, it doesn’t mean that the future would look glorious and hopeful. If we know anything about being human it’s that wherever we go, we bring our mess with us: we leave very little behind. Science fiction, if it’s written and presented well, can give us very perceptive insights into what it means to be human. We look to the stars and see a bright future ahead of us, and then we let our collective egos get in our way. The Year Before The End, by Norwegian writer and techie Vidar Hokstad, is a great example of what I’m talking about.

First contact has been made, and visitors from the nearby Alpha Centauri system are eager to being trading with our solar system. But they won’t be able to travel to us unless we build a gate that will allow two-way traffic between the two systems. Plans are in place and much building has been done, to such an extent that when the book begins we’re a year away from the project’s completion–The End of the title. But not everyone is pleased with meeting and greeting our new extraterrestrial trading partners. Member of Sovereign Earth, an alliance against any form of non-human pacts, are planning system-wide acts of sabotage, pitting Earth against Mars especially.

In the midst of all this we meet Captain Zara Ortega and the crew of the freighter Black Rain. Zo, as she is called in the book, is hired by a shady individual to raid a space station called Vanguard and rob from its vault information that will prove to everyone that the Centauris are in league with Mars separatists and plan to carve up the solar system between them, leaving Earth very much in the lurch and out of the picture. Of course no reasonable person would want this kind of action to take place, so Zo, in return for a big payday, agrees to take the job on. And that’s where the problems begin, because we’re left wondering who, if anyone, is telling the truth.

Those of us who have seen Rogue One will be familiar with the premise of a ragtag group of people attempting to achieve the impossible. Getting into the place is an issue in and of itself, but retrieving the information and getting out alive is quite another. When there’s a surprise attack on the station by persons unknown, Zo and her crew end up fighting battles on all sides. Plus there may be a traitor among the crew. The action flits from one set-piece to another, literally jumping between asteroid belts and space stations, with a very intriguing series villain introduced on a station called Nautilus. Mayhem ensues, and death and destruction around every corner.

Vidar Hokstad knows what he’s talking about when it comes to world-building, concepts, and technology. He starts his series well, and while his supporting characters could use a bit more fleshing out, my favourite has to be Clarice with her augmented eyes and introspective personality. Hokstad peppers his series debut with a lot of technological details that does at times slow the story down unnecessarily. But I found the same thing happened with the first book in The Expanse series, Leviathan Wakes, and look how that series turned out. Vidar Hokstad is on to something here, and if he can iron out some of these issues for the next book in the series, Galaxy Bound, then I think he has a winner. I’m looking forward to seeing where this one goes.

[Chris Monceaux · Rating 4 out of 5]

***I received a free copy of this book from the author. My review has been completed voluntarily and is my honest opinion.***

See more of my reviews here!

Plot Summary
Aliens have finally made contact and seem to be interested in helping humanity join the larger galactic stage. However, many think the aliens have other nefarious ideas and are worried the building of a gate to connect Earth to the wider galaxy will bring nothing but conquest and domination from the stars. Amidst this backdrop, Zo learns of plans that the aliens will indeed attack Earth once the gate is built and agrees to have her crew participate in a mission to stop it. Along the way, she learns nothing is as it seems and not all people, even those close to you, can be trusted. Now she and her crew must run for their lives and attempt to prevent calamity from unfolding.

What I Liked
This was a solid science fiction story. I liked it's take on what would happen if beings from other worlds made contact with humans. The various reactions described were very different, and it was a realistic approach to the topic. I think it is logical to assume some people would view the aliens as opportunity while others would see them as dangerous, and I enjoyed seeing the dynamic between the two factions play out throughout the novel. I also appreciated the amount of science present in this science fiction. I felt as though I understood what was going on, and how it was happening, fairly well thanks to the descriptions.

I enjoyed all the characters in this book, but I liked Zo and Clarice the most. They were the characters with the most background information. The rest of the crew were fun to read too, but I still felt like I didn't really know them very well by the end of the book. With Zo, I enjoyed the backstory of how she became captain and liked how capably she led the crew. Clarice is probably my favorite, though, because I loved the exploration of how she integrated technology with her body.

The descriptions in this book were very detailed. The author did a great job making the battle and chase scenes feel realistic. There is plenty of action throughout the book, which keeps things fairly fast-paced for much of the story, especially the latter half. I also enjoyed author's descriptions of locations, and I felt I was looking out at Mars with a vivid image in my mind. I loved the way he described the movement of the crew through the spaceships; it made me feel as though I was there bouncing around with them.

What I Didn't Like
Even though I enjoyed the detail in the descriptions throughout the book, I found it made the book harder to read, especially the first half. There were parts that read almost like a technical manual rather than a novel. I had to take breaks or re-read some passages to fully understand or grasp the image or information trying to be conveyed. This isn't necessarily a bad thing because I enjoyed it once I wrapped my head around it, but sometimes it made the reading tedious.

I also did not like the romance in this book. Luckily, it played only a small part. However, the one major romance scene was seriously problematic. It was steeped in sexual harassment and applied the use of a power differential and intoxication to obtain companionship. I cringed while reading it and hope the author does better with future outings for these characters.

Final Thoughts
If you like science fiction that is heavy on science and descriptions of how things work, this is probably a great book for you. There is also plenty of great action, political intrigue, and interesting uses of technology. Therefore, I rate the book 4 out of 5 stars.

[S. Bavey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was offered this book to review by the author’s publicist - thank you to Henry Roi PR and Norwegian author Vidar Hokstad. My opinions are my own and my review is honest.

The Year Before the end is the first novel in the Sovereign Earth series and is this author’s debut. For a Science Fiction book it is fairly short at 235 pages (according to Amazon) and was therefore a fairly quick read.

I did find myself getting distracted in the early part of the book as a heck of a lot of information was given all at once and I found it kicked me out of the narrative. Once the main story got going I was glad I persevered, however, as the action-packed heist that takes place on a space station, undertaken by the crew of the cargo ship Black Rain was highly enjoyable!

The heist itself had echoes of both Star Wars - with smuggling compartments being used to hide in, and Mission Impossible with the crew using magnetic devices to climb a spire within the space station and one person’s magnetic device failing.

The background to this fast-paced heist is that humans have colonized Mars and aliens have made contact. These aliens have been around for a long time and already have well-established trade routes and jump gates situated in deep space. They are casting around looking for new trade partners and hit upon the Mars outpost. The humans need to complete a jump gate for which the aliens have given them specifications before they can meet each other in person. The ‘End’ of the title refers to the completion date of this project. There are plenty of people who are against the completion of the gate, including the Sovereign Earth organization who believe as soon as the gate is ready aliens will flood through it and invade Mars. The item the crew is stealing is supposed to prove this:

“They said it was evidence of plans for invasion by the Centauri. With physical evidence to prove that is where it’s from.”

I really liked the characters of Captain Zara Ortega, known as ZO and her first officer, the cybernetically enhanced Clarice Morgan. Clarice has voluntarily had her eyes replaced with cybernetics and these were a fantastic asset and very intriguing!
Sebastian Terrell, the bad guy was also a great character, obsessed with Captain Nemo from 40,000 Leagues Under the Sea, he has decorated his space station to look exactly like the inside of Nemo’s submarine. He is a major financial contributor to Sovereign Earth and a despicable person:

“Once we take down the Mars separatists, the colony will accept it needs us. When the Mars separatists fall, all the colonies will fall back into line.”

There were also some plot twists towards the end of the book which were unexpected and well executed. I am keen to see what happens to these characters in book 2 and will continue reading in the hopes that there are less ‘info dumps’ now that the world has been established. I also hope the editing is a little better next time - however this is a good story and worth a read!

[Jim Cherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the 22nd Century of Vidar Hokstad’s The Year Before the End, the moon, Mars, and the asteroids are colonized and being exploited for minerals. There’s political intrigue as Mars wants its independence while Earth struggles to maintain its colonies, and then there’s the Centauri, an alien civilization from Alpha Centauri that has discovered Earth and wants to include it in its trading network and has been sending information on technology in the form of gates to shorten the traveling time between the galaxies and for even shorter hops around the solar system. But are their intentions truly for trading purposes or is the technology they sent to set up the gates a prelude to an invasion? This is the universe that Captain Zara Ortega or Zo introduces us to. She and her crew of the Black Rain a transport ship that straddle the line between the legal and the illegal and she and the crew aren’t particular about which side of the line they fall. Zo is hired by a syndicate to retrieve proof that the Centauri’s intention is to invade all she and her crew have to do is steal from a safe in a space station that was formerly a military station with its replacement within shooting distance. That’s the only the beginning after that begins the betrayals and intrigues, and crosses and double crosses of who is whose side and is the “proof” of the Centauri’s intentions real.

I found the beginning of The Year Before the End a little slow moving. Hokstad is an advocate of hard science fiction and a lot of the physics of traveling in space and moving around in a ship and a space station are thoroughly explained. Zo’s crew are an interesting lot, the most intriguing character is Clarice who has been “enhanced” by having her biological eyes removed for artificial eyes that can see on different spectrums of light and with more field of vision. She may also have feelings for Zo and vice versa, it tries to build a sexual tension between the two that never seems to make it, there’s only really one scene that directly tackles the issue but I wished for more hints or clues throughout that would flesh out that tension, but Holstad is probably going to develop that relationship in subsequent books (this is book one of a promised six book series). Once the heist begins, the shooting starts and the revelations come about the crews political affiliations as well as the motives of the people who hired Zo and what their true alliances are the story moves quickly, each chapter short and punchy and leaves you a cliff hanger to end a night of reading or carry you on to the next chapter.

As mentioned this is the first book in a series of six and the end of The Year Before the End sets you up with the questions left open to Zo and the mission that lies ahead of her. I look forward to the next book of the series to see how things turn out.

Note: I was given a free copy of this book in return for an honest review. I think I’ve done so.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great start to an action packed Sci-Fi adventure series! The Year Before the End, by Vidar Hokstad, is just the kind of book I love to read. A bit of fiction and a bit of science equals total reading pleasure!

Zara (aka Zo) Ortega captains the Black Rain, a transport ship that usually smuggles weapons to rebel groups on Earth. Zo and her crew are no strangers to questionable jobs and this latest gig is most definitely questionable. They are tasked with breaking into the Vanguard Station, in the asteroid belt, one of the most secure space stations in the system.

They are to retrieve a capsule that contains information regarding a plot by the Mars separatists and the Centauri, an alien race which made first contact with Earth forty years ago, to rule the system. Of course their well made plans go awry when some Mars ships attack the station while they are attempting to retrieve the capsule.

Once they manage to get free of Vanguard Station they head for the rendezvous point only to discover along the way that things are not all as they seem. The person who hired them is none other than the head of Sovereign Earth and he plans to use the information in the capsule to start a war. It will be up to the crew to stop him.

There are a lot of good things going for this book. First off, I loved all the science behind this story. It was just the right amount to satisfy my inner nerd but not enough that I felt overwhelmed. I truly love when good science and good fiction come together to give you a fascinating and entertaining read.

The story is well written and thought out. It has a cast of likable characters that work well with the plot. Though I would have liked to have had a bit more character development. That being said, this is the first book of a series, I suspect there will be more development of the characters over time.
Lastly, I liked that the plot is fast paced once you get beyond the first couple of chapters. There are no huge plot twists but the book is centered on the action and because of this I felt it was not necessary.

I highly recommend this book to lovers of Science Fiction were the emphasis is on science. If you enjoyed The Martian you will enjoy this book too. I am already looking forward to what the next book has in store for the crew of The Black Rain.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. For more of my reviews, and author interviews, see my blog at www.thespineview.com.

[Kyle Betts · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Year Before The End feels like a good introduction to something bigger. It’s the kind of story that touches on the kind of space exploration and action fans of the Mass Effect games might find familiar, and combines them with the politics of Star Wars (without the Force) and the gate technology from Stargate. The world is incredibly detailed - sometimes to the extent that it leaves very little to the imagination - and it’s clear the author did a great deal of research as every tiny detail has a reasonable explanation to justify its existence. The book makes very good use of the three-dimensionality of space and the lack of natural gravity, two things that create as many pros as cons for the protagonists and everyone else.

Something I particularly enjoyed was how both the environment and technology are different from what one usually sees in movies or games. The reason for this is explained in a believable way, making the story a plausible future for humanity. Add the political tension, betrayal, and conspiracies, and you have a human race that made leaps and bounds when it came to technology but held on tight to its greed and lack of will to collaborate in a genuine way with others.

Two things I’d have liked to see were a little more importance given to the small crew that we get to follow in the story and more use of A.I. It feels like there are two or three characters who are focused on and the rest are just there for the ride until they’re needed. When it comes to A.I., it feels like humanity remained stuck where it currently is, despite the technological progress it made. This isn’t much of a drawback, as everyone seems to be getting on just fine without overuse of A.I., but it’s something I’d have liked to see a little more. It might have even helped patch the security vulnerabilities that made it into the distant future!

Overall, the book makes for a good read, made all the more enjoyable by the fact that most things feel like a natural evolution from our present to the future (including the survival of neat scotch!) as imagined by Vidar.

[Azalea Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is set in the far future, and Captain Zara Ortega is a mercenary who takes the most demanding job her crew has ever done. Break into a highly guarded space station to gain proof of a developing conspiracy that could end the world as they know.

It was fun to read about the entire Black Rain crew, but the 2 characters that stand out to me are Zo/Zara Ortega, the captain, a tough but fair woman. Which doesn’t mean she can’t get rough and violent when she needs to. Clarice is the tech girl, and her relationship with technology is very interesting, incorporating it in her body and becoming an asset herself.

Humans are about to interact with aliens for the first time. Besides all the hopes for new partnership and trades with the aliens, lots of people are skeptical and conspiracy knocks at their door. There are lots of political and economic conversations, also detailed explanations about technology and how everything works in space. Sometimes it reminded me of Stargate SG1. The author put a substantial amount of research into writing the book.

The story is action packed, with twists and double crossings, and the space battle scenes are great. You can definitely see them in your head like a movie. I believe a little more of a backstory on Vincent, Jonas and Mons would have been awesome, but maybe the author is saving it for the next book. Also, the book is fast-paced, but all the descriptions and terminologies for world building in the first few chapters drag the story a bit. Most of those explanations could have been integrated in dialogues or incorporated throughout the story, which made me only scan between pages to get to the juice plot faster.

It was a fun sci-fi adventure reading The Year Before the End. Lots of time it reminded me of the Stargate series with the gate concept and all the technology talking with Clarice. If you are a fan of Battleships, space wars, and lots of action packed adventure, you must give this book a try!

[Leanne Boyle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I kindly received this book for free in exchange for a review. All my opinions / criticism are honest and my own.

Please note: this book is a “DNF”.

Zo (the main character) is a mercenary. She takes on jobs that aren’t always legal, but never too dangerous. That is until she takes herself and her crew on a job task which requires them to break into a space station, that’s well guarded, to steal proof and finding the truth based on a conspiracy between Mars separatists and the Centauri to split the solar system between them.

There’s extreme detail in the first chapter on Mars itself and how it’s changed over the years. In my own opinion, I just felt like I was reading from a book in school that you would just have to learn off by heart, with very little understanding. I didn’t feel like I was reading a sci-fi novel at all.

There’s a lot of ways in which the author gave information on space itself and the technology used. I feel this would be a lot more exciting for a hardcore sci-fi fan maybe. As someone who tried this genre out for the first time as it didn’t have a lot of pages and the plot seemed promising, I found it very hard to understand and grasp. Sometimes I would read paragraphs more than once to try and retain the information / descriptions but I still would be left confused.

I also disliked the writing style. The novel, as mentioned earlier, made me feel like I was reading a boring book from school rather than a sci-fi novel. There was hardly any dialogue. The novel focused a lot more on world building - giving lots of information on what things were like in the past compared to now. I personally enjoy character development and plenty of dialogue as well as the story itself and world building. The novel gave me the complete opposite of what I personally enjoy. Too much world building and not enough “getting to know the characters and their purpose in the story”.

Overall, not for me. Maybe for a hardcore sci-fi fan?

[Kurt Springs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was first published on Kurt's Frontier.

Synopsis:

As humanity started spreading into the solar system, they found they were not alone. A group called the Centauri offered humanity a chance to move into the galaxy itself. They taught humanity about gate technology, and humanity began colonizing the solar system in earnest while building a gate that would take them beyond it. Forty years later and the gate is almost ready. Enter Captain Zara Ortega (Zo) and the crew of the Black Rain. A group called Sovereign Earth hires Zo and her ship to retrieve what they claim to be evidence of a plot between Mars separatists and the Centauri to take over the solar system and split it between them. After Zo and her crew make a successful raid on one of the solar system’s most heavily guarded space stations, they find themselves left with more questions than answers. When the meeting with their contact near Mars goes wrong, they realize they’ve been lied to and double-crossed. Not sure who to trust, they make a desperate bid to save the future of humanity.

Review:

The Year Before the End tells the story of the crew of the Black Rain as they try to ascertain the truth of their current mission. Sent to retrieve data Sovereign Earth told them would prove Mars and the Centauri were planning war, the aftermath leaves them feeling that someone is lying.

Once the raid on Vanguard Station begins, the action and intrigue are intense and nonstop. Vidar Hokstad does a superb job with world-building and character development. My one complaint concerns the information dump at the beginning. Dealing with back story in a novel is never easy. His chosen method, several pages of exposition, was not the ideal solution. Once past it, however, the storytelling proves well worth the wait.