Earth to Centauri: The First Journey

by Kumar L.

A 140-year-old secret will throw two star systems into chaos! The future is not what we expected. The year is 2095. Voyager 1 launched in 1977 with a golden record- someone has found it and is sending a signal back to Earth. India has found her rightful place as a global superpower. With a newly constructed faster-than-light spaceship named Antariksh, and a crew which includes novices like Lt. Manisha, as well as seasoned professionals, including Commander Ryan, Captain Anara reaches the source of signal at the nearest star to Earth- Proxima Centauri. Before she can meet with the aliens, Anara must clear obstacles on her own ship, including a recalcitrant Artificial Intelligence and inexplicable radiation, which threatens the safety of the mission. The implications of what they find on the planet Proxima B will resonate far beyond this first journey, exposing Earth to dangers on an unimaginable scale. And then Captain Anara finds out its creators buried a secret abroad Voyager 1.

252 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

If you want to discuss faster-than-light and time travel or black holes and new mobiles phones, then Kumar is your person.

He is a passionate tech enthusiast and social media newbie. He loves travelling and is fluent in several languages. A mechanical engineer who loves pulling apart gadgets and not exploring their innards: his background and love of science fiction help him bring technology alive in his books.

Earth to Centauri: The First Journey is Kumar's first book. It is easy to read and understand, and is suitable for a wide range of age groups. The First Journey, as well as the second book in the series, Alien Hunt, are both based on themes of adventure, thrill and drama, with a positive outlook at what the future may hold for humanity.

He is currently working on a the third book of the series - Black Hole: Oblivion.
He has also published a collection of short stories - 8 Down From Saharanpur with a myriad of tales to enthrall you.

He can be reached on Twitter @Captain_Anara or at www.facebook.com/AntarikshAnara or Instagram @KumarLAuthor

Reviews

[Dalia (book_o_creativity) · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1977 NASA launched Voyager 1 with Golden record with a hope that someday extra-terrestrials will find it. Now the year is 2095, someone has found the Golden record and is sending a signal back to Earth. Captain Anara with her elite team of professionals are out to investigate the source of signal which they presume is coming from the nearest star to Earth, Proxima Centauri. What will happen when they reach deep within the space in a newly constructed faster-than-light spaceship Antariksh, where no human has ever step a foot?

Finally I found a Sci-Fi book which suits me best. I find most Sci-Fi books are so outlandish and far fetched from reality that my rational mind can't take the fiction in them. This book is nevertheless based on 'true facts'. This is true, there is Voyager 1 launched by NASA in 1977 and Golden disk will probably be the only proof of our existence after Earth's extinction and Proxima Centauri is a star system with planets supposed to support life.

This book clicked with me from its inception. The slow build up of the plot with an intriguing storyline was enough for me to remain hooked to it. I would say this book is more plot driven than character driven, haven't seen much character development but there are quite a lot of information on them and their respective jobs. But then this is the first book of the series so I guess author has ample amount of time to develop the characters in the next books of the series, maybe we could find striking changes in them in next books.

I like the narration, the way the plots are interchanged with quality writing. There is a smooth flow maintained between the plot changes but to be honest some technical stuffs went over my head (aghh physics). Quite fast paced but in the middle it went slow and a little boring but again it caught the flow.

Overall I enjoyed it and really looking forward to read the next books.

[Himanshu · Rating 4 out of 5]

🎭The book "Earth to Centauri: The first journey is a wonderful book written down by the author Kumar L.The story revolves around the space probe voyager launched by NASA.It starts in year 2095 when a response message is received on earth from a space probe.

🎭The spaceship Antariksh well developed spaceship having Anaara as captain travels to Proxima Centauri to explore the origin of an unusual response. This mission was executed in the year 2117.

🎭Little did they know that there was another spaceship. Was that spaceship responsible for the mysterious signal..??
Who was that in the second spaceship..??
Or aliens were reciprocating that message..??

🎭The author has jotted down the time of 2095 and 2117 very skillfully. It is without a doubt an outstanding work of fiction, superbly written, and with an unforgettable storyline. It is too unique, too shocking, and too thought-provoking to ever fade.The book is an absolute page turner from page one.

🎭It is grabbing the readers from starting and takes readers into a mysterious world where reality and illusion are merging at a rapid pace.
I would recommend it to everyone those who love to read fiction books with an amazing story and plot.

[Purav · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, This book will be considered as an underrated book for me and this book really kept me gripped from starting to the ending, especially after first quarter. As the more you read the book further the more it will be interesting and sticky. I can call this book as the combo of suspense, thrill, sci-fi, unique, and one of the best one I've read. I will surely add this book in my must read book, and even you should try this one.

[Ray Smillie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love reading sci-fi as a rule, having been a fan of the genre for decades. This series sounded potentially very interesting but it was just okay, having only just finished book one. The twist was a good one, although not enough to entice me back for the rest. No major problems with the science, however the narrative was lacking.

[One More Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a very good attempt. Lot of drama and suspense. A lot of wishfull Jumps as well. Looking forward to the Second Book now.