Shipwreck

by Gail Gernat

Fiery-haired Bridgit has a temper as hot as her hair, so when the colony transport gets into trouble in deep space she must work with the only other person awake; the man she most despises. Despite their best efforts, the ship crashes on an unknown planet. Bridgit is forced into impossible situations in order to survive and protect the remaining colonists.

46 pages, Paperback

Published January 18, 2018

About the author

Gail Gernat lives in Northern Ontario, in the country with her beloved husband, Norman, a crazy dog and two aging tom cats. While being involved in many projects, this award winning author enjoys being very close to nature. Gail is also living with lymphoma and these factors inform much of her writing.

Reviews

[Toni Kief · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not my usual genre

This story starts fast and never stops. A difficult protagonist, outspoken, smart and independent. Little does she know how important she is to every survivor. Fast paced with well developed characters. I was shocked with the ending because I wanted more.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hope in the main book in the series that Bridgit calms down and gets off her high horse. Her ‘I am better than you’ attitude was annoying me a little. You got to find out a bit about her history, so you knew she was the way she was because of how she was brought up. The jealous was well written but felt a bit like it was there for drama sake.

I liked how it set this clean slate, you don’t know much but neither do the characters on the planet. You learn as they learn. It is interesting to see what else happens there and if there is another humanoid life there.

The cover does set the wrong tone for the book. There is very little romance at all. The only bit you see is at the very end.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This sci-fi novella was a fun quick and interesting read. The main characters quick-witted remarks make me laugh and I can totally understand her, and relate to her being from a large family with sisters. The author writes brilliantly, and I always enjoy her stuff. I would recommend this light and fun read to anyone.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a well written, quick and enjoyable read. Bridgit, the passionate heroine takes center stage as she takes you through the trials and tribulations of trying to save herself and crew members stranded on an alien world.

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book - loved the ending.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story started with promise, albeit laced with frustration around the interactions between Bridgit and her co-pilot, Oliver.  

And ultimately, therein lies my issue with this story.  Bridgit and her ability to interact as an adult with other people.  I'm afraid that I didn't take to her at all, finding her behaviour to be somewhat juvenile and petulant.  

I think that this story perhaps was adversely affected by the format and restricted page count.  It felt rushed. 

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.

[Gypsy Madden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, very short novella. Both Bridgit and Oliver are strong personalities, which made it hard to sympathize with either one. Both characters do grow on the reader after a while, and Oliver does mellow and change (though I had hoped Bridgit would grow too, but she steadfastly remained what she was). As in, Oliver started out an Alpha male type, trying to assert himself at every step, and show he was better than her, as well as slapping her on the ass at least once. While Bridgit was a know-it-all and determined to prove she was always right and completely unwilling to give others a chance or an inch. Like the insisting that rescue would never come (it would have been nice if she could have at least given the others some hope, regardless of if it was unlikely). For all of the arguing that Bridgit did, I was surprised she didn’t say a word about him slapping her on the ass. And was Oliver really higher ranked? Because if he was, she should have at least acknowledged that regardless of if she was the better pilot (made her look like a spoiled child rather than a grown woman). Admittedly, the copy I received was an advance reader copy, so I don’t know if they’ve been fixed or not, but I spotted quite a few quotation mark errors. There were quite a few missing ones when characters were talking and at least one spot where the quotation marks went around an action scene. The new planet was fascinating and I did like the adventure of it as they foraged for food and explored. And I loved the cats. In other words, for being such a short story, it did have a lot to it, and though predictable, it was still fun.

[Sandy S · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

About the book: Release Date November 29, 2017

Fiery-haired Bridgit has a temper as hot as her hair, so when the colony transport gets into trouble in deep space she must work with the only other person awake; the man she most despises. Despite their best efforts, the ship crashes on an unknown planet. Bridgit is forced into impossible situations in order to survive and protect the remaining colonists.


•••••••

REVIEW: SHIPWRECK by Gail Gernat is a short sci-fi story focusing on the crew and survivors of the spaceship Amazon that crashed onto an unknown planet. Three days into a six month long journey to ferry two hundred colonists to their new destination, a collision with another ship changed the trajectory of the Amazon such that the nine survivors would begin a new life battling the elements and one another. Allegiances are made; friendships are formed; the ultimate bully takes a stand forcing one of the ship’s pilots to venture off on her own.

Told from first person point of view (co-pilot Bridget) SHIPWRECK is a very quick read focusing on the first few weeks of survival on a new planet, and the fall-out when jealousy and madness take control. The writing is simple; the characters are immature; their behavior is adolescent and childish including the acrimonious and caustic relationship between co-pilots Bridget and Oliver. From the outset, Bridget’s attitude and mindset is disconcerting and juvenile; her likeability is questionable and in this I struggled to enjoy the overall premise.

Copy supplied for review.