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First Contact
The Tempest
Marc and Emma are on the graveyard shift onboard the Sycorax , an interstellar spacecraft bound for New Haven, a colony world fifty light years from Earth. Eighteen thousand colonists lie in suspended animation, awaiting a new life around another star. For the crew of the Sycorax , interstellar flight is boring—that is until they run into a tempest. Before long, they find themselves on a crippled spacecraft falling in toward a black hole, but that's the least of their problems...
The Tempest is a tribute to Shakespeare's final play and explores similar themes while weaving some of his dialogue into the narrative. It includes references to the 1950s classic sci-fi film Forbidden Planet and Michael Crichton's Sphere , both of which were influenced by Shakespeare's work.
FIRST CONTACT is a series of stand-alone novels that explore humanity's first interaction with extraterrestrial life. This series is similar to BLACK MIRROR or THE TWILIGHT ZONE in that the series is based on a common theme rather than common characters. This allows these books to be read in any order. Technically, they're all first as they all deal with how we might initially respond to contact with aliens, exploring the social, political, religious, and scientific aspects of First Contact.
The Tempest is a tribute to Shakespeare's final play and explores similar themes while weaving some of his dialogue into the narrative. It includes references to the 1950s classic sci-fi film Forbidden Planet and Michael Crichton's Sphere , both of which were influenced by Shakespeare's work.
FIRST CONTACT is a series of stand-alone novels that explore humanity's first interaction with extraterrestrial life. This series is similar to BLACK MIRROR or THE TWILIGHT ZONE in that the series is based on a common theme rather than common characters. This allows these books to be read in any order. Technically, they're all first as they all deal with how we might initially respond to contact with aliens, exploring the social, political, religious, and scientific aspects of First Contact.
- GenresScience FictionSpace
359 pages, Paperback
First published November 4, 2022
272 people are currently reading
399 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
December 16, 2022
One of the many différents of the same
In this, another of Peter Cawdron’s first contact series, many of which you will find reviewed on my timeline, First contact happens - out there, as opposed to (and as noted in the book), a spacecraft and a military response. Drawing on The Tempest by Shakespeare, (although during my high schooling we did King Lear and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, so not as familiar with that one), we delve into a well researched but human story - in this case, half human story, as a doomed ship tries to survive (bit of a metaphor for modern times there). The story did not quite pan out as I’d thought, but this wasn’t a detracting factor. In fact, it drew a character from the shadows and put them into the spotlight, with illuminating effects.
As always, this series comes highly recommended from a twofold point of view: a rollicking science fiction story, with a deeper, human story deftly woven between the lines.
In this, another of Peter Cawdron’s first contact series, many of which you will find reviewed on my timeline, First contact happens - out there, as opposed to (and as noted in the book), a spacecraft and a military response. Drawing on The Tempest by Shakespeare, (although during my high schooling we did King Lear and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, so not as familiar with that one), we delve into a well researched but human story - in this case, half human story, as a doomed ship tries to survive (bit of a metaphor for modern times there). The story did not quite pan out as I’d thought, but this wasn’t a detracting factor. In fact, it drew a character from the shadows and put them into the spotlight, with illuminating effects.
As always, this series comes highly recommended from a twofold point of view: a rollicking science fiction story, with a deeper, human story deftly woven between the lines.
November 10, 2022
I've been on a Peter Cawdron bend recently, ever since running into his First Contact series it seems like I can't stop! I'm working my way thru chronologically for the most part, but when I saw a new book was coming out at the beginning of Nov I knew I had to read it Day 1.
One of the things I appreciate about Peter's works is that, for the most part, the stories are not predictable. Kind of how real life is, you don't know what's gonna happen, his books give that sense of suspense where you are thinking of all logical possibilities but know that you're likely missing the correct perspective and just know that you don't quite have an idea of which way it's going to go.
A minor spoiler about that last point (the actual spoiler part is in the correct tag), there is a finely nuanced event where you just get a feeling that something isn't quite right, just how the characters are (very often) feeling like something isn't right.
The story is captivating and the character development is fantastic, a hallmark of Cawdron's novels. Feels good to read hard scifi when the science is pretty darn accurate vs some completely made us stuff that makes no sense for anyone who knows basic science.
Nothing is perfect and if the system allowed I would give it 4.5 stars, which in my book (of personal book reviews) is a high rating. The issues I found are somewhat minor, I will wrap them in a spoiler tag but I'm trying to minimize how big of a spoiler they are.
I had the distinct feeling that certain parts could have been scenes in a theater play, and the author confirmed this seems to have been intended based on who it was largely influenced by in his Afterword: .
O, brave new world!
One of the things I appreciate about Peter's works is that, for the most part, the stories are not predictable. Kind of how real life is, you don't know what's gonna happen, his books give that sense of suspense where you are thinking of all logical possibilities but know that you're likely missing the correct perspective and just know that you don't quite have an idea of which way it's going to go.
A minor spoiler about that last point (the actual spoiler part is in the correct tag), there is a finely nuanced event where you just get a feeling that something isn't quite right, just how the characters are (very often) feeling like something isn't right.
The story is captivating and the character development is fantastic, a hallmark of Cawdron's novels. Feels good to read hard scifi when the science is pretty darn accurate vs some completely made us stuff that makes no sense for anyone who knows basic science.
Nothing is perfect and if the system allowed I would give it 4.5 stars, which in my book (of personal book reviews) is a high rating. The issues I found are somewhat minor, I will wrap them in a spoiler tag but I'm trying to minimize how big of a spoiler they are.
I had the distinct feeling that certain parts could have been scenes in a theater play, and the author confirmed this seems to have been intended based on who it was largely influenced by in his Afterword: .
O, brave new world!
November 6, 2022
I always learn something from Peter Cawdron when he writes a new book. I am forced to Google a half dozen times to learn about a new-to-me term or concept or familiarize myself with a branch of science - physics, astrophysics, biology, etc. with which I am not completely familiar. The Tempest is no different. I had to slow my reading down and take side jaunts into research several times while in this book.
What fascinates me the most about Cawdron's writing, though, is how well he develops his characters without sacrificing the pace of the storyline. Just like Dali in Cold Eyes or Kat in Seeds and Vipers, you begin to look at Marc, Emma, and Miranda as people you know better than just being characters in a book. And nothing is sacred in a Cawdron book. The protagonists aren't always the end-of-story heroes. Peter keeps you guessing and makes you think the entire time you are reading one of his books.
While The Tempest is a tribute to both Shakespeare and the 1956 movie, Forbidden Planet, Cawdron has introduced new figments of the storyline and created twists on the characters' roles in this story, making it fresh and alive. I really think this may be one of his best works.
What fascinates me the most about Cawdron's writing, though, is how well he develops his characters without sacrificing the pace of the storyline. Just like Dali in Cold Eyes or Kat in Seeds and Vipers, you begin to look at Marc, Emma, and Miranda as people you know better than just being characters in a book. And nothing is sacred in a Cawdron book. The protagonists aren't always the end-of-story heroes. Peter keeps you guessing and makes you think the entire time you are reading one of his books.
While The Tempest is a tribute to both Shakespeare and the 1956 movie, Forbidden Planet, Cawdron has introduced new figments of the storyline and created twists on the characters' roles in this story, making it fresh and alive. I really think this may be one of his best works.
November 14, 2022
Another enjoyable addition to the First Contact series. I had many theories of what was going on throughout the novel, but I did not guess the twist. I don’t think I would have ever guessed it, either.
November 6, 2022
So bloody compelling !
And a great read ! Loved the references to Forbidden World, Characters that stand alone and wonderful detailed land scapes with a thought provoking ending >
And a great read ! Loved the references to Forbidden World, Characters that stand alone and wonderful detailed land scapes with a thought provoking ending >
September 20, 2023
Sehr gute Serie bisher. Etwas irritierend ist die Gegenwartserzählung, aber daran gewöhnt man sich.
November 27, 2022
First contact at a beachfront bar in Waikiki?!
The Sycorax is taking a load of colonists in cryopods to a distant colony when it encounters a 'tempest' and manages to limp to a moon orbiting the black hole that interrupted the trip. Surprisingly, there are humans (and others) on the moon.
You will have to read for yourself to find out how this leads to the conversation at the bar in Waikiki.
The human science is plausible. Some of the 'other' technology reminds the reader that the background of the others is so different from ours as to make what they can do seem like magic.
The Sycorax is taking a load of colonists in cryopods to a distant colony when it encounters a 'tempest' and manages to limp to a moon orbiting the black hole that interrupted the trip. Surprisingly, there are humans (and others) on the moon.
You will have to read for yourself to find out how this leads to the conversation at the bar in Waikiki.
The human science is plausible. Some of the 'other' technology reminds the reader that the background of the others is so different from ours as to make what they can do seem like magic.
November 21, 2022
At what point does hard science fiction cross the line into fantasy? Read the work of any of the field’s most revered practitioners—Arthur C. Clarke is the most prominent among them—and you’ll see that any story which ventures into the far reaches of advanced alien technology becomes indistinguishable from magic, as Clarke himself so famously noted. Australian author Peter Cawdron crosses that line, too, in the latest addition to his long-running series of First Contact novels, The Tempest. In this tale, inspired by William Shakespeare’s play of the same name, twenty-third century interstellar voyagers encounter advanced alien technology at least a million years more evolved than theirs. And, yes, magic happens, as Shakespeare’s story requires.
ADVANCED ALIEN TECHNOLOGY THAT’S SCIENCE FICTION’S RENDERING OF MAGIC
In Shakespeare’s play, the exiled Duke of Milan has been living on a distant island with his daughter Miranda for twelve years. There, he had enslaved the island’s only inhabitant, Caliban, and a local spirit named Ariel. When his treacherous brother Antonio approaches the island, the Duke conjures up a storm that wrecks Antonio’s ship and casts him and his companions on shore. More magic ensues, as the Duke conspires to regain his position in Milan.
Cawdron’s novel is very loosely based on this plot (and “inspired by” is probably a better way to put it). Marc and Emma are crew-mates on a colony ship, the Sycorax (an unseen presence who casts a dark shadow over the action). They are ferrying eighteen thousand colonists in stasis tubes to a new home fifty light-years distant from Earth. Suddenly, the ship is rocked by forces (a “tempest”) unleashed from an invisible black hole. It’s “a molecular cloud like rain in a storm.” They repair enough of the damage to make their way to shelter on Altair IV, a moon of a massive gas giant orbiting the black hole. Emma and Marc defy a warning broadcast from the moon’s surface and take a lander to the surface. There, they encounter Professor Spiro and his daughter Miranda as well as two mysterious and powerful beings, Caliban and Ariel, who may or may not be alien robots. Cue the action. There’s a lot of it. But it bears little resemblance to the action in the play.
A DISAPPOINTING DEPARTURE FOR A BRILLIANT SERIES
Peter Cawdron ends every one of his novels with an Afterword that often runs to many pages. There, he discusses the issues raised in his novel and explains the scientific basis for the technology he employs in the story. The Tempest is no different in that way. Its Afterword is well worth reading. They always are. But throughout the novel itself there are extensive passages, some of it embedded in dialogue, some in narrative attributed to Marc, that delve into the scientific and philosophical questions on which the book is based. Cawdron’s writing is rarely pedantic. But there’s no other word to describe what you’ll see in this novel. It’s disappointing. I’ve admired and enjoyed almost every one of Cawdron’s other First Contact novels. If he weren’t straining to mimic Shakespeare, he might have found a more believable way to depict advanced alien technology.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This novel is the twenty-second in Peter Cawdron‘s remarkable First Contact series—and he says there’s still more to come to meet his goal of twenty-five books. He has also written more than a dozen other novels and novellas. Cawdron usually writes hard science fiction, solidly grounded in credible scientific fact and current theory. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction notes that “his control over Hard SF matters seems very competent.” He is self-published and describes himself as an “independent author.” Cawdron was born in New Zealand in 1967 but has long lived in Australia. However, he also lived for a time in the United States, which allows him to set most of his stories in the US and among Americans with confidence.
ADVANCED ALIEN TECHNOLOGY THAT’S SCIENCE FICTION’S RENDERING OF MAGIC
In Shakespeare’s play, the exiled Duke of Milan has been living on a distant island with his daughter Miranda for twelve years. There, he had enslaved the island’s only inhabitant, Caliban, and a local spirit named Ariel. When his treacherous brother Antonio approaches the island, the Duke conjures up a storm that wrecks Antonio’s ship and casts him and his companions on shore. More magic ensues, as the Duke conspires to regain his position in Milan.
Cawdron’s novel is very loosely based on this plot (and “inspired by” is probably a better way to put it). Marc and Emma are crew-mates on a colony ship, the Sycorax (an unseen presence who casts a dark shadow over the action). They are ferrying eighteen thousand colonists in stasis tubes to a new home fifty light-years distant from Earth. Suddenly, the ship is rocked by forces (a “tempest”) unleashed from an invisible black hole. It’s “a molecular cloud like rain in a storm.” They repair enough of the damage to make their way to shelter on Altair IV, a moon of a massive gas giant orbiting the black hole. Emma and Marc defy a warning broadcast from the moon’s surface and take a lander to the surface. There, they encounter Professor Spiro and his daughter Miranda as well as two mysterious and powerful beings, Caliban and Ariel, who may or may not be alien robots. Cue the action. There’s a lot of it. But it bears little resemblance to the action in the play.
A DISAPPOINTING DEPARTURE FOR A BRILLIANT SERIES
Peter Cawdron ends every one of his novels with an Afterword that often runs to many pages. There, he discusses the issues raised in his novel and explains the scientific basis for the technology he employs in the story. The Tempest is no different in that way. Its Afterword is well worth reading. They always are. But throughout the novel itself there are extensive passages, some of it embedded in dialogue, some in narrative attributed to Marc, that delve into the scientific and philosophical questions on which the book is based. Cawdron’s writing is rarely pedantic. But there’s no other word to describe what you’ll see in this novel. It’s disappointing. I’ve admired and enjoyed almost every one of Cawdron’s other First Contact novels. If he weren’t straining to mimic Shakespeare, he might have found a more believable way to depict advanced alien technology.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This novel is the twenty-second in Peter Cawdron‘s remarkable First Contact series—and he says there’s still more to come to meet his goal of twenty-five books. He has also written more than a dozen other novels and novellas. Cawdron usually writes hard science fiction, solidly grounded in credible scientific fact and current theory. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction notes that “his control over Hard SF matters seems very competent.” He is self-published and describes himself as an “independent author.” Cawdron was born in New Zealand in 1967 but has long lived in Australia. However, he also lived for a time in the United States, which allows him to set most of his stories in the US and among Americans with confidence.
November 16, 2022
Another fantastic novel from Peter Cawdron
I just finished The Tempest, Peter Cameron's latest. As with the others in his First Contact series, this one is a carefully crafted story combining hard science, philosophy and humanity, along with fiction, of course. It is also very thought-provoking and helped me to better understand how everything we see and know is a matter of our perspective or point of view. Very enjoyable, Peter. Another job well- done. Thank you,
Jim
I just finished The Tempest, Peter Cameron's latest. As with the others in his First Contact series, this one is a carefully crafted story combining hard science, philosophy and humanity, along with fiction, of course. It is also very thought-provoking and helped me to better understand how everything we see and know is a matter of our perspective or point of view. Very enjoyable, Peter. Another job well- done. Thank you,
Jim
September 22, 2023
Ein toller Roman, der dem Thema "Erstkontakt" neue, spannende, Aspekte hinzufügt.
Er ist mit dem Band 1 der Erstkontakt-Reihe von Peter Cawdron nicht zu vergleichen, da hier eine völlig andersgeartete Herangehensweise an das Theme vonstatten geht....
Er ist mit dem Band 1 der Erstkontakt-Reihe von Peter Cawdron nicht zu vergleichen, da hier eine völlig andersgeartete Herangehensweise an das Theme vonstatten geht....
January 9, 2023
This story started out in an interesting way to me. But after a while it seemed to stall with awkward dialogue, places where the author seemingly needlessly reminds the readers of facts and situations we just read about and places where the author seems to leave out details that are important like . Around the time that the second part of the book started, I felt the story really started to fall apart and by the third and final part, I felt the story had lost all consistency and purpose. The lecture-y tone of the professor and Miranda never helped much in that way either. If you're hoping for an interesting alien encounter, don't set your sights too high or too Hollywood.
November 21, 2022
A SIMPLE MAN'S REVIEW:
I love almost all of this author's work, but occasionally one of the books is a miss for me. This is that. Too many holes, too many "lectures", and too cheesy of an ending. But I'm still looking forward to the next one!
I love almost all of this author's work, but occasionally one of the books is a miss for me. This is that. Too many holes, too many "lectures", and too cheesy of an ending. But I'm still looking forward to the next one!
March 16, 2025
Modeled loosely on Shakespeare's play, this story of first contact is serious in tone, somber, but ending with a message of hope. Marc and Emma are awakened on the ship headed to a colony to respond to a space storm. Microdebris or energy waves or some type of particle is blasting through the ship as it travels, unexpectedly, near a black hole. While the ship sustains serious damage to its propulsion unit, even more serious damage has been suffered by the crew and 18,000 passengers, many of whom were killed while in suspension. With few options other than a slow or quick death, Emma finds a moon orbiting a deadly gas giant that might allow them protection from deadly radiation and act as a source of raw materials to repair the ship or at least manufacture supplies to last until a rescue ship is sent (if ever). On the moon, they find a professor/scientist and his teen-aged daughter, Miranda. His ship was stranded there many years ago and he has managed to establish himself a living environment. Marc and Emma have more unanswered questions than answers, and they are introduced to two beings: Ariel and Caliban. They are remnants of a long-vanished race of aliens and their science appears as magic. But Marc especially has doubts. Are they now the prisoners of the professor? Are the professor and his daughter prisoners of Ariel and violent Caliban? Can they repair the ship's propulsion system fast enough to escape from this moon? While a fabulous premise, this story reads as a totally realistic and gripping suspense story, with the characters holding secrets from each other, in a struggle for survival. Great characters, a story that builds momentum and questions about existence, the right to survive at the expense of another person or alien species, and the wonder of the universe.
April 22, 2023
By my count this is Peter Cawdron’s twenty-second First Contact book. Writing just one good book about human’s first contact with an alien species is quite an achievement but twenty-two is downright ridiculous. Somehow, in each book Cawdron comes up with a new and creative scenario for humans to meet one or more sentient life forms from other worlds.
While I have loved each of Cawdron’s first contact books, there are several things that puts The Tempest up near the top of the list. As always we have great writing, interesting characters, and a lot of hard science. In this book, Cawdron devotes several pages to giving the reader a college level course on blackholes, FTL (faster than light) spaceships, and the Mohorovičić Discontinuity (something I had never heard of before).
What puts this book in the Cawdron Top Ten is that he manages to fit in a second first contact book! Just as I’m about eighty percent finished with the book and preparing for the wrap-up, Cawdron pulls another rabbit out of his writer’s hat.
If all of that is not enough for you, every Cawdron book has an excellent afterword section. In these pages he focuses on where the ideas for the story came from, more about the science mentioned in the story, and an homage to various writers who influenced the book; for this one they include William Shakespeare and Cixin Liu.
Each book in the series is freestanding and does not draw on the previous stories so you can hop right in and read The Tempest. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself getting the first book of the series, 3zekiel, and then enjoying your way thorough the rest. Me, I’m off to read his latest book, Apothecary.
While I have loved each of Cawdron’s first contact books, there are several things that puts The Tempest up near the top of the list. As always we have great writing, interesting characters, and a lot of hard science. In this book, Cawdron devotes several pages to giving the reader a college level course on blackholes, FTL (faster than light) spaceships, and the Mohorovičić Discontinuity (something I had never heard of before).
What puts this book in the Cawdron Top Ten is that he manages to fit in a second first contact book! Just as I’m about eighty percent finished with the book and preparing for the wrap-up, Cawdron pulls another rabbit out of his writer’s hat.
If all of that is not enough for you, every Cawdron book has an excellent afterword section. In these pages he focuses on where the ideas for the story came from, more about the science mentioned in the story, and an homage to various writers who influenced the book; for this one they include William Shakespeare and Cixin Liu.
Each book in the series is freestanding and does not draw on the previous stories so you can hop right in and read The Tempest. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself getting the first book of the series, 3zekiel, and then enjoying your way thorough the rest. Me, I’m off to read his latest book, Apothecary.
September 4, 2025
Das Buch ist entweder schlecht übersetzt, da es vor merkwürdigen, unsinnigen Übersetzungen trotzt, oder, und das halte ich für viel wahrscheinlicher, von Google Übersetzer oder Ähnlichem automatisch übersetzt worden und nicht oder nur unzureichend per Hand geprüft und korrigiert worden.
Abgesehen davon ist der Schreibstil des Autors sehr eigenartig. Er schreibt kurze Sätze, abgehackt, Telegrammartig, mit vielen Satzkonstruktionswiederholungen direkt in aufeinanderfolgenden Sätzen. Außerdem wird ständig alles haargenau und sofort erklärt was passiert und warum es passiert. Dem Leser werden keine eigenen Gedanken oder Schlüsse ermöglicht, alles wird vorgekaut. Der Stil, die Sprache und Satzbau erscheinen wie von einem 10-jährigen geschrieben, anders kann ich es nicht ausdrücken.
Die Story ist einigermaßen interessant, zieht sich aber sehr und ist auch sehr unlogisch, z.B. haben die beiden Protagonisten irgendwann plötzlich fast Sex, obwohl vorher absolut nichts in dieser Richtung angedeutet wurde oder Sinn ergeben würde.
Warum ich das Buch zuende gelesen habe? Vermutlich eine Mischung aus "sunken cost fallacy", Neugierde ob es besser wird und wie es endet und das Novum einen Verkehrsunfall zu beobachten und nicht aufhören zu können damit - nur eben in Buchform!
Abschließend vermute ich, dass das Buch größtenteils mit oder durch KI geschrieben wurde.
Abgesehen davon ist der Schreibstil des Autors sehr eigenartig. Er schreibt kurze Sätze, abgehackt, Telegrammartig, mit vielen Satzkonstruktionswiederholungen direkt in aufeinanderfolgenden Sätzen. Außerdem wird ständig alles haargenau und sofort erklärt was passiert und warum es passiert. Dem Leser werden keine eigenen Gedanken oder Schlüsse ermöglicht, alles wird vorgekaut. Der Stil, die Sprache und Satzbau erscheinen wie von einem 10-jährigen geschrieben, anders kann ich es nicht ausdrücken.
Die Story ist einigermaßen interessant, zieht sich aber sehr und ist auch sehr unlogisch, z.B. haben die beiden Protagonisten irgendwann plötzlich fast Sex, obwohl vorher absolut nichts in dieser Richtung angedeutet wurde oder Sinn ergeben würde.
Warum ich das Buch zuende gelesen habe? Vermutlich eine Mischung aus "sunken cost fallacy", Neugierde ob es besser wird und wie es endet und das Novum einen Verkehrsunfall zu beobachten und nicht aufhören zu können damit - nur eben in Buchform!
Abschließend vermute ich, dass das Buch größtenteils mit oder durch KI geschrieben wurde.
August 16, 2023
This is one of the better books in the series...and to be clear, I like them all. It differs from many in that it takes place in a future where man is already space faring and the plot revolves around a spaceship that gets crippled on the way to another planet in the Milky Way galaxy. In an attempt to get necessary repairs and replace critical fuel and equipment they take a shuttle craft down to a near by planet and moon system that appears to have a presence of humans.
The story takes a big turn at that point and it introduces the "first contact" during that segment of the plot and the two individuals from the crew that were awake at the time of the event (which involves a nearby "black hole") travel down to one of the moons.
The plot is unique in my reading of the series from that point on and I found it to be a welcome diversion from the usual stories in the series. Its a very good series all in all...and I recommend it.
The story takes a big turn at that point and it introduces the "first contact" during that segment of the plot and the two individuals from the crew that were awake at the time of the event (which involves a nearby "black hole") travel down to one of the moons.
The plot is unique in my reading of the series from that point on and I found it to be a welcome diversion from the usual stories in the series. Its a very good series all in all...and I recommend it.
September 4, 2024
Yet again a storyline whose direction I couldn’t guess
Caldron has written another extremely creative and original First Contact novel. I love this series because with each new story, my mind opens up to an ever bigger view of the possible nature of our universe.
The characters are finely drawn with a real sense of aliveness in their distinctive thinking, emotions and actions. The world-building of you will of this broader galaxy expedition was always interesting and keeps the reader guessing about where the story might go. Just like it does for the characters who are struggling to figure out how to survive their predicament in deep space while knowing nothing about the moon they have landed on and the people and society they encounter.
Great stuff! Keep ‘em coming! This is a great premise for a hard Sci-fi series!
Caldron has written another extremely creative and original First Contact novel. I love this series because with each new story, my mind opens up to an ever bigger view of the possible nature of our universe.
The characters are finely drawn with a real sense of aliveness in their distinctive thinking, emotions and actions. The world-building of you will of this broader galaxy expedition was always interesting and keeps the reader guessing about where the story might go. Just like it does for the characters who are struggling to figure out how to survive their predicament in deep space while knowing nothing about the moon they have landed on and the people and society they encounter.
Great stuff! Keep ‘em coming! This is a great premise for a hard Sci-fi series!
August 19, 2024
Hmmm
...this book was OK. Interesting concept for a first contact, but I was repeatedly thrown out of the story by antagonistic references some characters made. The story takes place a couple hundred years into our future, we create warp technology, age slowing drugs, and hyper sleep, and yet some of the conversations between character reference 20th century pop culture, or technologies. Every time I hear Ferrari mentioned, I thought "what year is this story taking place? That car brand survived hundreds of years into our future?
I read the reviews from others, and understand this was and experimental book by Cawdron, but this was not one of my favorites from his 1st Contact collection.
...this book was OK. Interesting concept for a first contact, but I was repeatedly thrown out of the story by antagonistic references some characters made. The story takes place a couple hundred years into our future, we create warp technology, age slowing drugs, and hyper sleep, and yet some of the conversations between character reference 20th century pop culture, or technologies. Every time I hear Ferrari mentioned, I thought "what year is this story taking place? That car brand survived hundreds of years into our future?
I read the reviews from others, and understand this was and experimental book by Cawdron, but this was not one of my favorites from his 1st Contact collection.
February 22, 2025
This was OK, but not the best Cawdron book I'vre read. The events unfolding on Altair IV was great, and at time it was difficult to put the book down with some of the action happening. And some twists were brutal. BUT, the third act felt a lot like an afterthought. It was not really a worthy conclusion to the book or the events that happened before. The transition from "naive child" to omniscient being was all lost in the shift from Act II to III. Was Cawdron in a hurry to finish the book? I don't know, but the dialouge at the end is very flat, and I didn't buy it for a second. This is not how people react in such a position. Where was the shock? The drama? The awe? Nah-ah, this made me remove one star from my rating.
December 23, 2023
T0 me, this one of the better "first contact" books. However: It's a clear rip off of the famous '50's movie "Forbidden Planet" using the exact same names for the planet (Altair) the now-extinct aliens (the Krell), the Krell machine and even the formation of the "ID monster." Cawdron does throw a couple of twists deviating from the movie plot and he gives it a far different ending than the movie which actually makes me hope he'll write a continuation of the story. So overlooking the obvious source of this story, it's an excellent read and I recommend it. Five stars if it were completely original but if you don't know the movie, it'll be all new.
November 19, 2022
A really good story
Just not quite as exceptional as most of Mr Cawdron’s work. His imagination as to how life may develop and evolve in more extreme environments is amazing and in many ways plausible. Each setting and scene is described in great detail with good character development, backstory, and in-the-moment thoughts and feelings. Some of the plot elements seemed a little predictable though, however I was surprised at the loss of some key characters.
And yes, there are multiple tips of the hat in the story to the original play, The Tempest, by a Mr Shakespeare…
Just not quite as exceptional as most of Mr Cawdron’s work. His imagination as to how life may develop and evolve in more extreme environments is amazing and in many ways plausible. Each setting and scene is described in great detail with good character development, backstory, and in-the-moment thoughts and feelings. Some of the plot elements seemed a little predictable though, however I was surprised at the loss of some key characters.
And yes, there are multiple tips of the hat in the story to the original play, The Tempest, by a Mr Shakespeare…
December 27, 2022
Tässä kirjassa oli paljon potentiaalia. Ensikontakteja, jännittäviä ideoita mustien aukkojen ympärillä kasvavista sivilisaatioista ja myös eeppisiä tarinankaaria. Mutta on turhauttavaa miten monta kiehtovaa ideaa sivuutetaan ohimennen ja keskitytään tekemään tarinasta kirjallisuuden klassikkoja mukailevaa kertomusta. Kaiken lisäksi laatu on epätasaista - välillä teksti soljuu luontevasti ja sitten taas toisinaan tulee töksähtelevän kömpelöä tarinankerrontaa. Näistä huolimatta kirja oli kuitenkin tyydyttävä kokemus ja viimeinen neljännes jälkikirjoituksineen jopa ilahdutti.
March 21, 2023
What a pleasant surprise! So I read little Shakespeare many (many) years ago and did some research prior to this read (as Peter forewarned us of the direct link to the original The Tempest).
All of a sudden near the beginning of the book .. I read the name Krell. Well, I saw Forbidden Planet when it first came out (tells my age) and was/is by far one of my all-time favorites. The Krell was as mysterious in Peter's The Tempest as they were in Forbidden Planet. A delightful journey with turns/twists that makes it enjoyably different than its predecessors.
All of a sudden near the beginning of the book .. I read the name Krell. Well, I saw Forbidden Planet when it first came out (tells my age) and was/is by far one of my all-time favorites. The Krell was as mysterious in Peter's The Tempest as they were in Forbidden Planet. A delightful journey with turns/twists that makes it enjoyably different than its predecessors.
August 24, 2023
I love it when Peter Cawdron incorporates a different vision of a literary classic into his First Contact series. One thing you can be sure of is that the characters will be put through "some things" and you will have no idea what's coming next or how it will turn out in the end. In Shakespeare's time things like this were set on an island somewhere; now we're in the time of science fiction and it's on a distant planet and real aliens are involved. But exactly who's an alien, who's a human, and who is something else?
January 7, 2024
Even though this is part of the "First Contact" series, there wasn't anything particularly innovative about this book. It felt like the author was throwing in different elements of the Sci-Fi kitchen sink (interstellar exploration and colonization, artificial intelligence/"gods", plus of course aliens and alien technology) and hoping for a promising result. Plus, the epilogue was excessively tidy.
Perhaps everything falls into place when you have the alien advantage, but I don't buy it. I think Murphy's Law is universal.
Perhaps everything falls into place when you have the alien advantage, but I don't buy it. I think Murphy's Law is universal.
November 22, 2022
Wow! I love the First Contact series. Every story is original and interesting. There is a lot of science in these stories which make them believable. The Tempest has twists I wasn’t expecting. There is science, philosophy, and ethics in this story. I don’t know how he comes up with all of these ideas. I think I’ve read almost all of this series, and I will grab the next book as soon as Cawdron releases it.
December 26, 2022
Some of this was brilliant - the quotations and the Shakespearean references - and I really enjoyed the final chunk set on Earth. I found Emma's portrayal particularly gripping, especially when Ariel got involved. Marc appealed less, particularly given the jack of all trades motif Cawdron had him adopt. Still, apart from that, I found myself engaged throughout and enjoyed this fascinating work.
January 19, 2023
Peter Cawdron puts another different twist on first contact. Don't know how he does it but he rarely disappoints. Now I realise this is based on Shakespeare's play of the same name but, high school put me right off his work however, Forbidden Planet (one of my favourite sci-fi films) is also influential and I couldn't help seeing mental images from that wonderful movie. Loved the closing chapter which clinched the score of five points for me.
March 12, 2023
If you didn't read the reviews, you wouldn't know what this book was until the astronauts decided to land on the frozen moon of a gas giant.
That, coincidentally, was also the point where my enthusiastic appreciatiation for the book took a turn. When "the professor" called to say "you cannot land here", I became suspicious. But still enthusiastic, cause the prospect of having discovered a written version of Forbidden Planet was tentalising. I saw that movie as a teenager and it left an impression.
But, as the story moved along, veery slowly, I might add, I realized Mr. Cawdron was out of his depth. The dialogues from that point are becoming gradually worse and the story so flat, I am surprised I kept reading.
Oh, if you're waiting for me to say that the ending saved it all, and that I'm glad I did read through, you will be disappointed. I actually stopped reading, probably just 20 pages before the end.
I didn't read it, but I am sure Shakespeare's Tempest, on which both the movie and the book are based, is better than both, summed up. This is probably the least remarkable statement I ever produced, as comparing Shakespeare to Hollywood script writers should not be attempted in a Goodreads review.
I think this is one of the rules of conduct on the website.
Now I might get kicked out...
That, coincidentally, was also the point where my enthusiastic appreciatiation for the book took a turn. When "the professor" called to say "you cannot land here", I became suspicious. But still enthusiastic, cause the prospect of having discovered a written version of Forbidden Planet was tentalising. I saw that movie as a teenager and it left an impression.
But, as the story moved along, veery slowly, I might add, I realized Mr. Cawdron was out of his depth. The dialogues from that point are becoming gradually worse and the story so flat, I am surprised I kept reading.
Oh, if you're waiting for me to say that the ending saved it all, and that I'm glad I did read through, you will be disappointed. I actually stopped reading, probably just 20 pages before the end.
I didn't read it, but I am sure Shakespeare's Tempest, on which both the movie and the book are based, is better than both, summed up. This is probably the least remarkable statement I ever produced, as comparing Shakespeare to Hollywood script writers should not be attempted in a Goodreads review.
I think this is one of the rules of conduct on the website.
Now I might get kicked out...
August 14, 2023
The Tempest, not what I was expecting!
First Contact stories take many forms and some are good reads and others not so much. The Tempest keeps you guessing with many clues but none that prepare you for the ending. The Tempest keeps you interested with different character interactions and just when you think you are near the end you find yourself pages from the end of the book and the beginning of another story. Looking forward to The Tempest Vol II.
First Contact stories take many forms and some are good reads and others not so much. The Tempest keeps you guessing with many clues but none that prepare you for the ending. The Tempest keeps you interested with different character interactions and just when you think you are near the end you find yourself pages from the end of the book and the beginning of another story. Looking forward to The Tempest Vol II.
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