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Europa Rising
There is an alternate cover edition for this ASIN here.
In the depths of space, millions of kilometres beyond Jupiter, the European cruiser, Onbevreesd, detects an extraordinary signal. Two days after she alters course to investigate, the ship disappears and so occurs the catalyst that begins a chain of events that will endanger the entire human race.
Commander Charles Kwetche is appointed to the elderly NASA frigate, Cabot; his mission, investigate the disappearance of the Onbevreesd beyond the Jovian system. As he probes into the loss, Kwetche finds an unnerving mystery involving the exobiological expedition of an industrial conglomerate on Europa; the alarming actions of a rogue United Nations cruiser, and the mysterious signal aimed at Europa.
In the depths of space, millions of kilometres beyond Jupiter, the European cruiser, Onbevreesd, detects an extraordinary signal. Two days after she alters course to investigate, the ship disappears and so occurs the catalyst that begins a chain of events that will endanger the entire human race.
Commander Charles Kwetche is appointed to the elderly NASA frigate, Cabot; his mission, investigate the disappearance of the Onbevreesd beyond the Jovian system. As he probes into the loss, Kwetche finds an unnerving mystery involving the exobiological expedition of an industrial conglomerate on Europa; the alarming actions of a rogue United Nations cruiser, and the mysterious signal aimed at Europa.
431 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2011
About the author
Sean MacUisdin
8 books74 followersI imagine myself as a man of the frontier, even though I was born in the Okanagan Valley and live on Vancouver Island. It is perhaps the close proximity of nature that fosters this little fantasy of mine - I can sip a French roast in the morning, confront a bear in the afternoon, and then relax with a Cabernet Franc in the evening. I have always loved the wild and the unknown whether I was tramping through the woods around my home town of Summerland, pushing through the bogs and trees of the forests of Southern Vancouver Island, or travelling further afield to the North Coast of British Columbia. It was this love that led me to a career in the Royal Canadian Navy and the opportunity to walk the streets in China, explore the sleepy towns of Hawaii, swim the beaches of Okinawa, hike alpine ridges in Alaska, and most importantly, explore the rainforests of British Columbia. It was the navy, combined with my love for science fiction that led me into a career as an independently published writer of science fiction and fantasy.
I love science fiction. I grew up on the original Star Trek, original Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers, and Space 1999, then graduated to STNG, DS9, Red Dwarf, and finally to the new Battlestar Galactica. I was inspired to write military science fiction and vowed to give it the gritty slant that I often miss in popular science fiction. In the Navy, I sailed on many ships living in cramped quarters, often eating uninspired food and working long hours. My series of books, Europa Rising, Jupiter Rising, and the upcoming Titan Rising, focus on the difficulties and often unpleasantness of living and operating in space where it takes weeks and months to go from mission to mission and not the hours and days of popular science fiction. It is the challenge of operating on one's own and without support and with communications that can take hours that I find interesting; it seems to hearken back almost to the age of sail.
I also love westerns. This perhaps leads me back to my frontier fantasy; that fleeting existence on the very edge of the wilds where danger and a frightening darkness lurk. This is a world of my imagination - of safety in a civilization surrounded by an ocean of the wild unknown. This is also the world of my second series, The Scarlet Bastards. Set in an inhospitable colony twenty light years from Earth, it is the memoir of a young runaway who joins a United Nations chartered army of the downtrodden and poor for service off-world. It is an existence on the back of a tundra camel fighting gangs and war lords and thanking each day's sunset for yet another day of survival and hating it for another chance of death the following dawn.
Finally, I love the myths of my Celtic people: the tales of Fionn Mac Cumaill, Cu Chulainn, selkies, red caps, and Pucas. The joy I find in the fundamental belief that the world surrounding us is far more alive than we know has led me to my first urban fantasy, From the Little, the Much is Known. We were not the only immigrants to Vancouver Island in the 19th century, and a young girl in the depths of despair will find that out on a hill top in Esquimalt, British Columbia.
I love science fiction. I grew up on the original Star Trek, original Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers, and Space 1999, then graduated to STNG, DS9, Red Dwarf, and finally to the new Battlestar Galactica. I was inspired to write military science fiction and vowed to give it the gritty slant that I often miss in popular science fiction. In the Navy, I sailed on many ships living in cramped quarters, often eating uninspired food and working long hours. My series of books, Europa Rising, Jupiter Rising, and the upcoming Titan Rising, focus on the difficulties and often unpleasantness of living and operating in space where it takes weeks and months to go from mission to mission and not the hours and days of popular science fiction. It is the challenge of operating on one's own and without support and with communications that can take hours that I find interesting; it seems to hearken back almost to the age of sail.
I also love westerns. This perhaps leads me back to my frontier fantasy; that fleeting existence on the very edge of the wilds where danger and a frightening darkness lurk. This is a world of my imagination - of safety in a civilization surrounded by an ocean of the wild unknown. This is also the world of my second series, The Scarlet Bastards. Set in an inhospitable colony twenty light years from Earth, it is the memoir of a young runaway who joins a United Nations chartered army of the downtrodden and poor for service off-world. It is an existence on the back of a tundra camel fighting gangs and war lords and thanking each day's sunset for yet another day of survival and hating it for another chance of death the following dawn.
Finally, I love the myths of my Celtic people: the tales of Fionn Mac Cumaill, Cu Chulainn, selkies, red caps, and Pucas. The joy I find in the fundamental belief that the world surrounding us is far more alive than we know has led me to my first urban fantasy, From the Little, the Much is Known. We were not the only immigrants to Vancouver Island in the 19th century, and a young girl in the depths of despair will find that out on a hill top in Esquimalt, British Columbia.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 12, 2013
I enjoyed this book. It's been a while since I've read what I'd refer to as traditional Sci-fi - Sci-fi where space travel has happened in a real way. This book reminded me that it's still possible, despite the canning of the shuttle program in the US, and despite the fact that we still haven't reached other planets except the moon, and that a long time ago.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut. Badly. By the time I was a mid teen, I'd realised that I wasn't going to be one - I had poor eyesight, and although I was clever, I was never going to get a physics degree, which appeared to be what I needed to hitch a ride on the space shuttle. As a pre-teen though, I anticipated that we'd be in space in the 21st century, and, well, I suppose we are. Just.
When I read this book, I was reminded of those dreams. I was fascinated by the characters, drawn into their stories, and by the end of the book, I really wanted it to keep going. It did take me a little while to get into it, but persevering was well worth the effort. I'm now looking forward to reading more from Sean MacUisdin.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut. Badly. By the time I was a mid teen, I'd realised that I wasn't going to be one - I had poor eyesight, and although I was clever, I was never going to get a physics degree, which appeared to be what I needed to hitch a ride on the space shuttle. As a pre-teen though, I anticipated that we'd be in space in the 21st century, and, well, I suppose we are. Just.
When I read this book, I was reminded of those dreams. I was fascinated by the characters, drawn into their stories, and by the end of the book, I really wanted it to keep going. It did take me a little while to get into it, but persevering was well worth the effort. I'm now looking forward to reading more from Sean MacUisdin.
February 6, 2015
Good story and writing. This series has promise!
December 20, 2021
Way. Too. Long.
Interesting premise, for sure, and the author really gives you a feel for a slightly more realistic version of space travel than Star Trek, but geez. Instead of three hundred references to a straw in your drink or mag boots how about we give some more clues to what actually happened to the missing ship?
This is a mystery, but you have zero hints until the 95% mark, and the majority is simply revealed when someone confesses.
This should have been better.
Interesting premise, for sure, and the author really gives you a feel for a slightly more realistic version of space travel than Star Trek, but geez. Instead of three hundred references to a straw in your drink or mag boots how about we give some more clues to what actually happened to the missing ship?
This is a mystery, but you have zero hints until the 95% mark, and the majority is simply revealed when someone confesses.
This should have been better.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews