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Jack's Outpost
Travel to Mars – on a one-way ticket? “I would go, but where would I find tonic water on Mars?” was Jack’s initial response. Logistics resolved, his life in the Outpost on Mars centers around tending his vegetable garden and playing simulated golf on the state of the art entertainment system. This tranquil scientific assignment changes when budget cuts create new alliances and foreign space agencies start sending their own Martian explorers. The author began writing Jack’s Outpost, when she received a newspaper article from the Houston Chronicle on one-way missions to Mars from her Uncle Jack Morledge. Who in real life is a 90-year-old retired NASA employee. She sent him the first chapter and Jack responded with storyline and technical suggestions. Over a period of two years, this book was created in this way.
- GenresScience Fiction
247 pages, Paperback
First published February 15, 2012
182 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Braun
5 books15 followersElizabeth is an avid reader. She reads books in English, Spanish, and German, but she only writes in English.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 5, 2012
Jack's Outpost is a light and humorous tale about a NASA Astronaut sent on a one way mission to Mars. After many years alone, technology finally catches up with him and he receives his first visitors, two astronauts from the ESA. Jack's comfortable existence is changed forever.
March 30, 2014
Note: I won this book through the GoodReads First Reads program. I received a free copy of the book, in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for writing this review.
SYNPOSIS: From the back cover: Travel to Mars - on a one-way ticket? "I would go, but where would I find tonic water on Mars?" was Jack's initial response. Logistics resolved, his life in the Outpost on Mars centers around tending his vegetable garden and playing simulated golf on the state of the art entertainment system. This tranquil scientific assignment changes when budget cuts create new alliances and foreign space agencies start sending their own Martian explorers. The author began writing Jack's Outpost, when she received a newspaper article from the Houston Chronicle on one-way missions to Mars from her Uncle Jack Morledge. Who in real life is a 90-year-old retired NASA employee. She sent him the first chapter and Jack responded with storyline and technical suggestions. Over a period of two years, this book was created in this way.
From me:Jack, an astronaut with NASA, is sent on a mission to Mars. When his two travel mates both pass on, he lives "a full lifetime" on Mars (lives are significantly longer on Mars than they are on Earth) which is why it comes as a HUGE surprise to Jack when he receives two additional bunker mates - in the form of two female scientists from Europe. However, each of the European astronauts has their own reason for being there... and they are hiding it from Jack. It's up to Jack to figure out WHY they are keeping things a secret, without revealing his own secret scientific research.
My thoughts: This was a cute and clever book, based on absolutely nothing concrete or absolute, that should be taken strictly as science fiction and nothing more. That being said, I did quite enjoy this book.
One thing that I wasn't too fond of in this book, which did lower my rating, was the fact that everything was told very matter-of-factly, with very little true emotion, or connection. It was a story told as a series of events, with little connection; it was more of a sequence of events than anything. That being said, the book was plot-driven, with a fair amount of action. This action kept me entertained throughout the book, and I didn't find myself getting bored half way through.
There were numerous comical (even humorous) sections of this book, and I often found myself sharing Jack's jokes with my family - especially his golf jokes (since I work at a golf club).
The other thing I will say about this book is there were a few spelling errors, grammatical errors and mis-used words which did distract me as I was reading it. However, this is nothing that an editor and some tightening up won't fix.
Overall, I did rather enjoy this book. I am giving it a solid 4/5 stars, and will be recommending it to anyone who enjoys science.
SYNPOSIS: From the back cover: Travel to Mars - on a one-way ticket? "I would go, but where would I find tonic water on Mars?" was Jack's initial response. Logistics resolved, his life in the Outpost on Mars centers around tending his vegetable garden and playing simulated golf on the state of the art entertainment system. This tranquil scientific assignment changes when budget cuts create new alliances and foreign space agencies start sending their own Martian explorers. The author began writing Jack's Outpost, when she received a newspaper article from the Houston Chronicle on one-way missions to Mars from her Uncle Jack Morledge. Who in real life is a 90-year-old retired NASA employee. She sent him the first chapter and Jack responded with storyline and technical suggestions. Over a period of two years, this book was created in this way.
From me:Jack, an astronaut with NASA, is sent on a mission to Mars. When his two travel mates both pass on, he lives "a full lifetime" on Mars (lives are significantly longer on Mars than they are on Earth) which is why it comes as a HUGE surprise to Jack when he receives two additional bunker mates - in the form of two female scientists from Europe. However, each of the European astronauts has their own reason for being there... and they are hiding it from Jack. It's up to Jack to figure out WHY they are keeping things a secret, without revealing his own secret scientific research.
My thoughts: This was a cute and clever book, based on absolutely nothing concrete or absolute, that should be taken strictly as science fiction and nothing more. That being said, I did quite enjoy this book.
One thing that I wasn't too fond of in this book, which did lower my rating, was the fact that everything was told very matter-of-factly, with very little true emotion, or connection. It was a story told as a series of events, with little connection; it was more of a sequence of events than anything. That being said, the book was plot-driven, with a fair amount of action. This action kept me entertained throughout the book, and I didn't find myself getting bored half way through.
There were numerous comical (even humorous) sections of this book, and I often found myself sharing Jack's jokes with my family - especially his golf jokes (since I work at a golf club).
The other thing I will say about this book is there were a few spelling errors, grammatical errors and mis-used words which did distract me as I was reading it. However, this is nothing that an editor and some tightening up won't fix.
Overall, I did rather enjoy this book. I am giving it a solid 4/5 stars, and will be recommending it to anyone who enjoys science.
April 9, 2015
First off, I received this through a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for a review.
Ashamedly on my part, I received this book almost 2 years ago only to have to fall behind a shelf and not resurface until last week. But I did finally read it, and I really enjoyed it.
It's funny that it would show up now though. Two years ago, I don't remember hearing anything about NASA actually planning to send people to Mars, but now? People are lining up!
Really interesting read with solid characters, with references to some classic science fiction authors sprinkled throughout. It's like Jack was a real dude, with real interests. It also hit on some real life issues like loneliness and companionship. And without giving away huge spoilers, I'm a sucker for happy endings; I loved how everything shook out in the end. Everyone that deserved to stay on mars did, (excluding Ding Dong, I felt bad for her), and everyone that deserved to go "home" got what they wanted.
This all isn't to say that the book kept me riveted though. I caught myself doing a lot of skimming whenever Jack would launch into a lengthy "old person" joke, or whenever the dialogue got too jargony or technical. But overall, this was a solid read. I'd recommend this to other people.
Ashamedly on my part, I received this book almost 2 years ago only to have to fall behind a shelf and not resurface until last week. But I did finally read it, and I really enjoyed it.
It's funny that it would show up now though. Two years ago, I don't remember hearing anything about NASA actually planning to send people to Mars, but now? People are lining up!
Really interesting read with solid characters, with references to some classic science fiction authors sprinkled throughout. It's like Jack was a real dude, with real interests. It also hit on some real life issues like loneliness and companionship. And without giving away huge spoilers, I'm a sucker for happy endings; I loved how everything shook out in the end. Everyone that deserved to stay on mars did, (excluding Ding Dong, I felt bad for her), and everyone that deserved to go "home" got what they wanted.
This all isn't to say that the book kept me riveted though. I caught myself doing a lot of skimming whenever Jack would launch into a lengthy "old person" joke, or whenever the dialogue got too jargony or technical. But overall, this was a solid read. I'd recommend this to other people.
September 12, 2013
Jack took a one way trip to mars.... but with a lot longer lifespan (because of being on mars) he has has been alone for a long long time after his two companions die... then he gets visitors and his life changes. :)
I loved this book, what an awesome concept and what wonderful writing! I loved the bird almost as much as I loved Jack. Pierre's "ooh laa laa!" at appropriate times always made me laugh out loud!
I am so happy to have won this book on goodreads! What a fantastic read!
I loved this book, what an awesome concept and what wonderful writing! I loved the bird almost as much as I loved Jack. Pierre's "ooh laa laa!" at appropriate times always made me laugh out loud!
I am so happy to have won this book on goodreads! What a fantastic read!
September 16, 2013
I received this book as a Goodreads Member Giveaway.
I really liked the premise. Jack is the last surviving member of the first one-way expedition to Mars. He has a weird and wonderful outlook on life. His exchanges with NASA control are quite funny. The action picks up with the arrival of two European astronauts. I won't say more because of spoilers.
The only reason that I didn't give this an 'amazing' is that the book would benefit from an editor and proof reader. The typos and miss-used words are distracting and pull the reader out of the story. It could use a little 'tightening'.
I really liked the premise. Jack is the last surviving member of the first one-way expedition to Mars. He has a weird and wonderful outlook on life. His exchanges with NASA control are quite funny. The action picks up with the arrival of two European astronauts. I won't say more because of spoilers.
The only reason that I didn't give this an 'amazing' is that the book would benefit from an editor and proof reader. The typos and miss-used words are distracting and pull the reader out of the story. It could use a little 'tightening'.
April 4, 2013
Put this book on your must read list. A fast paced book with wonderfully believable charactors. I couldn't put it down. I had fun with this and laughed until I cried. I hope Elizabeth Braun will give us a sequel and a prequel.
September 21, 2012
This review can also be found at: http://loadedshelves.blogspot.co.uk/2...
I was approached by Elizabeth Braun a while ago and she asked if I would be interested in reading and reviewing Jack's Outpost. I had a quick scan of Amazon and read the information available and was intrigued by the concept of the novel. It was unlike anything i'd previously read and of course, i'm always looking for new reading material!
I started reading the book without any idea of what was going to happen. As I said previously, I hadn't read anything like this or even close to it's genre before. However, after the first hour reading, I was drawn it. Jack's Outpost has a lovely charm to it. The concept of a one way mission to Mars was wonderful. I am certainly no expert on space, or any planet other than the one we live on, but I immediately wanted to know more.
Jack's Outpost wasn't just a novel in which I could sit and enjoy a light fluffy story. I learned things. I found myself thinking about Jack and what his life must have been like, so alone, and so far from home. There wasn't a lot of action; the book being made up of mostly dialogue, but this worked because of the circumstance of the novel. I didn't find myself getting bored despite the repetitive lifestyles.
I particularly liked the 'stories' and 'jokes' that Jack told. They seemed more like real life events than just a character's life. I can't quite put my finger on what it is about Jack's Outpost that I liked, only that I DID like it. I read the book over 24 hours and it was just wonderful in a special kind of way. The book didn't just end at the last word for me either. I found myself looking up one-way missions to Mars and other related things. Jack's Outpost is a lovely, different kind of read and if you're at all interested in things like this then I highly recommend you pick it up!
I was approached by Elizabeth Braun a while ago and she asked if I would be interested in reading and reviewing Jack's Outpost. I had a quick scan of Amazon and read the information available and was intrigued by the concept of the novel. It was unlike anything i'd previously read and of course, i'm always looking for new reading material!
I started reading the book without any idea of what was going to happen. As I said previously, I hadn't read anything like this or even close to it's genre before. However, after the first hour reading, I was drawn it. Jack's Outpost has a lovely charm to it. The concept of a one way mission to Mars was wonderful. I am certainly no expert on space, or any planet other than the one we live on, but I immediately wanted to know more.
Jack's Outpost wasn't just a novel in which I could sit and enjoy a light fluffy story. I learned things. I found myself thinking about Jack and what his life must have been like, so alone, and so far from home. There wasn't a lot of action; the book being made up of mostly dialogue, but this worked because of the circumstance of the novel. I didn't find myself getting bored despite the repetitive lifestyles.
I particularly liked the 'stories' and 'jokes' that Jack told. They seemed more like real life events than just a character's life. I can't quite put my finger on what it is about Jack's Outpost that I liked, only that I DID like it. I read the book over 24 hours and it was just wonderful in a special kind of way. The book didn't just end at the last word for me either. I found myself looking up one-way missions to Mars and other related things. Jack's Outpost is a lovely, different kind of read and if you're at all interested in things like this then I highly recommend you pick it up!
August 1, 2012
Travel to Mars on a one way ticket? "I would go but where would I find tonic water on Mars?" was Jack's initial response. But go to Mars he did and settles into a quiet life playing simulated golf and tending to his vegetable garden. But before he knows it people start to show up.
What a delightful story. You just want to read it over and over again which I plan on doing. Read it, I promise it will put a smile on your face. I won this from LibraryThing.
What a delightful story. You just want to read it over and over again which I plan on doing. Read it, I promise it will put a smile on your face. I won this from LibraryThing.
December 28, 2013
Disclaimer: I received this book from a first-read giveaway.
I really appreciated the effort the author put into researching space travel when writing this book. It shows, and with authors like Crichton. Michael, you can't help but feel thankful for that extra footwork. It draws the reader in and holds them more effectively, and adds a sense of realism to boot.
I really appreciated the effort the author put into researching space travel when writing this book. It shows, and with authors like Crichton. Michael, you can't help but feel thankful for that extra footwork. It draws the reader in and holds them more effectively, and adds a sense of realism to boot.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews