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Pulse #1
Pulse: When Gravity Fails
The Alpha Centauri star system begins to collapse and the resulting gravitational waves reach our planet, creating strange phenomena around the globe, leaving the people who are affected by them wondering what in the world is going on.
A scientist in an isolated observatory sees clues that tell him what is happening to the world may be bigger and more deadly than a few earthquakes and a few floating objects.
Dr. Paulo Restrepo will have to race against time and the doubts of a world used to gravity behaving the same everywhere at every time. By the time he figures out the cause and what that means for the final approaching event, it might be too late, but he has to try.
A scientist in an isolated observatory sees clues that tell him what is happening to the world may be bigger and more deadly than a few earthquakes and a few floating objects.
Dr. Paulo Restrepo will have to race against time and the doubts of a world used to gravity behaving the same everywhere at every time. By the time he figures out the cause and what that means for the final approaching event, it might be too late, but he has to try.
- GenresScience Fiction
100 pages, Paperback
First published January 14, 2016
About the author
John Freitas
6 books87 followersJohn Freitas is a science fiction author. He has a background in Electronics and Computer Science. John lives in rural Southeast Texas surrounded by many smiling dogs and suspicious cats.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 16, 2016
Get ready to enter the world of science fiction and leave behind all of those science classes that you sat through in school. Embrace make believe and thoughts of “what if?” John Freitas has taken control and lays the groundwork for some pretty decent speculative fiction with Pulse: When Gravity Fails.
Imagine being the scientist who discovers that the collapse of the Alpha Centauri star system is about to cause chaos, upheaval and the possible destruction of Earth. As a father, he would do anything to keep his daughter safe, but where can she go? Is this the final assault on Earth?
Life goes on, even in a time of dire consequences as the world witnesses changes in the gravitational pull, while cows float on one continent, another is experiencing the crumbling of buildings being pulled to the ground. One firefighter must reach his children and his ex to try to get them to safety or at least warn them, but time is running out and all of the bitter arguments seem petty in the eyes of death.
John Freitas has only forgotten one thing in this nail-biting gem, about another 100 pages, or 2 or 300. Drawing a huge cast of characters in, setting up the world (and preparing to tear it apart) is a big task. To do that in just a few pages is phenomenal, all while never slipping up on the tension and pace. A great start to a great sci-fi series. I wasn't ready to return to reality.
I received this copy from the author, John Freitas, in exchange for my honest review.
Series: Pulse Science Fiction Series - Book 1
Publication Date: February 18, 2016
Publisher: John Freitas
ISBN-10: 1530117569
ISBN-13: 978-1530117567
Genre: Sci-Fi
Print Length: 101 pages
Available from: Amazon
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com
Imagine being the scientist who discovers that the collapse of the Alpha Centauri star system is about to cause chaos, upheaval and the possible destruction of Earth. As a father, he would do anything to keep his daughter safe, but where can she go? Is this the final assault on Earth?
Life goes on, even in a time of dire consequences as the world witnesses changes in the gravitational pull, while cows float on one continent, another is experiencing the crumbling of buildings being pulled to the ground. One firefighter must reach his children and his ex to try to get them to safety or at least warn them, but time is running out and all of the bitter arguments seem petty in the eyes of death.
John Freitas has only forgotten one thing in this nail-biting gem, about another 100 pages, or 2 or 300. Drawing a huge cast of characters in, setting up the world (and preparing to tear it apart) is a big task. To do that in just a few pages is phenomenal, all while never slipping up on the tension and pace. A great start to a great sci-fi series. I wasn't ready to return to reality.
I received this copy from the author, John Freitas, in exchange for my honest review.
Series: Pulse Science Fiction Series - Book 1
Publication Date: February 18, 2016
Publisher: John Freitas
ISBN-10: 1530117569
ISBN-13: 978-1530117567
Genre: Sci-Fi
Print Length: 101 pages
Available from: Amazon
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com
March 31, 2016
I’d like to start with a thank you to the author. Upon receiving a message from John Freitas asking if I was interested in reading Pulse in exchange for a review, I quickly found myself expectant for what was to come. Of course, whenever I’m expectant things fail to go my way. Suddenly things are not arriving in the post as quickly as they usually are. Both this book and things I had ordered took much longer to arrive than anticipated. Fortunately, I arrived home one day to find most things had arrived.
Thus, I jumped in at the first chance I got.
Pulse is an exceptionally quick read, one you can complete in a single sitting. Being so short, you know things are going to progress quickly – yet despite this awareness, I still found myself wanting more. Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t through any fault of the author, it was simply me wanting more. Such a thing, however, happens quite often and is a positive reflection of a book. If you want more, you know the author has done something right.
In all honesty, at first I didn’t think such was to be the case. For such a short book, I managed quite a turnaround in feelings. This is why the book was rated three stars (that, and I’m hard to please with shorter books as I expect them to go a step further than they usually do). At first things seemed a bit slow, as though they dragged a bit. Then things got going and I was really interested. Then the ending came about and I wanted more. All in all, it gave me a bit of everything when it came to how I felt towards it.
Although, I think I know what caused my initial iffy feeling. I love character driven books. Of course, I adore it when there are deep stories, but complex characters are my biggest love. This starts out with some development of characters… but we never really find out as much about them as I like. This is a story driven tale. It is a wonderful story (those complaining about the inaccuracies in the science need only look at most of the bestselling science fiction to see that these changes are often made to fit with interesting stories), and yet I felt as though the characters could have done with a little bit more. After all, they were all so much fun.
Overall, it was a fun read. Once again, I’d like to thank the author for sending me a copy to read – I’m certainly interested in seeing what else he comes up with!
Thus, I jumped in at the first chance I got.
Pulse is an exceptionally quick read, one you can complete in a single sitting. Being so short, you know things are going to progress quickly – yet despite this awareness, I still found myself wanting more. Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t through any fault of the author, it was simply me wanting more. Such a thing, however, happens quite often and is a positive reflection of a book. If you want more, you know the author has done something right.
In all honesty, at first I didn’t think such was to be the case. For such a short book, I managed quite a turnaround in feelings. This is why the book was rated three stars (that, and I’m hard to please with shorter books as I expect them to go a step further than they usually do). At first things seemed a bit slow, as though they dragged a bit. Then things got going and I was really interested. Then the ending came about and I wanted more. All in all, it gave me a bit of everything when it came to how I felt towards it.
Although, I think I know what caused my initial iffy feeling. I love character driven books. Of course, I adore it when there are deep stories, but complex characters are my biggest love. This starts out with some development of characters… but we never really find out as much about them as I like. This is a story driven tale. It is a wonderful story (those complaining about the inaccuracies in the science need only look at most of the bestselling science fiction to see that these changes are often made to fit with interesting stories), and yet I felt as though the characters could have done with a little bit more. After all, they were all so much fun.
Overall, it was a fun read. Once again, I’d like to thank the author for sending me a copy to read – I’m certainly interested in seeing what else he comes up with!
December 24, 2015
First of all, that's not how gravitational waves work. Any gravity waves from the Alpha Centauri system would have amplitudes around the order of magnitude of the lower limits of the gravitational wave detectors we have now.
Also, the star system is spelled Alpha Centauri. The book alternates between that and an incorrect spelling for a couple pages, then sticks with the incorrect spelling.
I'm not sure why there are roughly ten point of view characters. The story isn't long enough to make it a good idea, and they all end up being one dimensional. It seems like the author couldn't decide if he wanted to write a book about scientifically inaccurate gravitational waves or Carter/Tabitha/Sean's love triangle. Also, Michael and Roman's plot line didn't seem relevant at all to the story. It could work to get a sense of how the gravitational waves were affecting other parts of the globe, but the story wasn't long enough to really be able to support that, and I don't think a couple hundred miles into Russia is far enough to be on the other side of the globe.
I also take issue with the fact that all 5 female characters (out of probably 30 characters total) were defined by their relationships with men. It really looked like the only major female character was just female so that
An excerpt, to get a sense of the writing style:
"Ed told Paulo that he had a point there. But what if they had made this machine and launched it into space? Wow, Paulo did not think about that one."
Also, the star system is spelled Alpha Centauri. The book alternates between that and an incorrect spelling for a couple pages, then sticks with the incorrect spelling.
I'm not sure why there are roughly ten point of view characters. The story isn't long enough to make it a good idea, and they all end up being one dimensional. It seems like the author couldn't decide if he wanted to write a book about scientifically inaccurate gravitational waves or Carter/Tabitha/Sean's love triangle. Also, Michael and Roman's plot line didn't seem relevant at all to the story. It could work to get a sense of how the gravitational waves were affecting other parts of the globe, but the story wasn't long enough to really be able to support that, and I don't think a couple hundred miles into Russia is far enough to be on the other side of the globe.
I also take issue with the fact that all 5 female characters (out of probably 30 characters total) were defined by their relationships with men. It really looked like the only major female character was just female so that
An excerpt, to get a sense of the writing style:
"Ed told Paulo that he had a point there. But what if they had made this machine and launched it into space? Wow, Paulo did not think about that one."
March 20, 2018
This short SF novel is well thought out, an account of the experiences of several related people during a gravitational abnormality. While we work up to the main adventure we get small quakes rippling through localised areas, in America and the Russian tundra where a forest ranger sees trees crashing and splitting.
Our main characters include a firefighter, his brother an Airforce pilot (over the sea near Russia) and a journalist who knows a cover-up is under way because she was on an airliner which went abruptly into the black above the planet before managing to return, restart engines and land. Not that anyone is explaining the matter.
One good factor is that the forces are inscrutable - we didn't cause them and can't study or affect them. An explanation is given that the Alpha Centauri stars are colliding. The gravitational waves are going to increase in size and strength. How to survive is all that matters.
I would give a higher rating except that the writing style lets the book down a bit, especially in the latter third. We go from present to past tense. Lines start with someone speaking, then we get a full stop and Added Ted. Quote marks aren't closed. I sometimes thought the book had been dictated, and typed by a computer program. Also scientists at Antarctica would not refer to a tidal wave, but to a tsunami.
Have fun; the author has also written a short story taking place during this event, called The Quantum Brain. Be aware that half that book is taken up with a preview of this book.
I was sent an e-ARC by the author. This is an unbiased review.
Our main characters include a firefighter, his brother an Airforce pilot (over the sea near Russia) and a journalist who knows a cover-up is under way because she was on an airliner which went abruptly into the black above the planet before managing to return, restart engines and land. Not that anyone is explaining the matter.
One good factor is that the forces are inscrutable - we didn't cause them and can't study or affect them. An explanation is given that the Alpha Centauri stars are colliding. The gravitational waves are going to increase in size and strength. How to survive is all that matters.
I would give a higher rating except that the writing style lets the book down a bit, especially in the latter third. We go from present to past tense. Lines start with someone speaking, then we get a full stop and Added Ted. Quote marks aren't closed. I sometimes thought the book had been dictated, and typed by a computer program. Also scientists at Antarctica would not refer to a tidal wave, but to a tsunami.
Have fun; the author has also written a short story taking place during this event, called The Quantum Brain. Be aware that half that book is taken up with a preview of this book.
I was sent an e-ARC by the author. This is an unbiased review.
October 10, 2016
Review: PULSE: WHEN GRAVITY FAILS by John Freitas
Never a dull moment in this imaginative science fiction thriller. As many apocalyptic and science fiction as I've read over the decades, the cause in this book is new to me, and its astrophysical soundness renders it all the more terrifying.
The author provides a variety of detailed anecdotes, with a core of continuing characters whose lives exemplify "normality" as reality shifts, changes, and cracks.
Never a dull moment in this imaginative science fiction thriller. As many apocalyptic and science fiction as I've read over the decades, the cause in this book is new to me, and its astrophysical soundness renders it all the more terrifying.
The author provides a variety of detailed anecdotes, with a core of continuing characters whose lives exemplify "normality" as reality shifts, changes, and cracks.
November 12, 2015
This book was unusual in the fact that it dose not fit into nay sterotype.It can in parts be a hard read as the storyline does not flow as expected.The characters are well discribed and the science element is probably over played.I recommend this book for anyone who knows anything about science.
May 17, 2017
Pulse: When Gravity Fails - John Freitas
Started to read this book at bedtime, a few pages at a time. Found it more interesting as I moved to the center of the book so continued reading to the end. Never did like science in school but did enjoy this book somewhat.
I received this book from Goodreads
Started to read this book at bedtime, a few pages at a time. Found it more interesting as I moved to the center of the book so continued reading to the end. Never did like science in school but did enjoy this book somewhat.
I received this book from Goodreads
April 3, 2016
I hate to state that this is a very short book. It’s almost a short-story, but I won’t go that far. The story-line is pretty simple especially when you already know what’s going to happen by the title of the book. Still, the author doesn’t make it sound as devastating as it probably would be. He limits his story to just a few people and they only have very limited experiences of failing gravity until the very last part of the book.
Alpha Centuri, our closest neighboring star, has collapsed. It’s not know exactly why, but it’s theorized that some other star collapsed further out from Alpha Centuri and this has set up a chain reaction of gravity waves, very, very strong gravity waves. We read about the effect the first small waves that hit the Earth from both sides. On one side, where the wave firsts smacks the earth, thing quickly become unpleasant to say the least. You certainly don’t want to carrying anything during this gravity event. Then on the other side, staying firmly grounded isn’t as easy as it used to be. And this was with just the first wave. There should be two more and a scientist character has calculated that the Earth should, should be able to survive the third wave, maybe!
I don’t think the author spent much time describing the action. He did kind of tell us what was happening to some people and things around our main characters, but he certainly didn’t go into detail. It was also difficult to really tell what was happening to the US Air Force jet fighter that was apparently caught in one of the waves. I mean, it crashed, but I don’t think it was clear as to why and what happen to the Russian fighter jets that were following. Those kind of details left the book much shorter than it could have been.
I noticed the title says “Pulse, #1) which makes me think there may be a follow-on book. It might be interesting to see where it goes from here, but this book pretty much closed out the three wave scenario. If you’re in-between books, this would make a very quick and good read.
Alpha Centuri, our closest neighboring star, has collapsed. It’s not know exactly why, but it’s theorized that some other star collapsed further out from Alpha Centuri and this has set up a chain reaction of gravity waves, very, very strong gravity waves. We read about the effect the first small waves that hit the Earth from both sides. On one side, where the wave firsts smacks the earth, thing quickly become unpleasant to say the least. You certainly don’t want to carrying anything during this gravity event. Then on the other side, staying firmly grounded isn’t as easy as it used to be. And this was with just the first wave. There should be two more and a scientist character has calculated that the Earth should, should be able to survive the third wave, maybe!
I don’t think the author spent much time describing the action. He did kind of tell us what was happening to some people and things around our main characters, but he certainly didn’t go into detail. It was also difficult to really tell what was happening to the US Air Force jet fighter that was apparently caught in one of the waves. I mean, it crashed, but I don’t think it was clear as to why and what happen to the Russian fighter jets that were following. Those kind of details left the book much shorter than it could have been.
I noticed the title says “Pulse, #1) which makes me think there may be a follow-on book. It might be interesting to see where it goes from here, but this book pretty much closed out the three wave scenario. If you’re in-between books, this would make a very quick and good read.
May 26, 2016
Although labeled as Sci-Fi, Pulse is also an Action novel. From beginning to end the book is a steady back and forth from one action scene to the next. It’s very fast paced.
Think “San Andreas Fault” type of film. If this book were a film that is. Honestly, I could see it translating pretty easily into a film.
Since this is a small novella, there are a few things that you lose out on. Mainly, character depth. I will go on to say that even with little information, I still feel like I got a decent sense of who the characters were.
I really enjoyed the different perspectives throughout the book. It helps a smaller novel feel bigger than it is. The perspective I enjoyed the most was of Holden (child). His outlook on his parents divorce as well as the events that unfold was almost poetic. Out of all the characters in this book, I have to say Holden is my favorite. He comes across to me as an old soul.
I don’t know enough about the science in this book to know if its probable or not. As a person who is ignorant of the subject, I felt it had the authenticity it needed to feel real.
The only real complaint I have about Pulse is that the ending felt a bit anit-climatic. There was this real sense of urgency with the characters and this intense build-up. Then…within a few sentences it was over. I was a bit annoyed to say the least.
To see my full review of this title and many others, check out my blog AlliesOpinions on WordPress!
Think “San Andreas Fault” type of film. If this book were a film that is. Honestly, I could see it translating pretty easily into a film.
Since this is a small novella, there are a few things that you lose out on. Mainly, character depth. I will go on to say that even with little information, I still feel like I got a decent sense of who the characters were.
I really enjoyed the different perspectives throughout the book. It helps a smaller novel feel bigger than it is. The perspective I enjoyed the most was of Holden (child). His outlook on his parents divorce as well as the events that unfold was almost poetic. Out of all the characters in this book, I have to say Holden is my favorite. He comes across to me as an old soul.
I don’t know enough about the science in this book to know if its probable or not. As a person who is ignorant of the subject, I felt it had the authenticity it needed to feel real.
The only real complaint I have about Pulse is that the ending felt a bit anit-climatic. There was this real sense of urgency with the characters and this intense build-up. Then…within a few sentences it was over. I was a bit annoyed to say the least.
To see my full review of this title and many others, check out my blog AlliesOpinions on WordPress!
December 20, 2015
I received a free copy of this book through Goodread's Giveaways.
I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the sci-fi feel without it being too technical or too "out there". I felt the plot was believable enough that you didn't have to suspend reality to enjoy it.
I found the characters in the book to be believable and I could relate with them. If the earth started to randomly lose gravity I would become fearful and worry about my family as well.
Although the plot was interesting, I felt the dialogue between the characters at times to be stilted. I'm not sure if it is due to the authors inexperience or poor editing.
Overall I enjoyed the story and have books 2 and 3 in my possession and will be starting book 2 as soon as I finish this review. If you enjoy realistic sci-fi I do recommend picking up this book.
I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the sci-fi feel without it being too technical or too "out there". I felt the plot was believable enough that you didn't have to suspend reality to enjoy it.
I found the characters in the book to be believable and I could relate with them. If the earth started to randomly lose gravity I would become fearful and worry about my family as well.
Although the plot was interesting, I felt the dialogue between the characters at times to be stilted. I'm not sure if it is due to the authors inexperience or poor editing.
Overall I enjoyed the story and have books 2 and 3 in my possession and will be starting book 2 as soon as I finish this review. If you enjoy realistic sci-fi I do recommend picking up this book.
March 23, 2016
First off, thank you to the author for putting this book into Give Away as I won it and eagerly waited the short delivery time so I could enjoy it.
A fairly fast paced sci-if books that clearly demonstrates just how much we all take gravity for granted. Like anything else we miss it when it is altered or gone. The adventure sets out well enough, the usual mundane survival life but quickly one discovers all is not right in the world. Odd things happen where Gravity is concerned.
The author has great talent in story telling and keeps things rolling along with very good dimensional characters. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys speculative sci fi ! This book would have been rated a five star if not for the moderate amount of spelling errors. They seemed to stop the flow of the read in some places. That aside, this is definitely a MUST READ !!!
A fairly fast paced sci-if books that clearly demonstrates just how much we all take gravity for granted. Like anything else we miss it when it is altered or gone. The adventure sets out well enough, the usual mundane survival life but quickly one discovers all is not right in the world. Odd things happen where Gravity is concerned.
The author has great talent in story telling and keeps things rolling along with very good dimensional characters. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys speculative sci fi ! This book would have been rated a five star if not for the moderate amount of spelling errors. They seemed to stop the flow of the read in some places. That aside, this is definitely a MUST READ !!!
February 26, 2016
I won this on Good Reads.
John Freitas does science fiction right! Take a scientific theory, in this case, gravitational waves. Add interesting but flawed characters; and who isn’t flawed? Shake well and see how your characters react. The result is “Pulse: When Gravity Fails”. I like the connections between the characters. What would you do it gravity was suddenly much stronger making planes crash, or much weaker letting things float. It really doesn’t matter if the science isn’t 100% correct. What we know changes all the time. My only complaint is the it isn’t long enough.
John Freitas does science fiction right! Take a scientific theory, in this case, gravitational waves. Add interesting but flawed characters; and who isn’t flawed? Shake well and see how your characters react. The result is “Pulse: When Gravity Fails”. I like the connections between the characters. What would you do it gravity was suddenly much stronger making planes crash, or much weaker letting things float. It really doesn’t matter if the science isn’t 100% correct. What we know changes all the time. My only complaint is the it isn’t long enough.
February 19, 2016
I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway for an honest review.
I must say I was a bit confused at the beginning, but as the story progressed I was curious to see what happened to the characters. Interesting storyline and makes you wonder if something like this really happened here on earth and how people would react. I enjoyed the book and would recommend this book to anyone liking light sci-fi genre.
I must say I was a bit confused at the beginning, but as the story progressed I was curious to see what happened to the characters. Interesting storyline and makes you wonder if something like this really happened here on earth and how people would react. I enjoyed the book and would recommend this book to anyone liking light sci-fi genre.
December 12, 2016
Interesting story and writing; although people are a little too good to be true. I am not sure the "science" of the story adds up (I believe the "east-west"-effect in the story is very likely as the earth is rotating in that direction...). Nice thought experiment though...
As part of a series I feared the book might end in a cliffhanger - well it didn't: the story is more or less complete (which does not mean everything is told...).
As part of a series I feared the book might end in a cliffhanger - well it didn't: the story is more or less complete (which does not mean everything is told...).
April 14, 2016
This fast-moving novella is filled with scientific fact, unlike most Science Fiction.
Read full review in the 2016 June issue of InD'tale Magazine.
Read full review in the 2016 June issue of InD'tale Magazine.
February 13, 2016
Ok enough but the ending was somewhat abrupt.
March 19, 2016
Wonderful short story in a world where gravity is going haywire. I only wish it were longer.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews