What do you think?
Rate this book
Boundary #5
Castaway Odyssey
#5 in the Boundary series universe, and sequel to Castaway Planet, by New York Times multiple best-selling author Eric Flint and veteran science fiction and fantasy author Ryk E. Spoor.
Worst-Case
Sergeant Samuel Morgan Campbell had been in plenty of tight spots before, but nothing like this. It had happened in a few terrifying the starship he and his crew travelled on, the Outward Initiative , shattered to pieces before their eyes and disappeared, leaving them stranded in the endless night of deep space on Lifeboat LS-88—all systems dead, light-years from any known colony.
Somehow, Sergeant Campbell and his crew of half-trained children—ranging from freshly graduated Xander Bird down to eight-year-old Francisco—have to repair systems with no tools, navigate with no computers, and—if they could find a planet they could live on—land a shuttle whose controls were more than half-destroyed.
And if they manage all of that , then the real challenge begins; the only planet in range has secrets that even Sergeant Campbell cannot imagine!
Praise for previous books in this
“. . . fast-paced sci-fi espionage thriller . . . light in tone and hard on science . . .” — Publishers Weekly on Boundary
“The whole crew from Flint and Spoor's Boundary are back . . . Tensions run high throughout the Ceres mission . . . a fine choice for any collection.” — Publishers Weekly on Threshold
“[P]aleontology, engineering, and space flight, puzzles in linguistics, biology, physics, and evolution further the story, as well as wacky humor, academic rivalries, and even some sweet romances.” — School Library Journal on Boundary
Worst-Case
Sergeant Samuel Morgan Campbell had been in plenty of tight spots before, but nothing like this. It had happened in a few terrifying the starship he and his crew travelled on, the Outward Initiative , shattered to pieces before their eyes and disappeared, leaving them stranded in the endless night of deep space on Lifeboat LS-88—all systems dead, light-years from any known colony.
Somehow, Sergeant Campbell and his crew of half-trained children—ranging from freshly graduated Xander Bird down to eight-year-old Francisco—have to repair systems with no tools, navigate with no computers, and—if they could find a planet they could live on—land a shuttle whose controls were more than half-destroyed.
And if they manage all of that , then the real challenge begins; the only planet in range has secrets that even Sergeant Campbell cannot imagine!
Praise for previous books in this
“. . . fast-paced sci-fi espionage thriller . . . light in tone and hard on science . . .” — Publishers Weekly on Boundary
“The whole crew from Flint and Spoor's Boundary are back . . . Tensions run high throughout the Ceres mission . . . a fine choice for any collection.” — Publishers Weekly on Threshold
“[P]aleontology, engineering, and space flight, puzzles in linguistics, biology, physics, and evolution further the story, as well as wacky humor, academic rivalries, and even some sweet romances.” — School Library Journal on Boundary
320 pages, Hardcover
First published October 4, 2016
10 people are currently reading
337 people want to read
About the author
Eric Flint
250 books876 followersEric Flint was a New York Times bestselling American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works were alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
October 9, 2016
A good read.
April 23, 2021
Enjoyable time waster - it reminds a bit of a Heinlein juvenile
July 19, 2016
Strong addition to the series. Lots of action, adventure and actual scientific thought/considerations & implications.
The varied age range and specialties add layers to the situation analysis.
Although, what does it say about me that Whips and Finny are my favorites?
The varied age range and specialties add layers to the situation analysis.
Although, what does it say about me that Whips and Finny are my favorites?
August 1, 2018
Publishers must be desperate for money. Ghostwriting is alive and proliferating. To think that a previously well-known publisher like Baen in the spectrum of science fiction would stoop to ghostwriting as a means of profiteering without any attempt to maintain standards is disillusioning at the very least. Sure the ghostwriter’s name appears right there at the bottom of the cover - which in the strictest sense does not make him a ghostwriter I suppose. Although for the sake of Mr. Spoor’s own reputation, in this case, he would probably have been much better served had he insisted that his name be left off of the credits. Although why Eric Flint would willingly acknowledge any sort of endorsement or collaboration of this piece of work is also beyond me. Can’t help but wonder how Baen goes about selecting ghostwriters. Maybe something like? Oh, here are a couple of paragraphs. Wow! You can write grammatically correct narrative and dialogue. You can write a book! Don’t worry about writing anything that might attempt to get and keep the attention of an audience such as plot, or character development, or action, or intellectually stimulating cognitive engagement. Oh and be sure to throw in some super duper smart children so as to attract an even wider nescient audience and because everyone else is doing the same thing nowadays.
As far as I can tell this book is not about much of anything at all. Sure you have an unlikely small group of people survive an unlikely and poorly explained accident, only to be marooned on an unlikely planet, to stomp around without forethought on an unlikely ‘animal’, to fight off unlikely threats, to escape another unlikely 'natural' event, to find another group of unlikely castaways, to vaguely see unlikely saviors, saviors who unlikely are willing to swim halfway around the plant, and so on - you get the drift I’m sure. The biggest surprise here is how much I read of this book, fighting to hope for something to actually happen - it never did.
As far as I can tell this book is not about much of anything at all. Sure you have an unlikely small group of people survive an unlikely and poorly explained accident, only to be marooned on an unlikely planet, to stomp around without forethought on an unlikely ‘animal’, to fight off unlikely threats, to escape another unlikely 'natural' event, to find another group of unlikely castaways, to vaguely see unlikely saviors, saviors who unlikely are willing to swim halfway around the plant, and so on - you get the drift I’m sure. The biggest surprise here is how much I read of this book, fighting to hope for something to actually happen - it never did.
October 13, 2017
Fun read! Not quite as good as the first book in the Castaway sub-series (Castaway Planet) hence the 3 instead of a 4. Why no 3.5? This is book 5 of the Boundary series, but the Castaway books take place in a different time-period with different characters than the first 3 books. They work as a separate series.
The authors note inspiration from the Swiss Family Robinson and the Heinlein Juveniles. That shows, in a good way. The young people are all smart and capable. They use their heads and science to solve the issues of being stranded in space with a damaged shuttle/lifeboat and then surviving on an alien world. As expected the book is succession of hurdles for our group to overcome. This is a well-worn plot from the aforementioned inspiration, and more recently The Martian. It may be a common plot but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t done well, because they did a good job of keeping it engaging.
I’d recommend this to any young adult who is looking for young protagonists stepping up and solving problems. Also for adults who just want an enjoyable read.
The authors note inspiration from the Swiss Family Robinson and the Heinlein Juveniles. That shows, in a good way. The young people are all smart and capable. They use their heads and science to solve the issues of being stranded in space with a damaged shuttle/lifeboat and then surviving on an alien world. As expected the book is succession of hurdles for our group to overcome. This is a well-worn plot from the aforementioned inspiration, and more recently The Martian. It may be a common plot but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t done well, because they did a good job of keeping it engaging.
I’d recommend this to any young adult who is looking for young protagonists stepping up and solving problems. Also for adults who just want an enjoyable read.
March 10, 2021
A second linked adventure
In this novel a second lifeboat of survivors, coincidentally also with two adults and a handful of children, must work out how to survive the disaster which we first saw in book four of the collection. This time however the viewpoint while giving the younger members a lot to do is primarily about the Sergeant, a senior militia member who teaches survival skills and piloting to colonists who just happened to be nearby when the lifeboat drill started. Because of the difficulties they face it takes these survivors many months to arrive on Lincoln, the same planet the survivors in the first novel arrived at. Because of the overlap it takes much of this novel to get to the point where they find themselves in communication with the other survivors. Near the end the two groups join forces and much rejoicing ensues.
In this novel a second lifeboat of survivors, coincidentally also with two adults and a handful of children, must work out how to survive the disaster which we first saw in book four of the collection. This time however the viewpoint while giving the younger members a lot to do is primarily about the Sergeant, a senior militia member who teaches survival skills and piloting to colonists who just happened to be nearby when the lifeboat drill started. Because of the difficulties they face it takes these survivors many months to arrive on Lincoln, the same planet the survivors in the first novel arrived at. Because of the overlap it takes much of this novel to get to the point where they find themselves in communication with the other survivors. Near the end the two groups join forces and much rejoicing ensues.
June 25, 2020
Sgt. Samuel Morgan Campbell had been in plenty of tight spots before, but nothing like this. It had happened in a few terrifying seconds: the starship he and his crew of half-trained children were travelling on, the Outward Initiative, shattered to pieces before their eyes and disappeared, leaving them stranded in the endless night of deep space on Lifeboat LS-88—all systems dead, light-years from any known colony. Sgt. Campbell, teenage Xander Bird, 8-year-old Francisco, and the other children have to repair systems with no tools, navigate with no computers, and—if they could find a planet they could live on—land a shuttle whose controls were more than half-destroyed.
May 8, 2021
Authors Eric Flint and Ryk E. Spoor have added another fine adventure to their space castaway series. This time it is another space life ship from the same disaster. Led by the powerful Campbell, a severely injured woman and four young men escape the shipwreck to an unknown, undocumented planet they name Emerald.
The young crew has to rebuild the power coil of the ship and they barely get them to the planet. But that's the least of their worries.
The planet is full of huge predators and they cannot relax for a moment. Then they get a call over their radio, "Hey, is anyone out there?"
Hard science and adventure-loving readers will get plenty of both before this tale ends.
The young crew has to rebuild the power coil of the ship and they barely get them to the planet. But that's the least of their worries.
The planet is full of huge predators and they cannot relax for a moment. Then they get a call over their radio, "Hey, is anyone out there?"
Hard science and adventure-loving readers will get plenty of both before this tale ends.
November 14, 2017
Victims of the same accident that stranded the Kimei family in Castaway Planet, Sergeant Campbell and four boys ranging from almost adult to eight years old find themselves adrift in a damaged shuttle.
This instalment is an improvement over the previous one. It is still overly corny at times, but the lack of a family as protagonists makes the interpersonal dynamics more interesting. The dialogue is so littered with overly rational behaviour and humble apologies it is hard to suspend disbelief.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=2095
This instalment is an improvement over the previous one. It is still overly corny at times, but the lack of a family as protagonists makes the interpersonal dynamics more interesting. The dialogue is so littered with overly rational behaviour and humble apologies it is hard to suspend disbelief.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=2095
August 16, 2022
Tone is a good follow up to Castaway Planet. The focus is on a different set of characters and their difficulties. The characters from the first book do have a role to play. Exciting book with many cliff hangers. Fun adventure book with engaging characters. This is not the typical trilogy middle book, but has the story from another group, who has more tech then the the first group's had. The consequence of that can be figured out if you caught the references in the first book and remembered.
Recommended!
Recommended!
April 2, 2021
This one slightly annoyed me at the start, as we have a new cast of characters. But the way the last book ended, you basically know they're gonna connect up at some point. I felt it took a bit long to get to that point, but I imagine the author felt you had to do something like that to get the audience invested in these characters.
In the end I did like it. A bit less than the prior or the last book, but not quite enough to give it a 3 star.
In the end I did like it. A bit less than the prior or the last book, but not quite enough to give it a 3 star.
July 13, 2025
Sergeant Campbell and his group of boys crash land onto a foreign planet while their ship loses reach of Earth. They now have to find resources and thrive without being prey.
The book was entertaining and all, but it took a while for me to finish as sci-fi isn't my biggest thing. Also, the explanations for some of the things were kind of complicated and hard to understand, but it's a well written book with atleast one swear word and a couple of "damns" here and there.
The book was entertaining and all, but it took a while for me to finish as sci-fi isn't my biggest thing. Also, the explanations for some of the things were kind of complicated and hard to understand, but it's a well written book with atleast one swear word and a couple of "damns" here and there.
November 27, 2016
Not as good as the first 3, but still worth the read
This is a great read, but seems a little short. The first 3 book in this series were about the right length and seemed to be written in a different style, and were better. However, this book and it's predecessor are still worth a read and entitled to 5 stars.
This is a great read, but seems a little short. The first 3 book in this series were about the right length and seemed to be written in a different style, and were better. However, this book and it's predecessor are still worth a read and entitled to 5 stars.
August 21, 2017
Just a fun action-adventure. The characters were nicely delineated, but not terribly special. I have to go back and find the earlier adventure set on this planet - I had some world-building questions that may well be answered there. Well worth a day's reading if you like action-adventure Sci-fi with just a smattering of romance and character development.
Read
October 5, 2021Good intro to Science Fiction
This story seems to be in the tradition of Heinlein's juveniles. I enjoyed it, but prefer something a little "meatier". I was a juvenile when Heinlein was writing his stories. 🤗
This story seems to be in the tradition of Heinlein's juveniles. I enjoyed it, but prefer something a little "meatier". I was a juvenile when Heinlein was writing his stories. 🤗
September 9, 2017
A worthy follow-up to Castaway Planet, following a different group of refugees seeking safety on the same planet as the previous castaways.
November 20, 2017
Published 2016. It's a good adventure. Possibly more oriented towards teens.
December 23, 2017
Excellent addition to their series.
January 9, 2018
He always writes good characters. Fun to see the merging of the 4th book in this series with this one. Easy read
April 14, 2018
checked this out of the library today, started reading it when the baby went down for his nap at 1pm and just finished it! I could not put this one down at all, I had to know what happened next.
January 31, 2020
A fascinating story, but it seems to beg for continuation. Hope we will see more in the series!
April 12, 2020
Good story, but I took a star away because of the tendency of the characters to hug each other every so often. Annoying. Will you please stop it
May 22, 2021
The fast paced, continuous action adventure continues ! A good series for light summer reading !
July 7, 2021
Very riveting!
I have enjoyed Eric Flint's books for many years. This series is a bit different but I still have greatly enjoyed reading it.
I have enjoyed Eric Flint's books for many years. This series is a bit different but I still have greatly enjoyed reading it.
March 14, 2017
Boyfriends for the Swiss Family Robinson In Space!
March 7, 2017
It was a good read. The planet was exciting. My only criticism, is the flow of time is confusing at times, that could have easily been solved by having a date at the chapters start. I also have to say the ending feels like it stopped right in the middle.
November 19, 2016
Castaway Odyssey by Eric Flint and Ryk E. Spoor
An interstellar voyage is cut short by a massive drive failure leading to the automatic jettisoning of the life boats. This story tells how the mismatched survivors of the tragedy fare.
This may not be labeled young adult but it is a good young adult story. There is tension and drama but it is of moderate intensity suitable for a younger reader. Sgt. Campbell was a laudable adult figure that appeared practically flawless. Sadly there are very few real flawless folks. The kids on the lifeboat were all awesome. Having spent some time in classrooms from K-4yr college as an instructor, I never had a more adaptable and competent group of kids. Ones and two's but a whole group defies the imagination.
One incident of xenophobia was very realistic and based on learned behavior so it actually made sense and the individual dealing with it was unnaturally aware of the root of his phobia.
Reading this my comments appear to be overly critical but I did like the story. I think many adults would find it far too tame but for a younger reader I highly recommend it. It reminds me of the hopeful, inclusive, optimistic stories I read in the early 50's. (that is decade not age.)
Web: Eric Flint: http://www.ericflint.net/
Ryk E. Spoor : http://grandcentralarena.com/
An interstellar voyage is cut short by a massive drive failure leading to the automatic jettisoning of the life boats. This story tells how the mismatched survivors of the tragedy fare.
This may not be labeled young adult but it is a good young adult story. There is tension and drama but it is of moderate intensity suitable for a younger reader. Sgt. Campbell was a laudable adult figure that appeared practically flawless. Sadly there are very few real flawless folks. The kids on the lifeboat were all awesome. Having spent some time in classrooms from K-4yr college as an instructor, I never had a more adaptable and competent group of kids. Ones and two's but a whole group defies the imagination.
One incident of xenophobia was very realistic and based on learned behavior so it actually made sense and the individual dealing with it was unnaturally aware of the root of his phobia.
Reading this my comments appear to be overly critical but I did like the story. I think many adults would find it far too tame but for a younger reader I highly recommend it. It reminds me of the hopeful, inclusive, optimistic stories I read in the early 50's. (that is decade not age.)
Web: Eric Flint: http://www.ericflint.net/
Ryk E. Spoor : http://grandcentralarena.com/
February 13, 2017
Really enjoyed this book, about a group of people who get "lost in space" and end up colonizing never-explored planet. Fast pace, lots of twists and turns.
October 4, 2016
well-written, but similar issues to book 4
All the usual things are true: the book's well-written, the science is interesting, the characters are easy to like . . .and the plot is merely okay. Mostly it all seemed too easy. Yes, the dangers in the book were very real and people might have died if some events had turned a different way, but they didn't and everything gets solved quite neatly.
That's a real problem, and I think the way the story is written is the cause. Somehow the tension gets minimized in the course of describing the events and it doesn't matter if the people in the book give speeches about how incredible so-and-so's contribution to their survival was--if the reader doesn't feel it the first time around, saying it won't make it so.
I think my issue is that the first three books of the series were for adults, while books four and five are decidedly YA. Maybe that's because most of the characters are under 18, but whatever the reason, these last two books have been frustrating and disappointing for me.
All the usual things are true: the book's well-written, the science is interesting, the characters are easy to like . . .and the plot is merely okay. Mostly it all seemed too easy. Yes, the dangers in the book were very real and people might have died if some events had turned a different way, but they didn't and everything gets solved quite neatly.
That's a real problem, and I think the way the story is written is the cause. Somehow the tension gets minimized in the course of describing the events and it doesn't matter if the people in the book give speeches about how incredible so-and-so's contribution to their survival was--if the reader doesn't feel it the first time around, saying it won't make it so.
I think my issue is that the first three books of the series were for adults, while books four and five are decidedly YA. Maybe that's because most of the characters are under 18, but whatever the reason, these last two books have been frustrating and disappointing for me.
June 19, 2017
This book is a companion to the earlier Castaway Planet. I recommend reading that book first. Although these two books are in the Flint/Spoor Boundary universe, they have no real connection to the first three books.
There are no bad guys in Castaway Odyssey. It is a story of a struggle to survive a totally unexpected disaster. The castaways have to be both brave and smart and have to solve problem after problem just to stay alive. Things get pretty geeky with lots of details and interesting ideas. Recommended for those who like that kind of story.
There are no bad guys in Castaway Odyssey. It is a story of a struggle to survive a totally unexpected disaster. The castaways have to be both brave and smart and have to solve problem after problem just to stay alive. Things get pretty geeky with lots of details and interesting ideas. Recommended for those who like that kind of story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews