A Long, Long Trip on the Hope/Freedom

The Oldest Earthling #1

by Rob Favre

The Hope/Freedom. A marvel of engineering, the culmination of decades of research and years of construction, she’s on a thousand-year voyage across deep space to start the first human colony outside the Solar system. It’s the greatest adventure in all of history. And Tom just wishes it wasn't so boring. He’s pretty sure his parents didn’t bring him along to ruin his life intentionally; that’s just the way it’s worked out. There’s not much to do apart from fixing and cleaning things. The food is bland when it’s not just disgusting. And having to spend years at a time frozen inside a metal tube in dreamless sleep, well, that’s more sleep than even a teenager wants. But when Tom wakes up from one of his extra-long naps, he quickly sees that thing are wrong. The ship is dirty. The air smells like goats. Nobody he knows is around, but that doesn’t mean he’s alone. Oh, and it isn’t long before Tom uncovers a problem that could spell doom for himself, his sleeping parents, and everyone else on the Hope/Freedom. It’s almost enough to make him miss homework.

Genres: Science Fiction

270 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 22, 2016

Reviews

[Brian McMickle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a refreshing read. I'm a big fan of the unlikely hero stories and love the perspective from the teenage kid, Tom. His character was rather easy to relate to which made the experience that much more fun. But most of all, I like the injections of subtle humor. They are woven in nicely throughout the book and even in some unexpected parts which I love. Finally, its a fun story line. The plausibility of it is not that far out there, so even if you are not a huge sci-fi fan, I think you'd still find it a fun ready. I'll be on the look out for the next one.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story, loved the ending. Kid wakes from stasis on a starship to find everything different. No spoilers, but lessons are learned and perspectives changed. The pace of the story flows and ebbs as the main character's attention would. Some things happen quickly with little detail because he isn't a part of it and others are thoroughly explained when he would be focused.

[Jen Haeger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast read. Really cool idea. Great voice. :)