What do you think?
Rate this book
UNSEC Space #1
Colony
A corporate investigator who doesn't trust his employer.
A mercenary gun-for-hire with a talent for violence and a willingness to shoot first.
And a white-hat hacker who doesn't know when to quit.
Three independent contractors brought together for one unusual job. Five years ago, master programmer Carlos Rodriguez retired. Now his old employer wants him back.
It'd be a lot easier if he hadn't left Earth.
A mercenary gun-for-hire with a talent for violence and a willingness to shoot first.
And a white-hat hacker who doesn't know when to quit.
Three independent contractors brought together for one unusual job. Five years ago, master programmer Carlos Rodriguez retired. Now his old employer wants him back.
It'd be a lot easier if he hadn't left Earth.
- GenresScience Fiction
1190 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 11, 2016
86 people are currently reading
166 people want to read
About the author
Max Florschutz
14 books24 followersMax Florschutz was born and raised in the wilds of southeast Alaska, on a little island that boasted both a large, lumber-based economy and one of the highest rainfalls to ever not be desired by humanity. In 2004 he began attending college at Brigham Young University Provo, taking a two-year break to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Upon his return, he continued to attend BYU Provo and began to delve heavily into English courses (among other things), including creative writing classes taught by authors such as Brandon Sanderson. Transferring out to BYU Hawaii to keep a promise, Max finished his degree, graduating in 2011 with more credits than most students would know what to do with and a 3.96 GPA.
After a year or so of the graduated life, the writing bug bit him again and he began to spend his free time writing once more. After a few months of making sure he still hadn’t lost his touch and some dedicated practice, he sat down and wrote his first publishable book: One Drink. Emboldened by the success of that release, he pushed forward, and has continued writing to this day.
After a year or so of the graduated life, the writing bug bit him again and he began to spend his free time writing once more. After a few months of making sure he still hadn’t lost his touch and some dedicated practice, he sat down and wrote his first publishable book: One Drink. Emboldened by the success of that release, he pushed forward, and has continued writing to this day.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 20, 2018
I tried, I really tried. The first couple of chapters really hooked me, but then we hit a slowdown of epic proportions, starting with the tablet repair. I thought it was just introductory and we will soon be on our way, but I am 28% in and we are still 'learning the ropes'. I cannot envision reading 700 more pages of mundane conversation even if there is a promise of good action somewhere down the line. I just cannot, no matter how intriguing the concept or how well written the action. I simply cannot.
I will keep an eye out on author's future works, because I truly think he has some good talent. But the future works must go through a heartless editor who will slash away all the needless conversation and description, allowing for the talent to really shine. I will check out future books even if the end product is 1000+ pages, because it is not the length that I object to, it is the bloated narrative.
I will keep an eye out on author's future works, because I truly think he has some good talent. But the future works must go through a heartless editor who will slash away all the needless conversation and description, allowing for the talent to really shine. I will check out future books even if the end product is 1000+ pages, because it is not the length that I object to, it is the bloated narrative.
March 13, 2022
4 solid stars for this underdog!
When I started reading this book it only had 66 ratings, 9 reviews, and the book was published ~6 years ago. Therefore I didn't expect much, but surprisingly this was a very nice read so I hope more people decide to pick it up in the future!
First of all let me give you a summary of this book, because the synopsis on here doesn't give you much to work with. So get ready for a lengthy review!
Summary
This book follows Anna, a mercenary that has all the skills to kill. Then we have Jake, a private investigator, his strong points being an all rounder and being able to connect the dots. And last but not least there's Sweets, a professional hacker, being one of the best in what he does.
It's an odd trio, but the UN, United Nations, needs them for a mission. Off earth. To find a master programmer that put junk code into their systems and they need to know why.
The story takes place about 100 or so years into the future. This means there's alot of Artificial Intelligence in this book, space traveling, highly advanced technique and well, basically everything you'd want in a science fiction book of this size. The story itself mostly takes place on the planet Pisces, a planet where it's impossible to live on the land because of enormous hurricanes, so people live underwater there. I can't go into much more detail without spoiling anything, but things aren't always as they seem on this planet...
Plot
Like I said I can't really go into much detail of the plot without spoiling it, but it was a good one. The story has good pacing, though a little slow in the beginning, it does add to the tension that's getting more and more prominent the farther you read in this book. For me it was also really hard to decide who the bad guys were, so I was in for a surprise when the grand finale started to unfold. It was a nice plottwist and made this scifi even more... Scifi. Absolutely loved it!
Worldbuilding
The worldbuilding in this book was good, great even. In the first chapters we dive straight into an earth, but then modernised. Despite it taking place pretty far in the future, it's still realistic. Yes we have AI that can control buildings (sort of), yes there is space traveling, but there are also still (electric) cars that people drive and people still work normal jobs.
At Pisces, it pretty much feels the same way. Yes people live underwater, but they're still living a normal life like we do now. There's just a little more high tech in their lives, but nothing too outrageous.
This balance, between the scifi elements and the normalcy as we know it now, is absolutely perfect. It is what makes this book highly realistic, something I really appreciate in science fiction.
Characters
The characters are solid in this book. There isn't much of a character development, as this is a plot driven book, but I didn't mind it that much since they're, well, solid characters. Though I do wish Jake's character was a little more outspoken. Whereas Anna and Sweets have clear sets of skills which comes with a certain character, Jake fell a little flat compared to them because he doesn't have a skillset that's as defined as theirs are.
Writing style
I always am a little weary starting books with >1000 pages. I don't know why, but most of the time those long books just don't flow nicely, or there's a lot of prose, and it just takes real effort to read it. Fortunately for me, this book was very readable. The language was easy to follow, conversations flowed nicely and it didn't really feel like it was as long as it is, so props to the author for that!
Things to consider
This book is long. This means it also comes with lengthy chapters. If that's not your thing, then this is not the book for you. Also, like I mentioned earlier, this is a plot driven book. It contains a lot of worldbuilding, action, and, well, scifi stuff, drama and romance aren't to be found in this book.
Last but not least, this book doesn't end with a cliffhanger, despite it having a sequel, so you don't have to worry about that.
Conclusion
Read it! I really hope more people decide to pick this one up, because the author deserves it. It's a high quality book that builds up nicely to big reveals, so buckle up and enjoy the ride!
When I started reading this book it only had 66 ratings, 9 reviews, and the book was published ~6 years ago. Therefore I didn't expect much, but surprisingly this was a very nice read so I hope more people decide to pick it up in the future!
First of all let me give you a summary of this book, because the synopsis on here doesn't give you much to work with. So get ready for a lengthy review!
Summary
This book follows Anna, a mercenary that has all the skills to kill. Then we have Jake, a private investigator, his strong points being an all rounder and being able to connect the dots. And last but not least there's Sweets, a professional hacker, being one of the best in what he does.
It's an odd trio, but the UN, United Nations, needs them for a mission. Off earth. To find a master programmer that put junk code into their systems and they need to know why.
The story takes place about 100 or so years into the future. This means there's alot of Artificial Intelligence in this book, space traveling, highly advanced technique and well, basically everything you'd want in a science fiction book of this size. The story itself mostly takes place on the planet Pisces, a planet where it's impossible to live on the land because of enormous hurricanes, so people live underwater there. I can't go into much more detail without spoiling anything, but things aren't always as they seem on this planet...
Plot
Like I said I can't really go into much detail of the plot without spoiling it, but it was a good one. The story has good pacing, though a little slow in the beginning, it does add to the tension that's getting more and more prominent the farther you read in this book. For me it was also really hard to decide who the bad guys were, so I was in for a surprise when the grand finale started to unfold. It was a nice plottwist and made this scifi even more... Scifi. Absolutely loved it!
Worldbuilding
The worldbuilding in this book was good, great even. In the first chapters we dive straight into an earth, but then modernised. Despite it taking place pretty far in the future, it's still realistic. Yes we have AI that can control buildings (sort of), yes there is space traveling, but there are also still (electric) cars that people drive and people still work normal jobs.
At Pisces, it pretty much feels the same way. Yes people live underwater, but they're still living a normal life like we do now. There's just a little more high tech in their lives, but nothing too outrageous.
This balance, between the scifi elements and the normalcy as we know it now, is absolutely perfect. It is what makes this book highly realistic, something I really appreciate in science fiction.
Characters
The characters are solid in this book. There isn't much of a character development, as this is a plot driven book, but I didn't mind it that much since they're, well, solid characters. Though I do wish Jake's character was a little more outspoken. Whereas Anna and Sweets have clear sets of skills which comes with a certain character, Jake fell a little flat compared to them because he doesn't have a skillset that's as defined as theirs are.
Writing style
I always am a little weary starting books with >1000 pages. I don't know why, but most of the time those long books just don't flow nicely, or there's a lot of prose, and it just takes real effort to read it. Fortunately for me, this book was very readable. The language was easy to follow, conversations flowed nicely and it didn't really feel like it was as long as it is, so props to the author for that!
Things to consider
This book is long. This means it also comes with lengthy chapters. If that's not your thing, then this is not the book for you. Also, like I mentioned earlier, this is a plot driven book. It contains a lot of worldbuilding, action, and, well, scifi stuff, drama and romance aren't to be found in this book.
Last but not least, this book doesn't end with a cliffhanger, despite it having a sequel, so you don't have to worry about that.
Conclusion
Read it! I really hope more people decide to pick this one up, because the author deserves it. It's a high quality book that builds up nicely to big reveals, so buckle up and enjoy the ride!
January 4, 2024
I picked this book after another from the same author, interested to what he had to offer in scifi.
Interesting book - if daunting by its size - with very comprehensive world building around a future ruled by megacorporations and spacefaring society.
A fair amount of the book (~1/3) is essentially setup; this might seem long but there is no repetition and it gives a good view of the world, plot starting point and of the main characters.
Some parts could be looked upon as mundane facts of the character's life, but they make it seem more real.
The foremost interest of the book for me, has been the plot and world building. Less so the characters. I've had similar impressions about Asimov's books : carefully crafted world and plot and characters, but not feeling drawn to the characters.
Perhaps I'm biased about the characters I like or not. Could be.
I'll certainly follow with Jungle, though I'll likely pick it when I've more time to spare. Reading 1200~1500 pages books when you're spreading yourself thin and are not a very fast reader, is not the best choice.
Edit 2024/01 : read Jungle, and not disappointed. Big books that sure may put off some readers, but anyone who's not at odds with alternating and well used slow and fast pacings should give it a look.
Interesting book - if daunting by its size - with very comprehensive world building around a future ruled by megacorporations and spacefaring society.
A fair amount of the book (~1/3) is essentially setup; this might seem long but there is no repetition and it gives a good view of the world, plot starting point and of the main characters.
Some parts could be looked upon as mundane facts of the character's life, but they make it seem more real.
The foremost interest of the book for me, has been the plot and world building. Less so the characters. I've had similar impressions about Asimov's books : carefully crafted world and plot and characters, but not feeling drawn to the characters.
Perhaps I'm biased about the characters I like or not. Could be.
I'll certainly follow with Jungle, though I'll likely pick it when I've more time to spare. Reading 1200~1500 pages books when you're spreading yourself thin and are not a very fast reader, is not the best choice.
Edit 2024/01 : read Jungle, and not disappointed. Big books that sure may put off some readers, but anyone who's not at odds with alternating and well used slow and fast pacings should give it a look.
December 29, 2020
Reading on the Kindle can be risky--I tend to be daunted by long books, and Colony certainly compares in length with the Neal Stephenson books I've read. I didn't mind it too much, once the titular colony enters play in the book. Before then the pace drags a bit, but I feel that the latter 2/3 of the book is a good payback. There are some concepts that I very much enjoyed from a sci-fi perspective: extensive underwater civilization, a unique WMD, and sentient AIs. Colony is very plot-driven; I'm afraid the main characters felt a little flat to me. There were moments and sparks of unique development and interaction, but my overall impression of the main three were a tad bland. Still, that doesn't take away from the overall entertainment value of the novel. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next installment!
March 30, 2019
Good stuff
The initial description didn’t exactly draw me to reading Colony but I dove in anyway and was rewarded with an excellent SF story and characters. Max first introduces the main characters with enough to flesh out their talents, their personalities and why they are brought together. Then the fun begins. A waterworld where subs are the space craft and the depths hide mysteries. Good stuff and a great read.
The initial description didn’t exactly draw me to reading Colony but I dove in anyway and was rewarded with an excellent SF story and characters. Max first introduces the main characters with enough to flesh out their talents, their personalities and why they are brought together. Then the fun begins. A waterworld where subs are the space craft and the depths hide mysteries. Good stuff and a great read.
June 13, 2021
A great read!!!
Colony has been in my library for a while. Once I started reading, I found it difficult to stop. The way that three protagonists came together and their subsequent exploits kept me going until the end of the book. I have already downloaded Jungle, the next book in the series and I can't wait to join Jake, Anna and Sweets on their exploits. The author has a great writing style and his development of the different characters is great. A gripping story.
Colony has been in my library for a while. Once I started reading, I found it difficult to stop. The way that three protagonists came together and their subsequent exploits kept me going until the end of the book. I have already downloaded Jungle, the next book in the series and I can't wait to join Jake, Anna and Sweets on their exploits. The author has a great writing style and his development of the different characters is great. A gripping story.
October 14, 2025
A flawed hommage to the "Expanse" books
If the book got some serious editing to "trim the fat" and get rid of some logical inconsistencies the book could become as good as the first books from the "Expanse" series.
The book started strong and intriguing. The character introduction reminded me of ancient shadow run stories, but without the fantasy elements.
After the character introduction came a very long dull phase that should have been trimmed down drastically as it didn't improve the plot. Only when they arrive at the planet the story became more interesting and turned into a mix of action and detective story.
While the setting on the planet was really exotic the world building remained bleak, unfortunately, and most of what happened on the planet very contrived. 51 million civilians on a sterile planet with seemingly nothing to do (mining is forbidden, trade heavily regulated, farming not yet feasible and manufacturing is done by the ai or the corporation). The "cunning plan" of the corporation behind that made not much sense. Neither did why a military dictatorship suffering from the stated problems that seeks to control the trade would not just nationalise all trade, forbid the really excessive use of private submarines and deport all the excess population that only costs them money..
I was not a big fan of the rebel faction either as they are ready to kill hundreds of civilians "for the greater good". The revolution seemed pointless as even an utter victory on the planet still would leave them open for orbital bombardments - not to mention that seemingly almost everything from metals, food to finished products needs to be imported.. They simply can't afford freedom, as funny as this may sound.
The second half reminded me of the first books of the "Expanse" series with similarly unbelievable extractions..
The end was an overly long trope filled to the brim with plot armor.
Criticism and comments
The Mexican border accident seemed very contrived. It seems very unlikely that they would have been able to identify his real persona. Furthermore, some sentences seem to be gibberish.
It's funny that space travel to distant systems is super fast while reaching the orbit is very slow..
"For a station that hadn’t had human habitation in some time, it was remarkably clean." It is bizarre that they seemingly keep an uninhabited space station filled with air. Without air there wouldn't be oxidation and the vacuum used to decompress the air would get rid of most of the dust as well.
Why would anyone send over 50 million people on a hostile and sterile planet that doesn't even have mining? What are to supposed to work? Terraforming shouldn't need so many people.. Furthrmore, who thought it was a good idea to have to spread them out all over the planet? Any refineries should be close to the spaceport to make sense.
It felt very moronic that the dear doctor would leave the sensible equipment behind given the later story..
Trying to decode super secret information using foreign computers under the watch of an AI seems absolutely retarded.
There is quite a difference between "thievery” and armed robbery..
The author really seems to hate the UN..
I have huge doubts about the storage capacity of a phone being sufficient for the stolen data!
"One week until the last colony ship arrives." Their obsession with the ship is obscene. They would either be definitely be killed as spaceport, spaceship and spacestation are run by their nemesis..
“Otherwise he might start feeling bad about what happened again.” It's funny that he feels guilty about 3 civilians that he didn't kill but not the thousands he did..
I hate the use of they/them for single entities!
“Twenty years ago science proved that intelligent alien life could not exist." That reminds me of the study that kangaroos can't jump.. #lmao#
If the book got some serious editing to "trim the fat" and get rid of some logical inconsistencies the book could become as good as the first books from the "Expanse" series.
The book started strong and intriguing. The character introduction reminded me of ancient shadow run stories, but without the fantasy elements.
After the character introduction came a very long dull phase that should have been trimmed down drastically as it didn't improve the plot. Only when they arrive at the planet the story became more interesting and turned into a mix of action and detective story.
While the setting on the planet was really exotic the world building remained bleak, unfortunately, and most of what happened on the planet very contrived. 51 million civilians on a sterile planet with seemingly nothing to do (mining is forbidden, trade heavily regulated, farming not yet feasible and manufacturing is done by the ai or the corporation). The "cunning plan" of the corporation behind that made not much sense. Neither did why a military dictatorship suffering from the stated problems that seeks to control the trade would not just nationalise all trade, forbid the really excessive use of private submarines and deport all the excess population that only costs them money..
I was not a big fan of the rebel faction either as they are ready to kill hundreds of civilians "for the greater good". The revolution seemed pointless as even an utter victory on the planet still would leave them open for orbital bombardments - not to mention that seemingly almost everything from metals, food to finished products needs to be imported.. They simply can't afford freedom, as funny as this may sound.
The second half reminded me of the first books of the "Expanse" series with similarly unbelievable extractions..
The end was an overly long trope filled to the brim with plot armor.
Criticism and comments
The Mexican border accident seemed very contrived. It seems very unlikely that they would have been able to identify his real persona. Furthermore, some sentences seem to be gibberish.
It's funny that space travel to distant systems is super fast while reaching the orbit is very slow..
"For a station that hadn’t had human habitation in some time, it was remarkably clean." It is bizarre that they seemingly keep an uninhabited space station filled with air. Without air there wouldn't be oxidation and the vacuum used to decompress the air would get rid of most of the dust as well.
Why would anyone send over 50 million people on a hostile and sterile planet that doesn't even have mining? What are to supposed to work? Terraforming shouldn't need so many people.. Furthrmore, who thought it was a good idea to have to spread them out all over the planet? Any refineries should be close to the spaceport to make sense.
It felt very moronic that the dear doctor would leave the sensible equipment behind given the later story..
Trying to decode super secret information using foreign computers under the watch of an AI seems absolutely retarded.
There is quite a difference between "thievery” and armed robbery..
The author really seems to hate the UN..
I have huge doubts about the storage capacity of a phone being sufficient for the stolen data!
"One week until the last colony ship arrives." Their obsession with the ship is obscene. They would either be definitely be killed as spaceport, spaceship and spacestation are run by their nemesis..
“Otherwise he might start feeling bad about what happened again.” It's funny that he feels guilty about 3 civilians that he didn't kill but not the thousands he did..
I hate the use of they/them for single entities!
“Twenty years ago science proved that intelligent alien life could not exist." That reminds me of the study that kangaroos can't jump.. #lmao#
February 1, 2024
3½ stars. Actually pretty decent in most parts, but there were a few times when I found it hard to pick the book back up. Particularly towards the end it just felt like it was toddling towards the inevitable conclusion and felt like there was no real oomph or something? I dunno.
It did feel like it had a lot of potential. Hopefully the later books in the series get a bit stronger.
It did feel like it had a lot of potential. Hopefully the later books in the series get a bit stronger.
February 4, 2022
Though this was full of sci-fi tropes I'm giving it extra marks for the underwater world-building and the purely likeable roguisg characters - I made it to 50% and have put it aside to read armt later date
July 23, 2017
Good read.
Good read for teen males. Lots of military action. A big twist is a surprise at the end. Would read the "Jungle" by the same author.
Good read for teen males. Lots of military action. A big twist is a surprise at the end. Would read the "Jungle" by the same author.
August 5, 2017
Great pace. Worth the read
A classic adventure sci fi. Great pace and strong characters. A truly original environment. Something of a feat in this day and age
A classic adventure sci fi. Great pace and strong characters. A truly original environment. Something of a feat in this day and age
May 11, 2019
Incredible.
This author has an incredible imagination and talent for describing every nuance in vivid detail. I can’t wait to start his next book.
This author has an incredible imagination and talent for describing every nuance in vivid detail. I can’t wait to start his next book.
April 23, 2023
Started a little slow but was a good read once I got into it.
April 6, 2025
LONGEST BOOK EVER. So much unnecessary excess detail. Average plot. Didn’t really get good until the last 25%. I like the characters. Love a good sci-fi book. But nothing special.
June 8, 2025
First half or so was a solid 4. Interesting characters solving a “mystery”. Then it devolved into a massive action story that was overly wordy and boring. Last quarter was a 2.
December 11, 2016
So, I've finished Colony and let my thoughts settle down over the course of a few weeks (er, as well as getting sidetracked and just forgetting to give one out...). So, without further ado let's go!
The Good: I'm a sucker for long books. Colony sure fills out that requirement clocking in at 333,000 words. The characters are pretty neat. We've got Jake, the corporate investigator (my favorite of the bunch), Anna, the mercenary-for-hire, and Sweets as the hacker. All three of them are cool and play off each of each other well. Jake's wisecracks play well with Anna's darker, deadpan sense of humor, and Sweets being new to all of this works to contrast against the others experience. The world that Max paints is a really cool one as well that reminds me of Deus Ex in a way. It's sci-fi for sure, with advanced AI, space travel, power armor, and other cool gadgets, but it still feels down to earth. People don't wear funny uniforms nor is everything super clean; people still wear normal everyday clothes, use cars that stay firmly on the ground, and have the same everyday problems as any other human being. The action is top-notch, being solidly explained and easy to follow, while also giving insight into the thoughts and feelings of whoever you're following.
The Not-So-Good: There are some parts near the end of the book with slight spelling/grammar mistakes, nothing major, just a few missed spaces or switched up names when addressing who's speaking. I can forgive them because of the length, it's pretty much impossible to get every single mistake, still I felt it worth mentioning. I found that compared to Jake and Anna, Sweets relationship development with his two comrades was lacking. In reading the story, it makes sense why this doesn't happen but it still sucks because of how much Anna and Jake get developed together and Sweets is almost a 3rd wheel. This might be a personal thing, but I found that I kind of skimped over the submarine battles and just focused on the dialogue between characters at the later parts. I kind of felt that they dragged on a bit longer then I cared for, though that could be mostly because I've never been into submarines/underwater stuff and just wanted to figure out what was going to happen next to our band of heroes.
The Verdict: I don't really read sci-fi very much, find myself enjoying fantasy more then anything, but Colony sucked me in because of its unique world, great cast of characters, and sense of mystery behind it all. You should absolutely give it a read!
The Good: I'm a sucker for long books. Colony sure fills out that requirement clocking in at 333,000 words. The characters are pretty neat. We've got Jake, the corporate investigator (my favorite of the bunch), Anna, the mercenary-for-hire, and Sweets as the hacker. All three of them are cool and play off each of each other well. Jake's wisecracks play well with Anna's darker, deadpan sense of humor, and Sweets being new to all of this works to contrast against the others experience. The world that Max paints is a really cool one as well that reminds me of Deus Ex in a way. It's sci-fi for sure, with advanced AI, space travel, power armor, and other cool gadgets, but it still feels down to earth. People don't wear funny uniforms nor is everything super clean; people still wear normal everyday clothes, use cars that stay firmly on the ground, and have the same everyday problems as any other human being. The action is top-notch, being solidly explained and easy to follow, while also giving insight into the thoughts and feelings of whoever you're following.
The Not-So-Good: There are some parts near the end of the book with slight spelling/grammar mistakes, nothing major, just a few missed spaces or switched up names when addressing who's speaking. I can forgive them because of the length, it's pretty much impossible to get every single mistake, still I felt it worth mentioning. I found that compared to Jake and Anna, Sweets relationship development with his two comrades was lacking. In reading the story, it makes sense why this doesn't happen but it still sucks because of how much Anna and Jake get developed together and Sweets is almost a 3rd wheel. This might be a personal thing, but I found that I kind of skimped over the submarine battles and just focused on the dialogue between characters at the later parts. I kind of felt that they dragged on a bit longer then I cared for, though that could be mostly because I've never been into submarines/underwater stuff and just wanted to figure out what was going to happen next to our band of heroes.
The Verdict: I don't really read sci-fi very much, find myself enjoying fantasy more then anything, but Colony sucked me in because of its unique world, great cast of characters, and sense of mystery behind it all. You should absolutely give it a read!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews