What do you think?
Rate this book
The Seed Garden
The prospect looked grim for Jed; alone, his escape pod crashed on an uncharted planet with no hope of rescue. But after he died a painful grizzly death in the dry desert things began to look up.
The lifeless planet that Jed now roams turns out to hold a secret vital to the existence of life itself.
David Reynolds-Moreton takes us on a journey of discovery through strange and hostile landscapes, and into the depths of a machine so staggeringly vast and at the same time utterly believable. Whether you see the twist at the end coming or not, you'll be completely drawn in.
The lifeless planet that Jed now roams turns out to hold a secret vital to the existence of life itself.
David Reynolds-Moreton takes us on a journey of discovery through strange and hostile landscapes, and into the depths of a machine so staggeringly vast and at the same time utterly believable. Whether you see the twist at the end coming or not, you'll be completely drawn in.
150 pages, Paperback
First published September 6, 2010
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 1, 2021
I had a hard time with this story, at the beginning, parts in the middle, and parts in the end. I wanted to stop several times but didn’t. There were some interesting parts like after the protagonist dies (before that was boring and dragged, in my opinion), and his interactions with Tree. The idea that he landed on a planet that held all the creatures, plants, and whatnot of… the universe? was different.
The narrator did a great job, although I’d be curious to hear him do other voices. The sound effects were nice but that music at the beginning of the chapters wasn’t always consistent with each chapter. For example, there was no music for chapter 4 and the music didn’t last as long for chapter 5. I’m not sure how that was missed.
Questions/Comments:
I’m really not a fan of redundancy, for example, "It closed shut." One example that was used multiple times in the story was “mental image pictures.” Images and pictures are the same things. Either it’s mental images or mental pictures. Pick one.
Or there was this strange line: “he was aware of being aware.” I believe that was used at least twice. What does it mean? Wouldn’t it just be “he was aware [period]”?
Or there was the repeated use of the protagonist talking out loud and the dialogue tag being something along the lines of him having said it out loud to hear something, to hear a sound. Using it once or, maybe, twice is fine, but it was used several times.
I’ve never heard someone think about going to the bathroom as “void your body of its toxic waste.” I imagine the author was looking for a fancier way of saying use the toilet and this is what they came up with just to add to the science fiction aspect of the story.
I received a free audiobook code in exchange for an honest review.
The narrator did a great job, although I’d be curious to hear him do other voices. The sound effects were nice but that music at the beginning of the chapters wasn’t always consistent with each chapter. For example, there was no music for chapter 4 and the music didn’t last as long for chapter 5. I’m not sure how that was missed.
Questions/Comments:
I’m really not a fan of redundancy, for example, "It closed shut." One example that was used multiple times in the story was “mental image pictures.” Images and pictures are the same things. Either it’s mental images or mental pictures. Pick one.
Or there was this strange line: “he was aware of being aware.” I believe that was used at least twice. What does it mean? Wouldn’t it just be “he was aware [period]”?
Or there was the repeated use of the protagonist talking out loud and the dialogue tag being something along the lines of him having said it out loud to hear something, to hear a sound. Using it once or, maybe, twice is fine, but it was used several times.
I’ve never heard someone think about going to the bathroom as “void your body of its toxic waste.” I imagine the author was looking for a fancier way of saying use the toilet and this is what they came up with just to add to the science fiction aspect of the story.
I received a free audiobook code in exchange for an honest review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 1, 2021
( Format : Audiobook )
"A delicacy of judgement and execution."
A lone space travellor, against the odds, survives the destruction of his ship, crash landing his module on a seemingly hostile, sterile planet. Although the atmosphere was breathable, without a fresh supply of water, Jed knew he would soon die, so set out across the alien desert, finding - none. Instead a tree grows...
The Seed Garden is a delightful story of exploration and immagination, simply written, with the feel of an old time S.F. story, the sort to open the reader's eyes in wonder. And it is expertly read by Christopher Kendrick, his clear but gentle English accented voice pace perfect. His narration distances him from the action allowing the book itself to lead. A fine lergormance.
My thanks to the rights holder who, at my request, freely gifted me with a complimentary copy via Audiobook Boom. It was a pleasure to read. My only reservation was the length. Although only six hours long, a final section before the conclusion felt unecessary, despite being fascinating in itself. But that is probably just me. . Recommended to old style, and thought provoking, S.F.fans.
"A delicacy of judgement and execution."
A lone space travellor, against the odds, survives the destruction of his ship, crash landing his module on a seemingly hostile, sterile planet. Although the atmosphere was breathable, without a fresh supply of water, Jed knew he would soon die, so set out across the alien desert, finding - none. Instead a tree grows...
The Seed Garden is a delightful story of exploration and immagination, simply written, with the feel of an old time S.F. story, the sort to open the reader's eyes in wonder. And it is expertly read by Christopher Kendrick, his clear but gentle English accented voice pace perfect. His narration distances him from the action allowing the book itself to lead. A fine lergormance.
My thanks to the rights holder who, at my request, freely gifted me with a complimentary copy via Audiobook Boom. It was a pleasure to read. My only reservation was the length. Although only six hours long, a final section before the conclusion felt unecessary, despite being fascinating in itself. But that is probably just me. . Recommended to old style, and thought provoking, S.F.fans.
April 16, 2021
I wanted to love it. It would be an awesome twilight zone episode. It was interesting and the pace was good.....but I felt something was lacking. I did enjoy it though. There needs to be more back story on Jed and his original world.
Christopher Kendrick was a good narrator for this story.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Christopher Kendrick was a good narrator for this story.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
January 26, 2018
Whoa! What an interesting mind!
This author took me back to the first delightful science fiction book I read. Lovely reading, with a fine wine.
This author took me back to the first delightful science fiction book I read. Lovely reading, with a fine wine.
July 28, 2021
Great surprise ending
What a great ending. It really surprised me. I thought it dragged a bit at first be it picked up and did nicely. A good read.
What a great ending. It really surprised me. I thought it dragged a bit at first be it picked up and did nicely. A good read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews