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The Caves of Ceres
The first two expeditions to the abandoned Martian base on Ceres vanished without a trace.
Captain Allen Warren, Royal Navy, is determined that the third will succeed. When he reaches Ceres the ships of the first two expeditions are still parked on the landing field, but there is no sign of the crews except for a single dead man inside the base's airlock.Within days Warren has established a camp near the airlock and teams have surveyed the main levels of the underground base. Everything is going according to plan.
But soon the expedition is rattled by rumors of voices whispering in the air vents and automatic lights that turn on when no one is there. People begin to disappear, vanishing in the night without a trace, while the remainder are torn apart by an epidemic of madness and violence. And down in the lowest level of the base there are warnings written in blood about the Great Old Ones.
Perhaps Ceres is not quite as abandoned as it appears.
The Caves of Ceres is a standalone novella set in The Age of Aether universe.
Captain Allen Warren, Royal Navy, is determined that the third will succeed. When he reaches Ceres the ships of the first two expeditions are still parked on the landing field, but there is no sign of the crews except for a single dead man inside the base's airlock.Within days Warren has established a camp near the airlock and teams have surveyed the main levels of the underground base. Everything is going according to plan.
But soon the expedition is rattled by rumors of voices whispering in the air vents and automatic lights that turn on when no one is there. People begin to disappear, vanishing in the night without a trace, while the remainder are torn apart by an epidemic of madness and violence. And down in the lowest level of the base there are warnings written in blood about the Great Old Ones.
Perhaps Ceres is not quite as abandoned as it appears.
The Caves of Ceres is a standalone novella set in The Age of Aether universe.
- GenresScience Fiction
99 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 25, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 24, 2024
What a fantastic short story! This thrilling alt history scifi horror really freaked me out!
Imagine being sent to a planet abandoned by an alien race eons ago. The previous Earth expeditions disappeared with no explanation; their empty ships are docked at the ancient station, but no signs of life can be found. You and your crew take up only a small space and there are multiple floors and even mines that lie in unexplored darkness. Then, at the edge of camp, motion sensor lights begin to turn on… with no one present. Voices are heard from the vents in tongues no one speaks… one by one people begin to disappear and ancient writings are translated that speak of ancient beings…
So dang creepy!!! I’d be out of there asap!!! I do wish the story had been longer so that readers could spend time with the characters and hear more about their histories.
Imagine being sent to a planet abandoned by an alien race eons ago. The previous Earth expeditions disappeared with no explanation; their empty ships are docked at the ancient station, but no signs of life can be found. You and your crew take up only a small space and there are multiple floors and even mines that lie in unexplored darkness. Then, at the edge of camp, motion sensor lights begin to turn on… with no one present. Voices are heard from the vents in tongues no one speaks… one by one people begin to disappear and ancient writings are translated that speak of ancient beings…
So dang creepy!!! I’d be out of there asap!!! I do wish the story had been longer so that readers could spend time with the characters and hear more about their histories.
June 10, 2024
It’s a bit odd reading a space story that is set in the late 1800s. Sometimes when I was reading, my mind would forget they were in space and think of them on a ship, sailing somewhere far away.
The storyline is good, as were the characters, although being from the past, they were more reserved and closed mouthed about themselves, so we only got a few details about them. I would really have more about the previous missions and I would have liked much more description of the entities that are plaguing them, but I really liked this.
Space horror rocks.
The storyline is good, as were the characters, although being from the past, they were more reserved and closed mouthed about themselves, so we only got a few details about them. I would really have more about the previous missions and I would have liked much more description of the entities that are plaguing them, but I really liked this.
Space horror rocks.
September 22, 2025
This is a SciFi Horror [Short] Story That Will Surprise You
I began this tale because it screams ‘SciFi’ to me, and I desperately wanted to find a good SciFi book to read. Well, this one is OK, not great — but it’s also a Horror Story, which I did not expect. And, for whatever reason which was not explained by The Author — the gist of this book takes place in the late 1800s — which is fine, except that space travel, Martians and other non-Earth species never existed way back then …
I think there are large plot holes, and the writing sometime seems discontiguous. For example, large caverns are discovered during searches for missing people — but, orders are given to NOT examine the caves, and surprise, surprise — the missing people are never found!
This story is also written in a British flavor of plot and writing and attitude (all of which can differ if compared against a similar USA-written book)
I began this tale because it screams ‘SciFi’ to me, and I desperately wanted to find a good SciFi book to read. Well, this one is OK, not great — but it’s also a Horror Story, which I did not expect. And, for whatever reason which was not explained by The Author — the gist of this book takes place in the late 1800s — which is fine, except that space travel, Martians and other non-Earth species never existed way back then …
I think there are large plot holes, and the writing sometime seems discontiguous. For example, large caverns are discovered during searches for missing people — but, orders are given to NOT examine the caves, and surprise, surprise — the missing people are never found!
This story is also written in a British flavor of plot and writing and attitude (all of which can differ if compared against a similar USA-written book)
June 27, 2021
The story is set in space in the 1880s and yet there are almost no consequences of that. We don't see any cool steampunk gadgetry or cleverness. There is really no reason for it to be set that early at all. I realize it's part of a series and the other books may give this meaning, but this book is otherwise independent and would be better with more descriptions of the technology in use. At least the aesthetics of it.
The book also fails to describe other important things. The natives of Mercury are fierce but I don't know if they are humanoid or space squids. The story unfolds in a setting of mostly corridors.
Then there is what happens. It is like worst part of a horror movie. Unaddressed disappearances culminate in an unsatisfying antagonist. Civilians are brought along for no discernable reason and the goal of the expedition is never clear.
The book also fails to describe other important things. The natives of Mercury are fierce but I don't know if they are humanoid or space squids. The story unfolds in a setting of mostly corridors.
Then there is what happens. It is like worst part of a horror movie. Unaddressed disappearances culminate in an unsatisfying antagonist. Civilians are brought along for no discernable reason and the goal of the expedition is never clear.
November 19, 2020
Pulpy Fun
The author is a good storyteller combining 19th century adventure pulp fiction, steampunk, and Lovecraftian atmosphere in a tale of a spaceship traveling the aether. Arriving at the asteroid Ceres where two previous missions have gone missing, the captain and his crew attempt to find survivors in the ruins left behind thousands of years ago by the now extinct Martians.
The author knows his chops as a pulp writer, a horror writer, and a good grasp of the social mores of the era. I look forward to reading the other tales in this literary universe.
The author is a good storyteller combining 19th century adventure pulp fiction, steampunk, and Lovecraftian atmosphere in a tale of a spaceship traveling the aether. Arriving at the asteroid Ceres where two previous missions have gone missing, the captain and his crew attempt to find survivors in the ruins left behind thousands of years ago by the now extinct Martians.
The author knows his chops as a pulp writer, a horror writer, and a good grasp of the social mores of the era. I look forward to reading the other tales in this literary universe.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews