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One Small Step out of the Garden of Eden #1
Call of Destiny
HE SET OUT TO FIND HIMSELF. FATE FOUND HIM INSTEAD.
High school senior Michael Gillen, living on Earth in the late twenty-fifth century, can’t wait to flee his wretched life. But when he sets out to a military academy to fulfill his lifelong dream of exploring the stars, things go from bad to worse. Will the stubborn, free-spirited, and idealistic young man wash out before realizing his dream? Will his family’s past get the best of him? Can he keep his mind off other, more enticing distractions? Will he get his chance to set off into the stars before a terrible war breaks out?
RECENT REVIEWS
"An enticing read." -- Midwest Book Review
“The book has lots of good twists and an interesting futuristic society.” -- Reader review
"The characters were well developed and the suspense kept me turning the pages!!" -- Reader review
"As someone who generally isn't interested in science fiction, I liked this book because the people and their experiences were the focus rather than the science fiction...I enjoyed seeing the characters come into their own...I did not anticipate the ending - it was a great twist" -- Reader review
ABOUT THE SERIES
Call of Destiny is the first book of the science fiction series One Small Step out of the Garden of Eden. As seen through the eyes of four enthusiastic, young adults, the series looks at humanity and its struggles five centuries after the historic Apollo 11 moon landing.
Read a sample chapter HERE
High school senior Michael Gillen, living on Earth in the late twenty-fifth century, can’t wait to flee his wretched life. But when he sets out to a military academy to fulfill his lifelong dream of exploring the stars, things go from bad to worse. Will the stubborn, free-spirited, and idealistic young man wash out before realizing his dream? Will his family’s past get the best of him? Can he keep his mind off other, more enticing distractions? Will he get his chance to set off into the stars before a terrible war breaks out?
RECENT REVIEWS
"An enticing read." -- Midwest Book Review
“The book has lots of good twists and an interesting futuristic society.” -- Reader review
"The characters were well developed and the suspense kept me turning the pages!!" -- Reader review
"As someone who generally isn't interested in science fiction, I liked this book because the people and their experiences were the focus rather than the science fiction...I enjoyed seeing the characters come into their own...I did not anticipate the ending - it was a great twist" -- Reader review
ABOUT THE SERIES
Call of Destiny is the first book of the science fiction series One Small Step out of the Garden of Eden. As seen through the eyes of four enthusiastic, young adults, the series looks at humanity and its struggles five centuries after the historic Apollo 11 moon landing.
Read a sample chapter HERE
300 pages, Hardcover
First published April 28, 2009
109 people want to read
About the author
Robert Wagoner
8 books8 followersAt the age of four, Robert Wagoner watched the live broadcast of the Apollo 11 moon landing. He then spent his entire childhood following space exploration and dreaming of being an astronaut. A native of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania region; he lives with his wife and children in New England, where he works for a technology firm.
In May, 2009, he released Call of Destiny, the first book in a series called One Small Step out of the Garden of Eden. The series is about humanity’s struggles five centuries after the Apollo 11 moon landing.
But the storyline has its origins well before 2009.
In 1976 (when he was only in sixth grade), spurred on by his love of space exploration, Robert sat down in front of a manual typewriter he had received at Christmas and pounded out a simple, 117 page, single-spaced novel about an exploration trip to another star.
Of course, the storyline itself was very rough (the grammar too!), so he determined a year later to redo the story. Not wanting to rush in, Robert slowly developed the entire storyline over the next several years, being particularly inspired by current events and history, as well as his increasing understanding of the human condition. By age twenty, he had finished the plotline for the series.
However, family, career, and simultaneously pursuing college/graduate school pushed the series to the backburner. Yet the story remained a constant in his thought. In 1997, he picked up where he left off, penning the entire series beginning to end.
The second book in the series is expected to be released late this year or early next year.
Visit the Author’s website to learn more about the series.
In May, 2009, he released Call of Destiny, the first book in a series called One Small Step out of the Garden of Eden. The series is about humanity’s struggles five centuries after the Apollo 11 moon landing.
But the storyline has its origins well before 2009.
In 1976 (when he was only in sixth grade), spurred on by his love of space exploration, Robert sat down in front of a manual typewriter he had received at Christmas and pounded out a simple, 117 page, single-spaced novel about an exploration trip to another star.
Of course, the storyline itself was very rough (the grammar too!), so he determined a year later to redo the story. Not wanting to rush in, Robert slowly developed the entire storyline over the next several years, being particularly inspired by current events and history, as well as his increasing understanding of the human condition. By age twenty, he had finished the plotline for the series.
However, family, career, and simultaneously pursuing college/graduate school pushed the series to the backburner. Yet the story remained a constant in his thought. In 1997, he picked up where he left off, penning the entire series beginning to end.
The second book in the series is expected to be released late this year or early next year.
Visit the Author’s website to learn more about the series.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 8, 2011
This is not going to be like the other reviews.
I stopped reading it 27% in.
The logical gaps and plot holes are just too massive to ignore to try and trudge forward for another 200 some odd pages. This constant focus of high school style love affairs is not only annoying and detracting from possibly good plot lines, but the protagonist, who annoys me more than any other character I've ever read, approaches stalker level annoyance.
I'm not going to pick it up again, I'm not going to try and get to the part where other people here feel they can't put it down.
But to show I'm not just blowing hot air, I'll list my grievances:
1. The reader is asked simply to accept that the invention of artificial gravity suddenly creates these two distinct classes of people and sends shock waves down the social atmospheres of space travel. The idea of people arguing over being weightless and other people hating the weightless is absurd. If this had been a satire over race relations in 1960's, okay maybe I can accept that, but it wasn't. The only attempt to justify this in enough time to keep a reader interested is smacked down with even more of the author forcing the audience simply to accept 'this is a big deal'. (IE the discussion in a class) This is probably the biggest gap, and it feels like the author was simply trying to find a way to set the character apart in the beginning, but attaching a manufactured shame to brilliance.
2. The reader is again asked to simply accept that a Rear Admiral, a military man, is going to accept the word of a love struck cadet that someone who has good grades, but has huge problems with authority and immaturity issues that another cadet, her love interest, is worth keeping around in the academy.
3. In one chapter Michael hates authority and the military lifestyle (Which is never actually defined or explored anymore than uniforms and hair cuts) and turn the page to the next chapter and it states in one sentence he has simply begun to enjoy it, without showing how this massive character arch is suddenly achieved. Then he goes back to having no respect for authority.
4. It is absurd the punishments and problems being heaped on this character for one and a half years with no relief. I get it already, no one likes him but a 22 year old red head. Sweet. But a science teacher thinks so highly of a project she's going to submit it on his behalf to scientists, but she's going to give him a failing grade. Wow, that one is just crammed down the throat. Rowdy students don't like you because your new, and they have a say in your academic advancement? Huh? Mixing older students with younger students in the same courses on purpose, what? Again, forcing situations to advance forced plots.
5. We're supposed to accept that these students are the best and the brightest, but the 'rook' adviser considers leaving campus for pizza thinking out of the box. No.
6. The only times we ever hint at something which might be interesting, a tension above high school drama, it is instantly drowned out by: High School drama. I don't care if Kara wants to wrestle with Mike. We had maybe three sentences out of Tom about something as massively significant as the political situation in relation to what might be an interesting military plot around Jupiter. But that is overwhelmed by playing cutesy.
7. You can't say 'these people are violating this treaty' without actually explaining what the treaty is, the reason it was put into place and why it's so significant. In the news reports that mention it several times, and only elude to what the treaty might do or what the violation might do. Meanwhile, instead of getting into something interesting like that, we go back to high school love affairs.
8. Don't proselytize. I rolled my eyes every time David came around with his unnatural dialogue, and forced superiority of faith. In the beginning of the book, it was noted that society was made better by a reassertion of Western Values. What? Is this science fiction, or is the Hallmark Channel's would be mishmash of Ender's Game and Twilight?
The only upside was a potentially good antagonist who I just didn't have the energy to care about after the minutia of the poorly explored awkward and angsty social dynamics of teen romance. I was in high school once, I don't care to read about it again. Science fiction, and any other plot is repeatedly drowned out by the authors early obsession with romance. There might have been interest somewhere if I actually felt connected to any of the characters in this book.
As far as the main character goes, how am I supposed to connect with him emotionally enough to continue to want to read about him? Only once do we have a hint at his aspirations, his need to achieve: He wants to be a deep space explorer. The only other things we learn about him is that he's rebellious, and he goes through women like candy wrappers. We get to spend no time with him in his natural state, to learn about him before he's instantly whisked away to his Second Act of going to school to be an explorer and stalking a girl who doesn't want to be with him.
Compare this to Starship Troopers for instance, which to my chagrin is put only a few spots away from this book some how on a list of Military Science Fiction, a place where this book doesn't belong. It jumps around, but before we get to Johnny Rico's experience in boot camp, and long and well told second act, we get to learn a lot about him in a chapter or two. He's a rich kid who's generous with his friends, intelligent, but not overly so, impulsive, a decent athlete, but still very young with no true sense of commitment. He was a memorable character: Michael Gillen was not.
I don't even want to proceed to the second book, because it would require me to finish the first.
I stopped reading it 27% in.
The logical gaps and plot holes are just too massive to ignore to try and trudge forward for another 200 some odd pages. This constant focus of high school style love affairs is not only annoying and detracting from possibly good plot lines, but the protagonist, who annoys me more than any other character I've ever read, approaches stalker level annoyance.
I'm not going to pick it up again, I'm not going to try and get to the part where other people here feel they can't put it down.
But to show I'm not just blowing hot air, I'll list my grievances:
1. The reader is asked simply to accept that the invention of artificial gravity suddenly creates these two distinct classes of people and sends shock waves down the social atmospheres of space travel. The idea of people arguing over being weightless and other people hating the weightless is absurd. If this had been a satire over race relations in 1960's, okay maybe I can accept that, but it wasn't. The only attempt to justify this in enough time to keep a reader interested is smacked down with even more of the author forcing the audience simply to accept 'this is a big deal'. (IE the discussion in a class) This is probably the biggest gap, and it feels like the author was simply trying to find a way to set the character apart in the beginning, but attaching a manufactured shame to brilliance.
2. The reader is again asked to simply accept that a Rear Admiral, a military man, is going to accept the word of a love struck cadet that someone who has good grades, but has huge problems with authority and immaturity issues that another cadet, her love interest, is worth keeping around in the academy.
3. In one chapter Michael hates authority and the military lifestyle (Which is never actually defined or explored anymore than uniforms and hair cuts) and turn the page to the next chapter and it states in one sentence he has simply begun to enjoy it, without showing how this massive character arch is suddenly achieved. Then he goes back to having no respect for authority.
4. It is absurd the punishments and problems being heaped on this character for one and a half years with no relief. I get it already, no one likes him but a 22 year old red head. Sweet. But a science teacher thinks so highly of a project she's going to submit it on his behalf to scientists, but she's going to give him a failing grade. Wow, that one is just crammed down the throat. Rowdy students don't like you because your new, and they have a say in your academic advancement? Huh? Mixing older students with younger students in the same courses on purpose, what? Again, forcing situations to advance forced plots.
5. We're supposed to accept that these students are the best and the brightest, but the 'rook' adviser considers leaving campus for pizza thinking out of the box. No.
6. The only times we ever hint at something which might be interesting, a tension above high school drama, it is instantly drowned out by: High School drama. I don't care if Kara wants to wrestle with Mike. We had maybe three sentences out of Tom about something as massively significant as the political situation in relation to what might be an interesting military plot around Jupiter. But that is overwhelmed by playing cutesy.
7. You can't say 'these people are violating this treaty' without actually explaining what the treaty is, the reason it was put into place and why it's so significant. In the news reports that mention it several times, and only elude to what the treaty might do or what the violation might do. Meanwhile, instead of getting into something interesting like that, we go back to high school love affairs.
8. Don't proselytize. I rolled my eyes every time David came around with his unnatural dialogue, and forced superiority of faith. In the beginning of the book, it was noted that society was made better by a reassertion of Western Values. What? Is this science fiction, or is the Hallmark Channel's would be mishmash of Ender's Game and Twilight?
The only upside was a potentially good antagonist who I just didn't have the energy to care about after the minutia of the poorly explored awkward and angsty social dynamics of teen romance. I was in high school once, I don't care to read about it again. Science fiction, and any other plot is repeatedly drowned out by the authors early obsession with romance. There might have been interest somewhere if I actually felt connected to any of the characters in this book.
As far as the main character goes, how am I supposed to connect with him emotionally enough to continue to want to read about him? Only once do we have a hint at his aspirations, his need to achieve: He wants to be a deep space explorer. The only other things we learn about him is that he's rebellious, and he goes through women like candy wrappers. We get to spend no time with him in his natural state, to learn about him before he's instantly whisked away to his Second Act of going to school to be an explorer and stalking a girl who doesn't want to be with him.
Compare this to Starship Troopers for instance, which to my chagrin is put only a few spots away from this book some how on a list of Military Science Fiction, a place where this book doesn't belong. It jumps around, but before we get to Johnny Rico's experience in boot camp, and long and well told second act, we get to learn a lot about him in a chapter or two. He's a rich kid who's generous with his friends, intelligent, but not overly so, impulsive, a decent athlete, but still very young with no true sense of commitment. He was a memorable character: Michael Gillen was not.
I don't even want to proceed to the second book, because it would require me to finish the first.
February 23, 2010
Call of Destiny was a fascinating read. With a few unexpected twists in the story, it was a hard book to put down, especially as the tension of the novel increased towards the end. The characters' struggles and challenges were very relatable, and being a fellow military man, I found the cadet's training an enjoyable read. It reminded me of my own training experience. The story had a lot of depth to it, and I'm looking forward to book two of the series.
April 11, 2011
I think this book is rather unique for the genre, which I liked. It reminds me of a less hardcore catholic seafort saga book, and adds in parallels and symbols of the world war era which I really enjoyed. There's a lot of twists in the book and kept me interested throughout it. The society is unique compared to other books that I've read, which I found refreshing because it brought it out of your stereotypical sci fi society.
June 14, 2010
After having won this book nearly a year ago, I carried it with me on several trips without finding time to read it until this past weekend, when I breezed through it in a day. It could use a good proofreading, and the characters and situations will strongly remind you of many other space-related books, movies, and TV shows - but it is generally entertaining and a very easy read. It appears to be the first book in a series - but the ending, while abrupt, didn't leave me wanting to run out and look for the sequel, since most of the future developments are pretty clearly foreshadowed in this book. So if you are into this kind of book and looking for something to entertain you through a flight, sick day, etc., you could do much worse.
June 13, 2009
Captivating and intriging. This was a "couldn't put down" book.
September 21, 2009
I really enjoyed the book. The characters were well developed and the suspense really kept me turning the pages!! I hope to read more from this author.
September 24, 2009
This book was really good. The character development was very interesting and made me want to keep reading. As someone who generally isn't interested in science fiction, I liked this book because the people and their experiences were the focus rather than the science fiction. As a conservative person, there is one part in the book that would make me hesitate to recommend it to anyone under 16, although the content is pretty tame compared to what anyone would watch on prime time TV. I really liked the parallels with World War 2 - like "Earth States" hesitation to react to problems in the "outer rim". The beginning of the book - you might call it Book 1 - while the students are in college was really well done. It gave a real picture of what being a college student feels like. I enjoyed seeing the characters come into their own in the second section of the book. I did not anticipate the ending - it was a great twist and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!
May 22, 2015
Falls short as a science fiction for weak technological development and it didn't always keep me engaged. A bit slow paced. too much backfill when unnecessary. Too little where necessary. Otherwise great read. go read it!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews