Official Review: The Colonies by Paul Benoit
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- Latest Review: "The Colonies" by Paul Benoit
Official Review: The Colonies by Paul Benoit
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Colonies" by Paul Benoit.]
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The Colonies: A Novella by Paul Benoit was a chore to read. It isn’t actually a novella, but more of a collection of related science fiction short stories. It is divided into three books, each consisting of three short stories, called parts. Each part is further divided into narratives headed by a date. The entire collection spans 209 years, set in the future, beginning in the fall of the year 2259.
Book I is about the steps Earth takes to explore and expand into space. “Part I: Not Alone” introduces us to the Reconciliation, a vessel manned by Sung, Spectre, and Lenski. The three scientists are on a mission to Europa, to investigate a probe report of life hidden inside the frozen moon. Their findings are shocking and threaten the lives of the three men.
“Part II: One Small Step” jumps ahead 48 years later and to Major Karen Lunn, a test pilot. She is on an unnamed K80 Blackfly, an experimental starship. Its purpose is to use the mysterious Alternate Space to propel itself faster than the speed of light. If it works...
“Part III: One Giant Leap” is set four years later, in 2311, and spans five years. This installment brings us to the UNN Destiny, a colonizing vessel. This will be the first human attempt to colonize another planet. When the colonists arrive, the new planet is a utopia. A month later, however, some of the shine is wearing off as the colonists realize they will have to deal with the native life.
Book II takes up the narrative eighteen years later and describes the rigors of colony life and the beginning of conflict between colonial authorities and rebel separatists. “Part I: Light Years Apart” tells us about a family split by duty and distance. Thomas Lloyd must work in the new colonies to support his wife and daughter, who are left behind on Earth. He hopes they will prosper on their new planet of Chelden when they are reunited.
“Part II: Battlefield Medicine” jumps ahead 41 years to 2375. Crewman Howard Driscol is fighting to stay alive after his ship was ambushed by rebels. He and Crewman Brook Lowell must get to the escape pods, hopefully in one piece.
“Part III: Peacekeepers” begins 25 years later in 2400. Howard Driscol is minding his own business, enjoying his shore leave on Chelden, when he becomes embroiled in an investigation into rebel bombings. It is up to him and the young Peacekeeper Officer Jill Parker to save Governor Lloyd and the Minister of Agriculture from being blown away.
Book III chronicles the war between the Colonials and the Separatists. “Part I: Planetfall” begins in 2454, with the UCN Gettysburg traveling through Alt Space towards battle. As the fight rages on, Lt. Collin Vanderlay of the Colonials and Private Nicholas Holmes of the Separatists must come to terms with each other in order to survive.
“Part II: War Measures” takes up the narrative three years later. Legislators must decide whether to pass a bill enabling the United Colonies to engage in mass destruction. The fate of billions of people rests on the outcome of the vote.
“Part III: Guillotine” brings Lt. Collin Vanderlay face to face with Nicholas Holmes once again. A spy mission seeks to destroy the space station. Can the two men work through their differences to save the station?
Although the concepts of this collection are very interesting and worth expanding, Benoit’s writing is terrible. This book reads like a group of bare bones excerpts from a potentially thrilling series. It jumped around a lot and all the bland characters and unexplored settings tended to blend together. I had to reread several sections to refresh myself on who was who, who was where, and who was doing what. The book would be greatly improved if the author could use descriptions and characterization to define the people and the settings.
It could also benefit from some extensive editing and rewriting. It seems to have been proofread only by spellcheck, as there were many word substitutions, such as have instead of hate, that made it hard to figure out what the author and his characters were saying. I would suggest that the author read several style and grammar books and go back and revamp the whole thing.
All in all, I gave this book two stars out of four. I enjoyed the science fiction enough to rate it more than one star, but this book was hard to get through due to the lack of polished writing. I would be interested in seeing how this author progresses.
***
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Book I is about the steps Earth takes to explore and expand into space. “Part I: Not Alone” introduces us to the Reconciliation, a vessel manned by Sung, Spectre, and Lenski. The three scientists are on a mission to Europa, to investigate a probe report of life hidden inside the frozen moon. Their findings are shocking and threaten the lives of the three men.
“Part II: One Small Step” jumps ahead 48 years later and to Major Karen Lunn, a test pilot. She is on an unnamed K80 Blackfly, an experimental starship. Its purpose is to use the mysterious Alternate Space to propel itself faster than the speed of light. If it works...
“Part III: One Giant Leap” is set four years later, in 2311, and spans five years. This installment brings us to the UNN Destiny, a colonizing vessel. This will be the first human attempt to colonize another planet. When the colonists arrive, the new planet is a utopia. A month later, however, some of the shine is wearing off as the colonists realize they will have to deal with the native life.
Book II takes up the narrative eighteen years later and describes the rigors of colony life and the beginning of conflict between colonial authorities and rebel separatists. “Part I: Light Years Apart” tells us about a family split by duty and distance. Thomas Lloyd must work in the new colonies to support his wife and daughter, who are left behind on Earth. He hopes they will prosper on their new planet of Chelden when they are reunited.
“Part II: Battlefield Medicine” jumps ahead 41 years to 2375. Crewman Howard Driscol is fighting to stay alive after his ship was ambushed by rebels. He and Crewman Brook Lowell must get to the escape pods, hopefully in one piece.
“Part III: Peacekeepers” begins 25 years later in 2400. Howard Driscol is minding his own business, enjoying his shore leave on Chelden, when he becomes embroiled in an investigation into rebel bombings. It is up to him and the young Peacekeeper Officer Jill Parker to save Governor Lloyd and the Minister of Agriculture from being blown away.
Book III chronicles the war between the Colonials and the Separatists. “Part I: Planetfall” begins in 2454, with the UCN Gettysburg traveling through Alt Space towards battle. As the fight rages on, Lt. Collin Vanderlay of the Colonials and Private Nicholas Holmes of the Separatists must come to terms with each other in order to survive.
“Part II: War Measures” takes up the narrative three years later. Legislators must decide whether to pass a bill enabling the United Colonies to engage in mass destruction. The fate of billions of people rests on the outcome of the vote.
“Part III: Guillotine” brings Lt. Collin Vanderlay face to face with Nicholas Holmes once again. A spy mission seeks to destroy the space station. Can the two men work through their differences to save the station?
Although the concepts of this collection are very interesting and worth expanding, Benoit’s writing is terrible. This book reads like a group of bare bones excerpts from a potentially thrilling series. It jumped around a lot and all the bland characters and unexplored settings tended to blend together. I had to reread several sections to refresh myself on who was who, who was where, and who was doing what. The book would be greatly improved if the author could use descriptions and characterization to define the people and the settings.
It could also benefit from some extensive editing and rewriting. It seems to have been proofread only by spellcheck, as there were many word substitutions, such as have instead of hate, that made it hard to figure out what the author and his characters were saying. I would suggest that the author read several style and grammar books and go back and revamp the whole thing.
All in all, I gave this book two stars out of four. I enjoyed the science fiction enough to rate it more than one star, but this book was hard to get through due to the lack of polished writing. I would be interested in seeing how this author progresses.
***
Buy "The Colonies" on Amazon
Latest Review: "The Colonies" by Paul Benoit
