Review of Miners and Pilots

[Nonso Samuelson]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Miners and Pilots" by Jordan Johnson.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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When two friends, Celestinus Chreston (CC) and Bailey Pearson, break the rules on ARC-3, they are separated from each other for a year and forced to work different jobs. Bailey worked as a junior miner and CC as a junior pilot. They are excited to see each other again after their year apart, but their reunion takes an ugly turn when their ARC finds itself careening towards a black hole. While trying to seek help, they both get separated and fall into unfamiliar and unnerving situations: CC is engulfed by the black hole while Bailey falls into the hands of a vengeful being called Saiffon. They both try to make the most out of their situations while fighting for survival. Along the line, CC acquires a new ability—teleportation. He sets out to use his new gift to save Bailey and the other occupants aboard the ARC-3 while looking for a new home for all of humankind. What did Bailey and CC do to survive their respective predicaments? How does CC learn to teleport? Does CC succeed in saving Bailey and the others from Saiffon? Does CC find a new place for them to call home?

Miners and Pilots by Jordan Johnson was an exciting book to read. Its 54 chapters were grouped into three parts, each covering a different stage in the development of the plot. The entire book was written from a first-person perspective, but there were different narrators throughout the story. Johnson named each chapter after a character in the story and narrated them from the viewpoints of the characters they were named after. I thought this was a neat trick; I never found myself wondering whose perspective I was reading the story from at any point in the book. It made my comprehension of the plot and the characters easier.

I liked the individual story arcs of Bailey and CC and their relationship with each other. Johnson fleshed out the connection and commitment between these two friends, making it impossible not to love them. Bailey and CC never strayed from their promise to stay friends and look out for each other, even with all the craziness happening in their lives. I was especially inspired by the lengths CC went to protect his friends, especially Bailey. He went through a lot to rescue his friend from Saiffon, including having to fight Bailey at one point. The themes of friendship, loyalty, selflessness, and duty could be seen throughout the plot and were the bedrock of this tale, in my opinion.

I'm a lover of sci-fi stories, so I liked that this book was set almost 200 years from today—in the late 2100s. It was interesting to observe the author's worldbuilding as he described a futuristic world. However, while I love sci-fi, many stories within the genre tend to be knockoffs of earlier ones. Johnson avoided this trap by expertly blending his worldbuilding with an ability to show the humanity in the characters. So while it was set in a world that doesn't yet exist, the story was still relatable.

Thankfully, this book was professionally edited; I only found a few grammatical errors in it. There was nothing I disliked about this tale, so I rate it an unreserved 4 out of 4 stars. This book would be perfect for people who love sci-fi stories but are tired of the redundancy within the genre. It is every bit a sci-fi story infused with enough humanity to keep it real.

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Miners and Pilots
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[The frant1c reader]

CC survives the black hole?!?! I would like to know how. Thanks for this insightful review!

[Reader Chavez]

The book sounds very intriguing. Especially because CC survives the black hole and got new powers. I'm eager to read this book. Thanks for this amazing review!

[onyii_review]

This might be complex for people without scientific knowledge background. Thanks for the review.