Christian CantrellBesprekingen

I'm not sure - 3 ½ stars, if I could. I don't know if I'll vote 3 or 4! Parts of this book were great, and others not so much. I enjoyed the basic plot - following the efforts of Arik to achieve artificial photosynthesis in the Venus colony so as to be able to support one more life - that of his unborn child. Roughly. I enjoyed his, let's say 'voyage of discovery' and found those parts of the book very good...though can't talk about specifics without spoilers. It was an interesting version of the 'limited resources space base' type. There wasn't vast amounts of dialogue but liked what there was, but there was an awful lot of set up and description and sometimes during these chapters, my thoughts did wander. At one point I'd closed the book for the night as it was gone midnight and it wasn't keeping me awake, and when I opened it the next morning, I couldn't remember what I was reading or why I was bothering with it. Luckily, after those few pages, it came back to me, and I am glad I stuck with it as it wasn't actually that hard a read after all. Not sure I was a hundred percent satisfied with the ending, but the climax was an exciting build up at the end, with a reasonable race-against-time feel to it. A lot of the characters were effectively just placeholders but the two actual characters of Arik and his best friend Cam were okay. Arik is clearly quite clever (!) and did come across as reserved and almost robotic in his thoughts, but that felt fairly realistic for an uber-genious type. Not stunningly likeable, mind. So yes, the sci-fi was good, and I think it'll be memorable, but the rest a little dull.

I'm not sure - 3 ½ stars, if I could. I don't know if I'll vote 3 or 4! Parts of this book were great, and others not so much. I enjoyed the basic plot - following the efforts of Arik to achieve artificial photosynthesis in the Venus colony so as to be able to support one more life - that of his unborn child. Roughly. I enjoyed his, let's say 'voyage of discovery' and found those parts of the book very good...though can't talk about specifics without spoilers. It was an interesting version of the 'limited resources space base' type. There wasn't vast amounts of dialogue but liked what there was, but there was an awful lot of set up and description and sometimes during these chapters, my thoughts did wander. At one point I'd closed the book for the night as it was gone midnight and it wasn't keeping me awake, and when I opened it the next morning, I couldn't remember what I was reading or why I was bothering with it. Luckily, after those few pages, it came back to me, and I am glad I stuck with it as it wasn't actually that hard a read after all. Not sure I was a hundred percent satisfied with the ending, but the climax was an exciting build up at the end, with a reasonable race-against-time feel to it. A lot of the characters were effectively just placeholders but the two actual characters of Arik and his best friend Cam were okay. Arik is clearly quite clever (!) and did come across as reserved and almost robotic in his thoughts, but that felt fairly realistic for an uber-genious type. Not stunningly likeable, mind. So yes, the sci-fi was good, and I think it'll be memorable, but the rest a little dull.

Great SF mystery that will pull in readers who like the theory behind the technology, with a smattering of philosophical discussions. A little low on action but high in intrigue, it managed to keep my attention with the right amount of curiosity and suspense. Great twist at the end.

Engaging, pacy and packed with interesting scientific detail, but I found the twist obvious and the climax unsatisfying.

pretty slick

This book posits a world where the only habitable zone is one degree around the equator due to man-produced planet cooling. The hero comes up with s possible solution that will allow humanity to survive but at a dreadful price.

This resonated with me because of two similar stories read too long ago to remember title or author. One foresaw humans fleeing from glaciers advancing from the north, only to eventually see the ice advancing from the south. The other was of the last person on earth when a ship of alien cultural scavengers arrived, offering a return to their planet. This novella portrays the same sense of utter defeat and hopelessness as in the other two. Given how vividly I remember those tales, I give kudos to this author. Talk about a story of The End.

I bought this book based on my understanding it was a classic Science Fiction story. I was able to get through only the first few chapters before losing interest. This seems to be the case when I try to read the Sci-Fi classics. Is this because I am older with more mature taste in literature? Is it because I am jaded after years of fast-paced Sci-Fi movies? I am not sure, although I lean toward the latter.

In the distant future, man will try to colonize the solar system. If the planet is not destroyed by polluting the atmosphere or nuclear war, there may be a catastrophic event such as a meteor strike that will necessitate a move off of planet earth. Venus is the planet of choice for the first extra-terrestrial colony.

V1 is the name given to the first Venus colony. When established, there were 1,000 initial colonists, almost all of them scientists and engineers. Oxygen content inside the containment was the limiting factor in population size, and after the maximum number of plants were grown it was determined that the oxygen produced could support another 100 individuals. Thus was the beginnings of generation V, the 100 children born to the original colonists.

Arek was probably the brightest of all gen V children. By the time he graduated high school, he was better with computers than any of the adults. However, he was chosen to work in the Life Pod in order to tackle the problem of artificial photosynthesis (AP) and increase the amount of oxygen produced. Arek married Cadie, a gen V biologists, and they worked together on the AP problem. Arek tried to get approval for a terraforming project, convinced that if the planet could support plant life, it could produce enough oxygen to supply the atmosphere and eliminate the need for the containment buildings. Unable to gain support for his idea, he continued his experiments in secret. Gaining the support of his friend Cam, who worked in the Maintenance Pod, Arek was able to access environment suits and trek outside the containment buildings to plant his test instruments.

But Arek had an accident that caused a brain injury. After brain surgery, he finally awoke after almost 3 months in a coma. He had lost some of his memories, but other than that there seemed to be little effect on his brain. When he came to, he found out that Cadie was pregnant. Since there was not enough oxygen to support another life, the pressure was increased to solve the AP problem. Then an error message appeared on all the computers. Nobody was able to translate the code and Arek was asked to take a look at it. What Arek found would forever change his life and ultimately the lives of everyone in V1.

I thought this was a very well written book and an enjoyable read. The ending caught me by surprise and raised some interesting questions about human nature. If you are a science fiction fan, then you will enjoy this book.

In the distant future, man will try to colonize the solar system. If the planet is not destroyed by polluting the atmosphere or nuclear war, there may be a catastrophic event such as a meteor strike that will necessitate a move off of planet earth. Venus is the planet of choice for the first extra-terrestrial colony.

V1 is the name given to the first Venus colony. When established, there were 1,000 initial colonists, almost all of them scientists and engineers. Oxygen content inside the containment was the limiting factor in population size, and after the maximum number of plants were grown it was determined that the oxygen produced could support another 100 individuals. Thus was the beginnings of generation V, the 100 children born to the original colonists.

Arek was probably the brightest of all gen V children. By the time he graduated high school, he was better with computers than any of the adults. However, he was chosen to work in the Life Pod in order to tackle the problem of artificial photosynthesis (AP) and increase the amount of oxygen produced. Arek married Cadie, a gen V biologists, and they worked together on the AP problem. Arek tried to get approval for a terraforming project, convinced that if the planet could support plant life, it could produce enough oxygen to supply the atmosphere and eliminate the need for the containment buildings. Unable to gain support for his idea, he continued his experiments in secret. Gaining the support of his friend Cam, who worked in the Maintenance Pod, Arek was able to access environment suits and trek outside the containment buildings to plant his test instruments.

But Arek had an accident that caused a brain injury. After brain surgery, he finally awoke after almost 3 months in a coma. He had lost some of his memories, but other than that there seemed to be little effect on his brain. When he came to, he found out that Cadie was pregnant. Since there was not enough oxygen to support another life, the pressure was increased to solve the AP problem. Then an error message appeared on all the computers. Nobody was able to translate the code and Arek was asked to take a look at it. What Arek found would forever change his life and ultimately the lives of everyone in V1.

I thought this was a very well written book and an enjoyable read. The ending caught me by surprise and raised some interesting questions about human nature. If you are a science fiction fan, then you will enjoy this book.

In the distant future, man will try to colonize the solar system. If the planet is not destroyed by polluting the atmosphere or nuclear war, there may be a catastrophic event such as a meteor strike that will necessitate a move off of planet earth. Venus is the planet of choice for the first extra-terrestrial colony.

V1 is the name given to the first Venus colony. When established, there were 1,000 initial colonists, almost all of them scientists and engineers. Oxygen content inside the containment was the limiting factor in population size, and after the maximum number of plants were grown it was determined that the oxygen produced could support another 100 individuals. Thus was the beginnings of generation V, the 100 children born to the original colonists.

Arek was probably the brightest of all gen V children. By the time he graduated high school, he was better with computers than any of the adults. However, he was chosen to work in the Life Pod in order to tackle the problem of artificial photosynthesis (AP) and increase the amount of oxygen produced. Arek married Cadie, a gen V biologists, and they worked together on the AP problem. Arek tried to get approval for a terraforming project, convinced that if the planet could support plant life, it could produce enough oxygen to supply the atmosphere and eliminate the need for the containment buildings. Unable to gain support for his idea, he continued his experiments in secret. Gaining the support of his friend Cam, who worked in the Maintenance Pod, Arek was able to access environment suits and trek outside the containment buildings to plant his test instruments.

But Arek had an accident that caused a brain injury. After brain surgery, he finally awoke after almost 3 months in a coma. He had lost some of his memories, but other than that there seemed to be little effect on his brain. When he came to, he found out that Cadie was pregnant. Since there was not enough oxygen to support another life, the pressure was increased to solve the AP problem. Then an error message appeared on all the computers. Nobody was able to translate the code and Arek was asked to take a look at it. What Arek found would forever change his life and ultimately the lives of everyone in V1.

I thought this was a very well written book and an enjoyable read. The ending caught me by surprise and raised some interesting questions about human nature. If you are a science fiction fan, then you will enjoy this book.

In the distant future, man will try to colonize the solar system. If the planet is not destroyed by polluting the atmosphere or nuclear war, there may be a catastrophic event such as a meteor strike that will necessitate a move off of planet earth. Venus is the planet of choice for the first extra-terrestrial colony.

V1 is the name given to the first Venus colony. When established, there were 1,000 initial colonists, almost all of them scientists and engineers. Oxygen content inside the containment was the limiting factor in population size, and after the maximum number of plants were grown it was determined that the oxygen produced could support another 100 individuals. Thus was the beginnings of generation V, the 100 children born to the original colonists.

Arek was probably the brightest of all gen V children. By the time he graduated high school, he was better with computers than any of the adults. However, he was chosen to work in the Life Pod in order to tackle the problem of artificial photosynthesis (AP) and increase the amount of oxygen produced. Arek married Cadie, a gen V biologists, and they worked together on the AP problem. Arek tried to get approval for a terraforming project, convinced that if the planet could support plant life, it could produce enough oxygen to supply the atmosphere and eliminate the need for the containment buildings. Unable to gain support for his idea, he continued his experiments in secret. Gaining the support of his friend Cam, who worked in the Maintenance Pod, Arek was able to access environment suits and trek outside the containment buildings to plant his test instruments.

But Arek had an accident that caused a brain injury. After brain surgery, he finally awoke after almost 3 months in a coma. He had lost some of his memories, but other than that there seemed to be little effect on his brain. When he came to, he found out that Cadie was pregnant. Since there was not enough oxygen to support another life, the pressure was increased to solve the AP problem. Then an error message appeared on all the computers. Nobody was able to translate the code and Arek was asked to take a look at it. What Arek found would forever change his life and ultimately the lives of everyone in V1.

I thought this was a very well written book and an enjoyable read. The ending caught me by surprise and raised some interesting questions about human nature. If you are a science fiction fan, then you will enjoy this book.

In the distant future, man will try to colonize the solar system. If the planet is not destroyed by polluting the atmosphere or nuclear war, there may be a catastrophic event such as a meteor strike that will necessitate a move off of planet earth. Venus is the planet of choice for the first extra-terrestrial colony.

V1 is the name given to the first Venus colony. When established, there were 1,000 initial colonists, almost all of them scientists and engineers. Oxygen content inside the containment was the limiting factor in population size, and after the maximum number of plants were grown it was determined that the oxygen produced could support another 100 individuals. Thus was the beginnings of generation V, the 100 children born to the original colonists.

Arek was probably the brightest of all gen V children. By the time he graduated high school, he was better with computers than any of the adults. However, he was chosen to work in the Life Pod in order to tackle the problem of artificial photosynthesis (AP) and increase the amount of oxygen produced. Arek married Cadie, a gen V biologists, and they worked together on the AP problem. Arek tried to get approval for a terraforming project, convinced that if the planet could support plant life, it could produce enough oxygen to supply the atmosphere and eliminate the need for the containment buildings. Unable to gain support for his idea, he continued his experiments in secret. Gaining the support of his friend Cam, who worked in the Maintenance Pod, Arek was able to access environment suits and trek outside the containment buildings to plant his test instruments.

But Arek had an accident that caused a brain injury. After brain surgery, he finally awoke after almost 3 months in a coma. He had lost some of his memories, but other than that there seemed to be little effect on his brain. When he came to, he found out that Cadie was pregnant. Since there was not enough oxygen to support another life, the pressure was increased to solve the AP problem. Then an error message appeared on all the computers. Nobody was able to translate the code and Arek was asked to take a look at it. What Arek found would forever change his life and ultimately the lives of everyone in V1.

I thought this was a very well written book and an enjoyable read. The ending caught me by surprise and raised some interesting questions about human nature. If you are a science fiction fan, then you will enjoy this book.

In the distant future, man will try to colonize the solar system. If the planet is not destroyed by polluting the atmosphere or nuclear war, there may be a catastrophic event such as a meteor strike that will necessitate a move off of planet earth. Venus is the planet of choice for the first extra-terrestrial colony.

V1 is the name given to the first Venus colony. When established, there were 1,000 initial colonists, almost all of them scientists and engineers. Oxygen content inside the containment was the limiting factor in population size, and after the maximum number of plants were grown it was determined that the oxygen produced could support another 100 individuals. Thus was the beginnings of generation V, the 100 children born to the original colonists.

Arek was probably the brightest of all gen V children. By the time he graduated high school, he was better with computers than any of the adults. However, he was chosen to work in the Life Pod in order to tackle the problem of artificial photosynthesis (AP) and increase the amount of oxygen produced. Arek married Cadie, a gen V biologists, and they worked together on the AP problem. Arek tried to get approval for a terraforming project, convinced that if the planet could support plant life, it could produce enough oxygen to supply the atmosphere and eliminate the need for the containment buildings. Unable to gain support for his idea, he continued his experiments in secret. Gaining the support of his friend Cam, who worked in the Maintenance Pod, Arek was able to access environment suits and trek outside the containment buildings to plant his test instruments.

But Arek had an accident that caused a brain injury. After brain surgery, he finally awoke after almost 3 months in a coma. He had lost some of his memories, but other than that there seemed to be little effect on his brain. When he came to, he found out that Cadie was pregnant. Since there was not enough oxygen to support another life, the pressure was increased to solve the AP problem. Then an error message appeared on all the computers. Nobody was able to translate the code and Arek was asked to take a look at it. What Arek found would forever change his life and ultimately the lives of everyone in V1.

I thought this was a very well written book and an enjoyable read. The ending caught me by surprise and raised some interesting questions about human nature. If you are a science fiction fan, then you will enjoy this book.

In the distant future, man will try to colonize the solar system. If the planet is not destroyed by polluting the atmosphere or nuclear war, there may be a catastrophic event such as a meteor strike that will necessitate a move off of planet earth. Venus is the planet of choice for the first extra-terrestrial colony.

V1 is the name given to the first Venus colony. When established, there were 1,000 initial colonists, almost all of them scientists and engineers. Oxygen content inside the containment was the limiting factor in population size, and after the maximum number of plants were grown it was determined that the oxygen produced could support another 100 individuals. Thus was the beginnings of generation V, the 100 children born to the original colonists.

Arek was probably the brightest of all gen V children. By the time he graduated high school, he was better with computers than any of the adults. However, he was chosen to work in the Life Pod in order to tackle the problem of artificial photosynthesis (AP) and increase the amount of oxygen produced. Arek married Cadie, a gen V biologists, and they worked together on the AP problem. Arek tried to get approval for a terraforming project, convinced that if the planet could support plant life, it could produce enough oxygen to supply the atmosphere and eliminate the need for the containment buildings. Unable to gain support for his idea, he continued his experiments in secret. Gaining the support of his friend Cam, who worked in the Maintenance Pod, Arek was able to access environment suits and trek outside the containment buildings to plant his test instruments.

But Arek had an accident that caused a brain injury. After brain surgery, he finally awoke after almost 3 months in a coma. He had lost some of his memories, but other than that there seemed to be little effect on his brain. When he came to, he found out that Cadie was pregnant. Since there was not enough oxygen to support another life, the pressure was increased to solve the AP problem. Then an error message appeared on all the computers. Nobody was able to translate the code and Arek was asked to take a look at it. What Arek found would forever change his life and ultimately the lives of everyone in V1.

I thought this was a very well written book and an enjoyable read. The ending caught me by surprise and raised some interesting questions about human nature. If you are a science fiction fan, then you will enjoy this book.

In the distant future, man will try to colonize the solar system. If the planet is not destroyed by polluting the atmosphere or nuclear war, there may be a catastrophic event such as a meteor strike that will necessitate a move off of planet earth. Venus is the planet of choice for the first extra-terrestrial colony.

V1 is the name given to the first Venus colony. When established, there were 1,000 initial colonists, almost all of them scientists and engineers. Oxygen content inside the containment was the limiting factor in population size, and after the maximum number of plants were grown it was determined that the oxygen produced could support another 100 individuals. Thus was the beginnings of generation V, the 100 children born to the original colonists.

Arek was probably the brightest of all gen V children. By the time he graduated high school, he was better with computers than any of the adults. However, he was chosen to work in the Life Pod in order to tackle the problem of artificial photosynthesis (AP) and increase the amount of oxygen produced. Arek married Cadie, a gen V biologists, and they worked together on the AP problem. Arek tried to get approval for a terraforming project, convinced that if the planet could support plant life, it could produce enough oxygen to supply the atmosphere and eliminate the need for the containment buildings. Unable to gain support for his idea, he continued his experiments in secret. Gaining the support of his friend Cam, who worked in the Maintenance Pod, Arek was able to access environment suits and trek outside the containment buildings to plant his test instruments.

But Arek had an accident that caused a brain injury. After brain surgery, he finally awoke after almost 3 months in a coma. He had lost some of his memories, but other than that there seemed to be little effect on his brain. When he came to, he found out that Cadie was pregnant. Since there was not enough oxygen to support another life, the pressure was increased to solve the AP problem. Then an error message appeared on all the computers. Nobody was able to translate the code and Arek was asked to take a look at it. What Arek found would forever change his life and ultimately the lives of everyone in V1.

I thought this was a very well written book and an enjoyable read. The ending caught me by surprise and raised some interesting questions about human nature. If you are a science fiction fan, then you will enjoy this book.

In the distant future, man will try to colonize the solar system. If the planet is not destroyed by polluting the atmosphere or nuclear war, there may be a catastrophic event such as a meteor strike that will necessitate a move off of planet earth. Venus is the planet of choice for the first extra-terrestrial colony.

V1 is the name given to the first Venus colony. When established, there were 1,000 initial colonists, almost all of them scientists and engineers. Oxygen content inside the containment was the limiting factor in population size, and after the maximum number of plants were grown it was determined that the oxygen produced could support another 100 individuals. Thus was the beginnings of generation V, the 100 children born to the original colonists.

Arek was probably the brightest of all gen V children. By the time he graduated high school, he was better with computers than any of the adults. However, he was chosen to work in the Life Pod in order to tackle the problem of artificial photosynthesis (AP) and increase the amount of oxygen produced. Arek married Cadie, a gen V biologists, and they worked together on the AP problem. Arek tried to get approval for a terraforming project, convinced that if the planet could support plant life, it could produce enough oxygen to supply the atmosphere and eliminate the need for the containment buildings. Unable to gain support for his idea, he continued his experiments in secret. Gaining the support of his friend Cam, who worked in the Maintenance Pod, Arek was able to access environment suits and trek outside the containment buildings to plant his test instruments.

But Arek had an accident that caused a brain injury. After brain surgery, he finally awoke after almost 3 months in a coma. He had lost some of his memories, but other than that there seemed to be little effect on his brain. When he came to, he found out that Cadie was pregnant. Since there was not enough oxygen to support another life, the pressure was increased to solve the AP problem. Then an error message appeared on all the computers. Nobody was able to translate the code and Arek was asked to take a look at it. What Arek found would forever change his life and ultimately the lives of everyone in V1.

I thought this was a very well written book and an enjoyable read. The ending caught me by surprise and raised some interesting questions about human nature. If you are a science fiction fan, then you will enjoy this book.

In the distant future, man will try to colonize the solar system. If the planet is not destroyed by polluting the atmosphere or nuclear war, there may be a catastrophic event such as a meteor strike that will necessitate a move off of planet earth. Venus is the planet of choice for the first extra-terrestrial colony.

V1 is the name given to the first Venus colony. When established, there were 1,000 initial colonists, almost all of them scientists and engineers. Oxygen content inside the containment was the limiting factor in population size, and after the maximum number of plants were grown it was determined that the oxygen produced could support another 100 individuals. Thus was the beginnings of generation V, the 100 children born to the original colonists.

Arek was probably the brightest of all gen V children. By the time he graduated high school, he was better with computers than any of the adults. However, he was chosen to work in the Life Pod in order to tackle the problem of artificial photosynthesis (AP) and increase the amount of oxygen produced. Arek married Cadie, a gen V biologists, and they worked together on the AP problem. Arek tried to get approval for a terraforming project, convinced that if the planet could support plant life, it could produce enough oxygen to supply the atmosphere and eliminate the need for the containment buildings. Unable to gain support for his idea, he continued his experiments in secret. Gaining the support of his friend Cam, who worked in the Maintenance Pod, Arek was able to access environment suits and trek outside the containment buildings to plant his test instruments.

But Arek had an accident that caused a brain injury. After brain surgery, he finally awoke after almost 3 months in a coma. He had lost some of his memories, but other than that there seemed to be little effect on his brain. When he came to, he found out that Cadie was pregnant. Since there was not enough oxygen to support another life, the pressure was increased to solve the AP problem. Then an error message appeared on all the computers. Nobody was able to translate the code and Arek was asked to take a look at it. What Arek found would forever change his life and ultimately the lives of everyone in V1.

I thought this was a very well written book and an enjoyable read. The ending caught me by surprise and raised some interesting questions about human nature. If you are a science fiction fan, then you will enjoy this book.

In the distant future, man will try to colonize the solar system. If the planet is not destroyed by polluting the atmosphere or nuclear war, there may be a catastrophic event such as a meteor strike that will necessitate a move off of planet earth. Venus is the planet of choice for the first extra-terrestrial colony.

V1 is the name given to the first Venus colony. When established, there were 1,000 initial colonists, almost all of them scientists and engineers. Oxygen content inside the containment was the limiting factor in population size, and after the maximum number of plants were grown it was determined that the oxygen produced could support another 100 individuals. Thus was the beginnings of generation V, the 100 children born to the original colonists.

Arek was probably the brightest of all gen V children. By the time he graduated high school, he was better with computers than any of the adults. However, he was chosen to work in the Life Pod in order to tackle the problem of artificial photosynthesis (AP) and increase the amount of oxygen produced. Arek married Cadie, a gen V biologists, and they worked together on the AP problem. Arek tried to get approval for a terraforming project, convinced that if the planet could support plant life, it could produce enough oxygen to supply the atmosphere and eliminate the need for the containment buildings. Unable to gain support for his idea, he continued his experiments in secret. Gaining the support of his friend Cam, who worked in the Maintenance Pod, Arek was able to access environment suits and trek outside the containment buildings to plant his test instruments.

But Arek had an accident that caused a brain injury. After brain surgery, he finally awoke after almost 3 months in a coma. He had lost some of his memories, but other than that there seemed to be little effect on his brain. When he came to, he found out that Cadie was pregnant. Since there was not enough oxygen to support another life, the pressure was increased to solve the AP problem. Then an error message appeared on all the computers. Nobody was able to translate the code and Arek was asked to take a look at it. What Arek found would forever change his life and ultimately the lives of everyone in V1.

I thought this was a very well written book and an enjoyable read. The ending caught me by surprise and raised some interesting questions about human nature. If you are a science fiction fan, then you will enjoy this book.

In the distant future, man will try to colonize the solar system. If the planet is not destroyed by polluting the atmosphere or nuclear war, there may be a catastrophic event such as a meteor strike that will necessitate a move off of planet earth. Venus is the planet of choice for the first extra-terrestrial colony.

V1 is the name given to the first Venus colony. When established, there were 1,000 initial colonists, almost all of them scientists and engineers. Oxygen content inside the containment was the limiting factor in population size, and after the maximum number of plants were grown it was determined that the oxygen produced could support another 100 individuals. Thus was the beginnings of generation V, the 100 children born to the original colonists.

Arek was probably the brightest of all gen V children. By the time he graduated high school, he was better with computers than any of the adults. However, he was chosen to work in the Life Pod in order to tackle the problem of artificial photosynthesis (AP) and increase the amount of oxygen produced. Arek married Cadie, a gen V biologists, and they worked together on the AP problem. Arek tried to get approval for a terraforming project, convinced that if the planet could support plant life, it could produce enough oxygen to supply the atmosphere and eliminate the need for the containment buildings. Unable to gain support for his idea, he continued his experiments in secret. Gaining the support of his friend Cam, who worked in the Maintenance Pod, Arek was able to access environment suits and trek outside the containment buildings to plant his test instruments.

But Arek had an accident that caused a brain injury. After brain surgery, he finally awoke after almost 3 months in a coma. He had lost some of his memories, but other than that there seemed to be little effect on his brain. When he came to, he found out that Cadie was pregnant. Since there was not enough oxygen to support another life, the pressure was increased to solve the AP problem. Then an error message appeared on all the computers. Nobody was able to translate the code and Arek was asked to take a look at it. What Arek found would forever change his life and ultimately the lives of everyone in V1.

I thought this was a very well written book and an enjoyable read. The ending caught me by surprise and raised some interesting questions about human nature. If you are a science fiction fan, then you will enjoy this book.

In the distant future, man will try to colonize the solar system. If the planet is not destroyed by polluting the atmosphere or nuclear war, there may be a catastrophic event such as a meteor strike that will necessitate a move off of planet earth. Venus is the planet of choice for the first extra-terrestrial colony.

V1 is the name given to the first Venus colony. When established, there were 1,000 initial colonists, almost all of them scientists and engineers. Oxygen content inside the containment was the limiting factor in population size, and after the maximum number of plants were grown it was determined that the oxygen produced could support another 100 individuals. Thus was the beginnings of generation V, the 100 children born to the original colonists.

Arek was probably the brightest of all gen V children. By the time he graduated high school, he was better with computers than any of the adults. However, he was chosen to work in the Life Pod in order to tackle the problem of artificial photosynthesis (AP) and increase the amount of oxygen produced. Arek married Cadie, a gen V biologists, and they worked together on the AP problem. Arek tried to get approval for a terraforming project, convinced that if the planet could support plant life, it could produce enough oxygen to supply the atmosphere and eliminate the need for the containment buildings. Unable to gain support for his idea, he continued his experiments in secret. Gaining the support of his friend Cam, who worked in the Maintenance Pod, Arek was able to access environment suits and trek outside the containment buildings to plant his test instruments.

But Arek had an accident that caused a brain injury. After brain surgery, he finally awoke after almost 3 months in a coma. He had lost some of his memories, but other than that there seemed to be little effect on his brain. When he came to, he found out that Cadie was pregnant. Since there was not enough oxygen to support another life, the pressure was increased to solve the AP problem. Then an error message appeared on all the computers. Nobody was able to translate the code and Arek was asked to take a look at it. What Arek found would forever change his life and ultimately the lives of everyone in V1.

I thought this was a very well written book and an enjoyable read. The ending caught me by surprise and raised some interesting questions about human nature. If you are a science fiction fan, then you will enjoy this book.

The first 75% of the short story was fun and well rounded, yet morphed into a mediocre M Night Shyamalan movie. The plot development was solid and characters were likable enough, but the conclusion simply fizzled out.

3/5 for a fun read that started strong but ended poorly.

Succinct but complete. Good story.

Containment by Christian Cantrell

I loved this book and the character of Arik and it would be nice to give it five stars, but that would be lacking honesty.

This is good hard science fiction about a group of settlers on the planet Venus. As such, it is necessary to draw the proper picture of why we are there and how we got there and how we survive there so much of this hard science has to be there to support that. Some of the science seems questionable to me but that's only because I didn't stop to look things up to verify them and I'm just not an expert in many of those fields.

Often the hard science of Containment seems to come at the reader from a distance with detachment. Other times there are moments when Arik resonates with the science. There are long paragraphs about the harshness of the planet and life in the biosphere that contrast to the Arik's feelings because he expresses a few times how he's comfortable within the biosphere that he must live. The exposition often draws on the harshness of the planet almost as though we are portraying the planet as another character, and that didn't work that well with me because I didn't see the plot developing in that direction.

There also seems to be two stories happening. The present and some flashbacks. Again it's necessary, but at times it's confusing.

I had this one curious problem, Containment caused what I refer to in my antiquated thinking as the vinyl record skip syndrome. It's like having that scratch on the record where the needle skips and you have no idea how much you just missed. That's where I'm reading along and stumble into exposition and then suddenly reach the bottom of a page that I can't remember reading. It's a bad habit of mine and I believe many other readers might have something similar. I know to catch it because, as is the case with Containment, the parts I nearly napped through have some plot points that I need to know.

Containment qualifies as a hard science science fiction. The problem with that is that in trying so hard to do this many times hard science becomes hard to read. If the goal is to deliberately alienate readers who hate walls of exposition then it's likely to be successful at that. Most readers will accept a few of those when they clearly drive the plot. But, when a few of them seem to be there just to increase the hard science quotient, some readers end up skipping the important ones later. And, although I can point out many occasions where the exposition does drive the plot forward; for each of those there always two that are questionable.

I would never ask a writer to give up their babies, especially when they are doing hard science because it does tend to create some lovely images. The problem is that they often serve as a match for the dreaded purple prose that other creative writers get noted for. Neither of these are bad, But out of necessity they should drive the plot or character development and serve a purpose that the reader can identify.

Over all Containment is one of those curious books that everyone who loves science fiction might like, but it will always have a variety of reactions from love to mild acceptance to confusion.

Obviously many people do love it, and although it's possible one more good edit might have made those numbers rise, it's just as likely to make it worse. By the numbers (reader response) I can't say that the author made any large mistake in leaving it as it is. It might be a tough read for one out of four readers, but overall it's a tightly written and entertaining read.

J.L. Dobias

"Containment" is one of the most cerebral novels I've read in a long, long time. The joy of the novel is in defining and resolving problems of planetary colonization. On a more basic level, the novel describes how to think both creatively and scientifically. I'm not a scientist, but the physics appear to be quite solid and well-founded. For this accomplishment, and its rarity, the novel deserves four stars.

Switching to the right side of my brain, no --- wait --- the left is not finished: The plot is also commendable, with enjoyable twists and puzzles that rival other four-star novels. And, the writing was unobtrusive, if not inspired.

Okay. The right hemisphere speaks: all those explanations (pages and pages) were inserted throughout the story in a way that interfered with the story's flow, strangling actual action and dialogue. The events and revelation should have been highly dramatic, but weren't -- for me. Actually, I'm a bit upset about that. Cerebral (even non-human) characters can evoke empathy, and tears. With all the intelligence in this novel, further study on character development, creative prose, and sparkling dialogue, could have made this novel top notch. I don't mean to sound harsh. This is a good read for the scientifically curious. I'm glad I picked it up.

Life on Earth isn’t what it used to be, and in order to ensure the continuation of human life the colonists of V1, the first permanent off-earth settlement, must rush to find viable solutions to colonizing the rest of the solar system.

Arik Ockley is the star of Gen V, the first generation of humans to be born on Venus. When he wakes up from a three-month coma after a horrible accident he finds that his wife is pregnant. Normally this would be something to be celebrated, but there’s one huge problem. V1 isn’t producing enough Oxygen to sustain a single additional life. This means that Arik must rush to find the answer to artificial photosynthesis, the key to producing more oxygen for this colony. Yet, things are not what they seem and Arik gets caught up in trying to find the answers to what’s really going on in V1 and on the planet in general.

Overall, Containment was actually a really interesting read. Though I still consider myself to be a sci-fi newbie, I think of this book as a pretty awesome hi-tech sci-fi mystery. I read it in a matter of a few hours because I really, really wanted to know what was going to happen. That mystery side of the story kept me absolutely hooked from beginning to end. In addition, the idea of colonizing Venus had me particularly curious, especially since in real life it’s all about finding life on Mars and hardly ever hearing anything about life… elsewhere.

All that being said, I have a couple of bones to pick with Containment. First, parts of the book were a bit slow moving. There are a couple of chapters that talk about the history of space exploration and such. A lot of this was stuff I knew already and I found myself skimming because I wanted to know more about what Arik was going to learn and do next. The other thing that bothered me was the ending. I saw it coming, I really did. I even understand why it ended the way it did. But it still left me with this feeling of… ‘what just happened?!’

On a positive note, Cantrell left it open for a sequel and according to his Twitter there will be one which I’ll be patiently-ish waiting for. ‘Cause, for reals, I need more. I’m not satisfied.

Bottom line, interesting book, but give me a sequel because I need better closure.