Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Into the Black
    Unavailable
    Into the Black
    Unavailable
    Into the Black
    Audiobook14 hours

    Into the Black

    Written by Evan Currie

    Narrated by Benjamin L. Darcie

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    This edition of Odyssey One has been completely edited and remastered to correct the typos and content issues that reviewers commented on in the original edition.

    Beyond the confines of our small world, far from the glow of our star, lies a galaxy and universe much larger and more varied than anyone on Earth can possibly imagine. For the new NAC spacecraft Odyssey and her crew, the unimaginable facets of this untouched world are about to become reality.

    The Odyssey's maiden voyage is an epic adventure destined to make history. Captain Eric Weston and his crew, pushing past the boundaries of security, encounter horrors, wonders, monsters, and people, all of which will test their resolve, challenge their abilities, and put in sharp relief what is necessary to be a hero.

    A first-rate military science fiction epic that combines old-school space opera and modern storytelling, Into the Black: Odyssey One is a riveting, exhilarating adventure with vivid details, rich mythology, and relentless pacing that will leave you breathlessly awaiting book two.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateMar 27, 2012
    ISBN9781455868193
    Unavailable
    Into the Black
    Author

    Evan Currie

    Bestselling Canadian author Evan Currie has an imagination that knows no limits, and he uses his talent and passion for storytelling to take readers everywhere from ancient Rome to the dark expanses of space. Although he started out dabbling in careers such as computer science and the local lobster industry, Currie quickly determined that writing the kinds of stories he grew up loving was his true life’s calling. Beginning with the techno-thriller Thermals, Evan has expanded the universe within his mind with acclaimed series including Archangel One, Warrior’s Wings, the Scourwind Legacy, the Hayden War Cycle, and Odyssey One. He delights in pushing the boundaries of technology and culture, and exploring the ways in which these forces intertwine and could shape the future of humanity—both on Earth and among the stars. For more information, visit www.evancurrie.ca.

    More audiobooks from Evan Currie

    Related to Into the Black

    Related audiobooks

    Science Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Sub Mission

      Mar 23, 2022

      Sub Mission
      5 min read

    • Article

      Infiniti

      Apr 20, 2023

      Infiniti
      2 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Dec 14, 2023

      Books
      5 min read

    • Article

      Space Rocks Behind The Scenes

      Nov 7, 2019

      Space Rocks Behind The Scenes
      6 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Nov 16, 2023

      SHUTTLE HISTORY Tom Jones Smithsonian Books £33 • HB Adventure stories are best told by those who lived them. Here, astronaut Tom Jones offers an off-piste look at the 135 Shuttle flights between April 1981 and July 2011. Jones flew four times on the

      5 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Dec 17, 2020

      Janna Levin Bodley Head £9.99 • HB We all love black holes. There’s something captivating about these mysterious, scary objects that can rip every particle in our body apart should we get too close. But did you know that black holes, quite literally,

      4 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Jan 19, 2023

      Books
      4 min read

    • Article

      Shards Of Earth

      May 19, 2021

      Shards Of Earth
      2 min read

    • Article

      H0W-TO Star Struck

      Mar 30, 2023

      H0W-TO Star Struck
      5 min read

    • Article

      Writing Outer Space

      Apr 12, 2018

      On the one hand, there is the world as we know it, the ground-level of human life and everything it entails: the whole arc of history, the transformation of our natural environment, nervous first dates over coffee. On the other hand, there is the rem

      9 min read

    • Article

      The World Of Raised By Wolves

      Feb 9, 2021

      The World Of Raised By Wolves
      16 min read

    • Article

      Interactive

      Aug 11, 2022

      Interactive
      4 min read

    • Article

      Welcome

      Mar 24, 2022

      Welcome
      1 min read

    • Article

      Threads

      Mar 21, 2019

      Threads
      3 min read

    Reviews for Into the Black

    3.5/5

    150 ratings12 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 2/5
      Forgettable.
    • 1/5
      Totally implausible plot, the first interstellar voyage staffed entirely by the military for no reason. No known threat to Earth. They visit a new star system, no one cares a bit. They discover a human, not a humanoid, a real human. Again no one cares. Fight some bug creatures that have an invincible weapon they only bother to use once and then forget about. Humans triumphant with only one casualty. Worse than Battlefield Earth, that's quite an accomplishment.
    • 4/5
      Interesting and pretty well done military SF, with the first starship into space from Earth immediately running into an interstellar war.Barring the idea that the first shot out of the gate we'd run into such a thing, it was a well done space battle book, with some interesting hints of what is to come, and what sort of universe the crew of the Odyssey and Earth is going to be dealing with.Pretty good characterization for this particular sub-genre as well.
    • 4/5
      I loved this book. Frankly, its corny, nothing is in the least bit original and if you are not an ardent fan of Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica or Starship Troopers, then you will not enjoy it, but who cares? It just works. Moves at a cracking pace, has genuine tension in parts, and although the characters are walking cliches, they are solid enough to generate empathy from the reader. Best of all, it harks back to the glorious beginnings of sf in the pulp magazines of the 30's and 40's. Pure, unadulterated space opera, you got to love it.
    • 4/5
      I like the closing of the Amazon description - "A first-rate military science fiction epic that combines old-school space opera and modern storytelling...". It is a really good space opera (good guys are good guys, bad guys - alien bugs - are bad)and it is well told. I especially appreciate the naval references - the spacecraft looks like an old sailing vessel but functions very similar to an aircraft carrier. That was a unique an well done blending, and the method of interstellar travel was very entertaining. I have already bought and look forward to the next in the series.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this and feel it is similar to the Frontiers Saga by Ryk Brown, but I didn't enjoy this as much. I did like that this was self-contained, especially as I am not sure about continuing the series. Maybe it is because it was self-contained and didn't include the major hook to the next one.
    • 4/5
      Into the Black Odyssey One by Evan Currie. This is a classic military science fiction story. It is heavy on the military and light on the science. It faithfully follows all of the cliché of the genre. It is the story of Earth’s first space ship capable of instantaneous interstellar travel. Like other recently published military science fiction series such as Ian Banks Star Carrier series and Mark Kloos’s Frontline's series, Earth is politically divided and has just survived a recent non nuclear war. Unlike the two previously mentioned series this aspect of the story is given short shrift . It is used as a reason to arm the ship, theoretically tasked for exploration and research, with every conceivable weapons system and special operations operator and super pilot in the North American Alliance. In retrospect this turns out to be a fortunate design feature. As soon as the Odyssey leaves the solar system it and her crew find itself caught in the middle of an interstellar war. The rest of the book focuses on one battle after another. The good aliens look human and are inexperienced in the ways of war. The bad aliens look like insects and have unbeatable weapons and tactics. A riff off of Star Ship Troopers. It is no surprise given the genre that the bad aliens can’t beat the Odyssey. If Captain Kirk and the Enterprise had been as well armed it would not had gotten its butt kicked regularly by the Klingons. The elements that make military science a fun read are the descriptions of the battles, the description of the weapon systems and how the writer is able to raise the immediate stakes for characters and long term stakes for the solar systems or alliances involved. On this score Currie gets a passing grade. The battles are well written, the weapon systems are believable, and although the outcome was never in doubt Currie was able to keep tension high. This book is the first book in a four part series. I will read them as they become available in my library. I don’t think they will be good enough to buy/
    • 5/5
      What a great start to a space opera/adventure series. The story follow Captain Eric Weston and his crew of the NAC Odyssey as they become the first humans to venture out of our solar system. Using the new interstellar drive system they travel great distances in a matter of moments. Upon arriving at a star several light years away they are surprised to receive what appears to be a distress call. What they find is shocking and will forever change the course of humanity.
    • 2/5
      A real action fest with some nice ideas on technologies and the problems of waging war in space. I would never call it a space opera. The people on the Odyssey are all perfect soldiers: idealistic, courageous, professional, (almost) infallible. Their motivation is very thin and their characters would be the typical soldier/cannon fodder used in many movies, if not for the fact that it is not possible to kill them (unless they want to sacrifice themselves). It is also hard to accept that the Odyssey was in any danger, despite the situation it was in. A laser creates a huge hole in the hull and the only problem is to seal it - no real problems with critical systems, navigation, etc.

      With respect to the spelling/grammar errors, I know this is an indie publication and I don't expect perfection. Nevertheless, it looks like the author never read his manuscript twice. Besides the constant use of "then" instead of "than" and other errors, there are also several cases where one paragraph repeats the previous or contradicts the next. The author also apparently forgot about one of the most devastating weapons of the Drasin, a weapon that incapacitated the crew of the Odyssey during their first encounter. There were also at least two cases where in the middle of the action the author goes on on a tangent to give the history of a rifle or a weapon (something that he doesn't bother to do for most of his main cast) ruining the pacing of the story. This book needs some editing, even some unprofessional one from a friend would improve it considerably.

      All in all, if you love Starship Troopers then you will love this, otherwise it is hard to recommend. My rating: It was ok (two stars)
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed Evan Currie's Into the Black: Odyssey One a great deal and appreciated his treatment of various science fiction staples such as faster than light (FTL) travel and first contact. Into the Black tells the story of Earth's first interstellar voyage launched by a world that is still divided between East and West after World War III. The adventure is fast paced and Currie's character development is top notch. I especially liked how Currie uses only slight twists that make the technology of Odyssey One possible under the laws of physics as we understand them today. He also imposes seemingly "real world" limitations such as charging time and various other factors that make you feel like this technology is possible in our universe, giving the reader a real feeling of connectedness with the "anti-reality" that is being presented. One of my favorite technical aspects that Currie pays close attention to is the limitations of dealing in distances that can be measured in light-seconds or light-minutes, and the direct comparison he uses to submarine warfare in this novel. Most visual science fiction works make battle in space seem immediate with laser hits happening as soon as they are sent and visual feedback of damage inflicted on a foe immediately registered. Currie chooses to be true to time and distance and makes the battle scenes much more palpable in the waiting for the time it takes for sensors signals traveling at light speed to reach their target and return to their sender before knowing what information will be discovered. Into the Black takes on epic themes of chivalry, military history and tradition, and duty to humanity, even when the humans in question belong to another planetary system. There is also great irony being dealt with as Captain Weston throws his ship and crew in harms way to defend a planet that knows only peace among it's species, while back on Earth there is division among humankind and bitter tensions from a very recent war. I enjoyed thouroughly enjoyed this novel and look forward to reading The Heart of Matter, the second book in the Odyssey One saga.
    • 4/5
      Very good read. Hard to put down. Major logic flaw, aliens have weapon that immobilizes all the earth crew members. They are only saved by a suicide mission. The aliens never use the weapon again?????!!!!!
    • 2/5
      This book badly needs an edit. It's frustratingly difficult to read and stay immersed in the plot.
      Repetitions of words that stand out as repetitions are repeatedly repeated in some of the more repetitive paragraphs. We're treated to bracketed three-letter-acronyms (TLAs) even when they are never subsequently referred to that way. We're an audience of military science fiction fans and we have HUD explained to us.

      Oddly, when I was about 20 pages in, I had to check when this was written, because I had the impression it dated back to the 60s or early 70s. Some of the technology used made me check the copyright date and I was very surprised to find it was published so recently. I'm not saying this is a flaw, because I'm quite a fan of SF from that era, but it makes a modern book feel clunky. A couple of examples:

      * People are having to get used to new-fangled touch interfaces where they can swipe a finger to call up pertinent information. Come on, we've had iPads for a while now; this just seems weird.
      * The bridge crew, in their space attire, suddenly make a bet amongst themselves and whip out 10 dollar bills. From their uniforms? On an experimental mission to another star system?
      * The women are all nervous junior officers who get called by their first names.
      * Where others are described by their mannerisms, the second-in-command is introduced as being the big black man.

      It's all very Heinlein in as much as almost everyone is the best of the best, and only shows a flaw if it's about to be revealed as actually a situational benefit - but I'll leave the comparison there, since there's nothing particularly political about Into The Black, or much in the way of social commentary.

      The plot itself is derivative and predictable but that doesn't mean it's not fun. It's Heinlein, most obviously Starship Troopers (the movie version) mixed with elements of Stargate and more than a few ideas lifted directly from the computer game Crysis. It basically consists of three battles, one in the first act and two parallel fights in the remainder of the book. There's not a lot of text that isn't about fighting.

      The characters are underdeveloped in favour of the technology. The author actually goes into a fair bit of detail about the weaponry, armour and so forth used by the protagonists, and tries quite hard to make it scientifically solid (notwithstanding the obvious concessions of FTL drive and so forth) which I think comes across well. There are a few points where I don't believe it, because my willingness to stretch disbelief starts to falter, but they're few enough that I can forgive them.

      The viewpoint changes are also very clunky. We're a couple of chapters in before there's any indication it's not all going to be from the captain's perspective, and then suddenly the perspective starts changing all over the place. We see dogfights mostly from the pilots' point of view, but it snaps to the enemy in time to see them die in the explosion. There's a lot of time devoted to person A talking to person B and then us being told that person B pulled an expression hidden inside their blacked out helmet, for example, with the author explicitly reminding us that we shouldn't be able to know this. It would have been a much more comfortable ride if the story stuck to realistic viewpoints or just gave in and had an omniscient narrator.

      Despite this, I found myself basically enjoying the story, and would pick up the sequel if I found it lying around. The experience was like watching a SyFy Original TV movie.