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    Outpost
    Outpost
    Outpost
    Audiobook18 hours

    Outpost

    Written by W. Michael Gear

    Narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The first book in a thrilling new sci-fi action adventure, set on Donovan, a treacherous alien planet where corporate threats and dangerous creatures imperil the lives of the planet's inhabitants. Donovan is a world of remarkable wealth that comes at a high price. When Supervisor Kalico Aguila's ship arrives, she discovers a failing colony, its government overthrown, the few remaining colonists gone wild. Donovan could make her career-or kill her. Planetside, Talina Perez is one of three rulers of the Port Authority colony-the only law in the one remaining town. With the Corporate ship demanding answers about the things she's done, Perez could lose everything, including her life. For Dan Wirth, Donovan is a last chance. A psychopath with a death sentence looming over his head, he will make a desperate play for power. No matter who he has to corrupt, murder, or destroy. Captain Max Taggart is the Corporation's enforcer. But is it too late to seize control of Donovan? Then a ghost ship, the Freelander, appears in orbit. Missing for two years, she arrives with a crew dead of old age, and reeks of a bizarre death-cult ritual that deters any ship from attempting a return journey. But maybe it's worth the risk, for a brutal killer is stalking all of them as Donovan plays its own complex and deadly game. Author bio: W. Michael Gear is the author of fifty-seven published novels, many of which are co-authored with his beloved wife, Kathleen O'Neal Gear. He is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author whose work has been translated into 29 languages and has over 17 million copies in print worldwide. Both an anthropologist and archaeologist, he brings extraordinary depth and complexity to his characters and settings. Gear lives on a back country buffalo ranch in Wyoming where he raises outstanding bison, indulges in his passion for large-caliber rifles, and pets his two shelties: Jake and Shannon.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateFeb 20, 2018
    ISBN9781501981838
    Outpost
    Author

    W. Michael Gear

    W. Michael Gear holds a master’s degree in archaeology and has worked as a professional archaeologist since 1978. With his wife, he co-authors the bestselling series North America's Forgotten Past.

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    Reviews for Outpost

    3.5/5

    27 ratings3 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Excellent worldbuilding. Gear nailed the difficulties faced by colonists on a marginal and dangerous planet who are forced to rely on themselves. It had a Western flavor, despite the futuristic setting. Lots of plot elements which made the story interesting and complicated, but were also a bit of a distraction. I would have liked more focus and fewer moving parts. Characters were a little bit stereotypical, but still interesting. I would read more in this series.
    • 4/5
      W. Michael Gear's imaginative space opera Outpost takes us to Donovan, a planet 30 light-years from Earth, where colonists struggle to eke out a precarious existence.

      Gear is the author or co-author (with his wife, Kathleen O'Neal Gear) of over 50 published novels. This experience shines through in Outpost, which contains powerful world-building, compelling characters, and a gripping plot. Released in hardcover format in February 2018 and as a mass market paperback in February 2019, Outpost is the foundational novel in the Donovan series. The series continues with Abandoned (released in hardcover November 2018), Pariah (released in hardcover May, 2019), and Unreconciled (slated to come out in hardcover in May 2020).

      Donovan is inhabited by dangerous creatures, including intelligent giant lizards known as quetzals and flying menaces known as "mobbers." Even the plants, which the colonists have dubbed with colorful but aptly descriptive names like chokeya, gotcha vine, and cutthroat flower, are dangerous. It's fortunate that the colonists are able to grow terrestrial food plants, because most of the native flora are indigestible, deadly, or will induce metal-based toxicity.

      Humanity's ability to adapt to the harsh conditions on this frontier planet is a testament to the resilience of the human race. Forced by necessity to be inventive, the colonists have survived by combining "a mishmash of eighteenth and twenty-second century technology." (p. 24) While most of the colonists reside in the fenced settlement known as Port Authority, some, referred to as the "Wild Ones," have left that haven to carve out a foothold in the outback, farming or mining. The latter occupation accounts for The Corporation's willingness to invest in such a far-flung colony. For all of its dangers, Donovan also harbors treasure—rare earth elements, precious gems, and gold.

      At the start of the novel, the situation for Donovan's colonists is made more difficult by the fact that the promised supply ships have failed to come for the past six years. People are dying due to a lack of basic medical supplies such as antibiotics, and even the ammunition is going bad. The lack of incoming ships causes some to speculate that there has been a catastrophe back on Earth.

      Just as many of the colonists have resigned themselves to the idea they may not see another vessel from Earth, the Turalon arrives. Much as they have been waiting for just such an eventuality, the colony's leaders also know The Corporation is unlikely to be pleased with some of the necessary liberties they've taken in the name of survival. As one of the characters notes, "This isn't the same colony The Corporation is expecting to find: fat, ordered, and dutifully following directives in lockstep." (p. 25)

      Though Turalon brings much-needed supplies, it also carries a number of new colonists. Since the existing colony had no forewarning of their arrival, they must scramble to arrange food and housing for the newcomers. The colonists must also contend with newly-arrived and highly ambitious Supervisor Kalico Aguila, who quickly becomes embroiled in a conflict with the "Triumvirate," as the informal leaders of the colony are known.

      If dealing with the sudden appearance of the Turalon and an unexpected influx of colonists wasn’t enough, another factor complicates the story line. The ship Freelander suddenly appears after being missing for months. Freelander left the solar system six months before the Turalon, but arrives later, bearing macabre artifacts. Evidence that suggests that the ship must have gone into a time warp, during which more than a hundred years have passed.

      With all of these elements, Outpost has a lot of moving parts, but Gear weaves the various plot lines deftly together. Our interest in the story is enhanced by Gear's diverse cast of characters. Security Officer Talina Perez, of Spanish and Mayan descent, is the first person introduced in the novel. Described by one of the other characters as "tougher than duraplast tempered with ceramic, a hard-fisted, undaunted, scrapping survivor," (p. 10) Perez is fiercely dedicated to her job of defending her fellow colonists. Also in the mix are the philosophical Shig Mosadek, a former professor of comparative religion, and Yvette Dushane. Talina, Shig, and Yvette form the Triumvirate, the group that rules Donovan with a loose rein until Kalico Aguila's arrival. First-generation Donovian Trish Monagan, the ambitious Corporate-ladder-climbing Aguila, the competent but conflicted Marine Captain Max Taggart, and the conniving and ruthless newly-landed colonist Dan Wirth are among the other key characters.

      World-building is one of Outpost's strengths. Gear's descriptions are immersive, and plunge us into the story. At the outset of the novel, Gear describes what Talina experiences as she hunts down a renegade quetzal: (p. 2)

      Warm air drifted down the canyon, carrying the odor of dry dirt and the cloying scent of musk bushes. The silence seemed to intensify as Capella's light accented the parched surface of cracked and tumbled stone with pale lavender; high above, it bathed the shredded cirrus clouds in purple and orange streaks where they stretched across the northern sky.

      Throughout the novel, Gear weaves in scents, sounds and tastes as well as visual descriptions.

      Beyond exploring the physical setting of the planet, the ship, and the Port Authority, the novel also shows us the social dynamics of a struggling colony, the psychological impact of travelling in the confined space of the Turalon for the almost-two-year voyage, and the impact of the influx of new colonists. The charged atmosphere of the first encounter between the newcomers (dubbed "Skulls" by the Donovians since many of them have shaved their heads for journey aboard the Turalon) and the old-timers is described thus: (87)

      They jostled elbow-to-elbow, partly as a refuge from the storm, but mostly because everyone had come to inspect the Skulls and hear the news about home. The whole thing resembled a riot on low boil, the locals shouting questions, the Skulls shouting back about politics, explorations, setbacks, disasters, prices, the economy, what was new in movies, games, and sports. Which actors were big, and who was in power.

      Outpost provides food for thought on big-picture philosophical issues as well. Donovan may have its dangers, but it also offers colonists much more freedom than they would experience in the buttoned-down and highly controlled life back in the Solar System. After Kalico makes a reference to Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit, Yvette replies, (p. 383)

      Sure, Donovan's dangerous and constantly trying to kill you. But you want to talk Sartre? Hell's back in Solar System with its algorithms, rules and laws, and Corporate control. It's all sterile. Everything dictated, running like a perfect machine. And once you've been turned into a part in the mechanism, that's where you'll spend the rest of your life. Like a little gear in the works. Without hope or opportunity.

      Outpost gives us an interesting take on what it would require to survive in a harsh and unforgiving environment—and the human toll such conditions might exact. When the last supply ship left Donovan six years before Turalon's arrival, there were nearly 3,000 colonists. By the time Turalon shows up, there are just under 400 people living in Port Authority, with as many as a couple of hundred additional colonists living in the bush. As Talina notes, " 'On Donovan, stupidity is a death sentence.' " (p. 206) Humans survive by being smart, innovative, and, in some cases, ruthless.

      The hardship isn't all on the colonists' side. The Corporation also endures setbacks, and is not impervious to the failure of best-laid plans. The Turalon brings a colonist under contract to serve as a livestock technician, specializing in cattle. Ironically, as a result of the interruption in arrival of supply ships, The Corporation doesn't realize the cattle on Donovan have been dead for eight years. Another new colonist who is a petroleum engineer discovers that the pre-work that was supposed to be completed in order for him to do his job never happened, because the equipment never arrived. Others face similar disappointments. The jobs they were hired for can't be done, and to make things worse, they find that living conditions on Donovan are more primitive than they expected. These setbacks are examples of Gear's ability to offer a realistic look at the kind of things that might not go so well if and when humans venture into space.

      I found there was a lot to like about Outpost. The plot drew me forward, and Gear did a masterful job of creating characters with distinct mannerisms, speech, and motivations. However, I found some sections dealing with graphic or disturbing content less enjoyable. This included some of the scenes aboard the Freelander as the Turalon's crew discovers evidence of a death cult, and chapters that gave the reader access to the psychopathic Dan Wirth's thought processes. I wasn't so keen on these darker aspects of the novel. Other readers, depending on their threshold for such things, might not mind these sections.

      That issue aside, Outpost has much to offer. With a cast of diverse and interesting characters, a novel world rich in both beauty and danger, and numerous plot twists, Gear has created a page-turner of a tale. All in all, an entertaining, well-written, and thought-provoking read for fans of space opera.
    • 3/5
      Donovan is a remote world that thinks it's been abandoned by the Earth corporation that owns it. The corporation doesn't know why all the ships it sent to Donovan never returned but they want to find out and see if there's any more profit to be made. The citizens of Donovan assume they're free, their leaders and law enforcement agree, the corporate representative wants to make her name and her money, the corporate law is no longer sure it's worth it, and a murderer has just landed. Then, one of the missing ships arrives and things get really confusing. This book was fun, tense, and little creepy, just the way I like it. #Outpost #NetGalley