H2Liftships – Beyond Luna
Not Lost-in-Space, Not the Federation, but Commerce-in-Space without the Ferengi or any other aliens, except for the Octopus.
Regular sentients making a living in the void around our Sun: Earth, Luna, Phobos, and the Asteroid belt, a few years beyond the next three future pandemics.
Solar Sail ships, nuclear-powered boost-lasers, coal to process Asteroid iron to steel and fish bubbles.
No: Aliens, Monsters, blasters, pyrotechnic computers, Anti-Grav powered rockets.
Yes: Lasers, Primates, Canines, Octopus, Space Travel-Solar Sails
Travel to asteroids, Mail pouch cargo pickup, Nuclear power-driven laser launch engines, Communism, Demokratia, Capitalism, petty theft, poker, jail, and all the good things you find in space on multiple societies living on rocky asteroids.
A few family reunions, on Earth and the Asteroids, round out the journey.
Good for any reader interested in Science + Fiction who wants to live in a new world, at least for a while: high school to geriatric.
- ‘A long-winded but compelling comic adventure’ Read Kirkus review here
- ‘The writing style is what I adored most’ Read AlexTheShadowGirl’s review here
3 reviews for H2Liftships – Beyond Luna
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The Indie Book Store –
This is not the genre I usually read.
I have never read any Star Wars books, and although I have seen the movies, I have watched only a handful of the Star Trek series and none of its spin-offs. In addition, and I am a little embarrassed to admit this, I am not a supporter of the space program. The reason for my sharing these fascinating tidbits of my life with you is to demonstrate that I was not expecting to enjoy this book, so it came as quite a surprise when I found myself laughing out loud as I read and shared snippets with my husband.
Rich with a marvelous sense of both imagination and creativity, this story takes you on the ride of your life without drugs. Set in a future where dogs, orangutans, and octopi can communicate with and work alongside humans and space travel is an everyday affair, the reader finds it easy to buy into the life while space traveling with animals. The novel is full of details that any self-respecting engineer or scientist would enjoy but nothing the average person cannot understand. Although I really liked the characters, it was a surprise to me that the least developed character was the main human, with the dog and orangutans being the most developed.
The poker-playing orangutan, Tang, thinks of himself as suave and sleek. Jack, the dog, considers himself ever so bright and the First Mate, a rather snooty Octopus that communicates with colors, helps make the crew on the ship fascinating.
The story is fun, lighthearted, and totally worth reading. To be able to pull together all the different details of this story in a way that provides the reader with a connection so far outside the realm of reality is very impressive. This may be a futuristic space travel version of what Lewis Carroll would have written had he lived today.
Bravo Bob Freeman!
https://juliapicks1.com/2021/05/17/h2liftships-beyond-luna-by-bob-freeman/
The Indie Book Store –
The US Review of Books
H2LiftShips: Beyond Luna
by Bob Freeman
Indies United Publishing House
Book review by Kat Kennedy
“Tang thought to himself, They never should have given dogs the ability to talk.”
In the first chapter, readers are asked to “Imagine a world, exactly like ours, but different.” This is exactly what one experiences in this sci-fi adventure which explores the concept of space travel and the interplanetary world of commerce. Tang, an orange orangutan, and his canine work buddy, Jack, find adventure in their travels on the H2LiftShip, a cargo ship. Their work as deckhands allows them time to explore each stop’s entertainment offerings, which for Tang means a trip to the nearest casino or illegal poker game. Both animals have acquired the ability to talk, and they interact with all manner of creatures both while on the ship and when reaching its destination. Just as promised in the first chapter, the two will encounter problems experienced in today’s world as they travel between planets, the moon, and other locations in a galaxy that can be somewhat like the Wild West.
This page-turner is an inventive imagining of what life might be like in a future still ruled by the desire for wealth and power and in which space travel has allowed for the colonization of the moon, planets, and asteroids. With its gambling-addicted orangutan and his canine sidekick, the plot delivers plenty of humorous moments. Jack is somewhat innocent and lovable and is the perfect foil for the more worldly Tang. They are an unlikely pair, and their antics offer plenty of humorous moments. There are explanations of the nuts and bolts of space travel included, which some may find a little too technical, but the heart of the book centers on Tang and Jack. This fun read will certainly appeal to anyone who enjoys reading about what future space travel might be like.
https://www.theusreview.com/reviews-1/H2LiftShips-Beyond-Luna-by-Bob-Freeman.html
The Indie Book Store –
From Goodreads
Rated it really liked it
This a very different kind of book. Think part tech manual, part science fiction, part alternative universe, and part Im not sure what. I can see someone who is a sci-fi or tech nerd totally enjoying this book. It is well written and has a lot of good parts.
Unfortunately for me, it is not something I would pick up to read for enjoyment. Just because it is not for me does not mean it would not be an enjoyable read for someone else. I did enjoy the characters and the idea of working with a working with a canine, simian or octopus does intrigue me!
rated it really liked it
I don’t know much about jet propulsion, so the first part of the book was too abstruse. More a manual, it would probably have been better a separate book. Or interwoven into the story as “show, don’t tell”.
The latter part was better, anti-dystopian. I get tired of doom and gloom fiction writers, so this was a good change. And no weird aliens either. That was refreshing too.
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