If you enjoy sci-fi comedy with an optimistic outlook, this is the ideal read for you. It’s the first in the Odyssey Earth series. The book begins with Jordan, an occupant of a space ship, being woken up on a seventeen-year voyage. It’s an alternative timeline to ours, where space travel progressed quickly and now the climate disaster means that humanity is branching out beyond the solar system to find somewhere new to live. The crew of the space ship are a lot of misfits but most notably, six extraordinary teenagers have grown up knowing nothing except this environment and it’s up to Jordan to continue their education, preparing them for life on a planet.

I really liked the first half of the book, which I thought had a Red Dwarf vibe. Shabby setting, eccentric characters, the loneliness of space travel. I was not so keen on the second half, partly because it was not very humorous, and partly because it wasn’t set on the space ship, being more of a survival-themed narrative on land. It had an echo of Andy Weir’s The Martian. I have to admit that I didn’t really like the teenagers and found it hard to differentiate between them. My favourite character was Reeves, the artificial intelligence who controls the ship. He named himself after Keanu.

In summary, an intriguing beginning to the series with some funny moments and an easy-read style which will appeal to many readers.

Independently published in 2023.