Delta-v

Daemon Deja Vu in Deep Space

The story follows the basic Daemon pattern ... a brilliant, seemingly evil billionaire has an elaborate plan to change the world. In this case, it's deep space rather than MMO.
The good: Suarez is brilliant at weaving near-future technology into an interesting story that stretches the mind. Jeff Gurner did his usual great job at narration.
The bad: The writing and story are sloppy compared to his prior books. The first 75% of the book could have been cut in half, and the character development wasn't up to Suarez's usual standard.
The inevitable: Clearly this book is screaming for a sequel.
Overall: Worth the credit and glad I spent the time, though I'm hoping the sequel will be more tightly written.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

"The Martian" on Steroids

Great book about a very Elon Musk type billionaire funding a secret asteroid mining project. However the story is mostly about the adventurous crew that has to survive the hostile challenges of space far away from any help. Great characters and a lot of info on the challenges of space beyond Earth. Plenty of action and, to me, a much more enjoyable and believable listen than "The Martian". I'm a big fan of Daniel Suarez's books and this one is one of his best. Love the reader too.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

However finally

I have all of Daniel Suarez’s books, each one better than the last and this one is no exception. The story is fantastic and I couldn’t predict what was going to happen like I normally can in most books.

The only negative here is Daniel uses “however” and “finally” so so so frequently that it really takes me out of the book sometimes. There was one section of the book there he uses “however” 4 times in a single page.

Story and performance still fantastic as always but I can’t help but think some of the writing is sliding a bit.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Suarez is a master with technological fiction

I have loved all the books Daniel Suarez has put out, and this is right there with the rest. He has a way of mixing in just enough current technology and terminology and progressing it to a believable story for the number of years in the future he is writing about. Keeps me hooked every time.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Hard sci-Fi with a human element

Suarez already had my allegiance with his other offerings, but this book shows that he is an author who is unafraid to do the research to make something truly remarkable. The tension kept me on the edge of my seat, having to complete the listen in minimal time. The science details appealed to my inner nerd and space enthusiast. This is one of the best books in recent times to examine the possibilities involved in our next steps into space.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Uncreative and Predictable

Because I've enjoyed Suarez's previous novels and the publisher's summary of Delta-V sounded compelling, my expectations were high. But unfortunately, it was about as predictable, myopic, and cliché as most Michael Bay flicks, e.g. Armageddon, Deep Impact, etc. (In fact, Ben Affleck would be a great guy to cast as James Tighe if Mr. Bay were to bring Delta-V to the big screen.)

I've not the time to write a comprehensive review. So... The plot line is uncreative, predictable, and hackneyed. There are far too many lead characters (a baker's dozen), all of whom are poorly developed and colorless. The writing and dialogue is rather bland. And Jeff Gurner's narration is neither good nor bad; it's just meh. It's gotta be difficult for a solid narrator to narrate at his best when the novel he's narrating is a mess, so can't blame Jeff.

Even though I do not recommend Delta-V, I'm still a fan of Daniel's work...just not this time.

Story: 2.0
Narration: 3.5
Overall: 2.5

12 of 18 people found this review helpful

Powerfully inspiring hard scifi

I've read hundreds of sci-fi books in the past few years and this is perhaps the first time I've taken the time to write up a detailed Audible review.

I highly enjoyed almost every aspect of this book. Not only was the narration perfect for the characters, the effort put into the writing of this book really shows. Hard sci-fi is a difficult genre to write. It takes many hours to calculate orbits, masses, and research all the chemistry and biology. Daniel Suarez did his research. As a scientist who's done a lot of the same research for my own books, I can vouch for the authenticity of most of it. He didn't just strive to make the science accurate and persuasive, he made every character's job, from congressman, cave-diver, to space lawyer as authentic as possible. It's that authenticity that makes it so inspiring. By the end of the book, he really did convince me of potential (and difficulties) of astroid mining. More than that though, he's plotted us a way to do it. Like Arthur C Clarke and other futurists' writings, I think this work will inspire many future space entrepreneurs.

My only complaint is the sheer number of characters. It was difficult to keep them all straight. Still, it was easy to develop a strong connection to characters that were well developed. I was brought near to tears several times throughout the book.

So, in summary, I highly recommend this book for people who like smart sci-fi and aren't afraid to learn something. It might just change your perspective of the universe and humankind's place in it.

4 of 6 people found this review helpful

90% Great, 10% lukewarm

Don't compare this to The Martian....
It's more enjoyable than Change Agent, not nearly as good as Daemon, Freedom, or Influx. There's many things likable about this one. It takes a serious, pragmatic, economical, and well research approach to what is capable within the next 30 years. What is extremely likable, is it relies on the knowledge, ability, and adaptability of the characters to accomplish. No fantastical sci-fi technology nor alien influence. Honestly would have refunded if Suarez resorted to that. Suarez again does a stellar job of research, which is better than what can be said about Andy Weir's The Martian.
There's likable characters, unexpected events, and (small spoiler) an underwhelming ending. Definitely not the traditional way to end this kind of story, nor very satisfying, yet in line with the characters and the overall aspects of the story.

Why is that?
Delta-V changes up the stereotypical Mars near-cult-esque obsession. Seriously, name a redeemable reason to go to Mars. Science, nope. Terraform, what a joke. This story doesn't go for the Hollywood space story and most people are stuck on Mars as the future of space exploration. Probably because they limit themselves in their research and options.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Slightly Disappointed

I really wanted to give this a 5-star rating. One of my favorite authors who approaches the story with real world science and application of near future technology. This book did not hit the mark. Mr Suarez still writes a good story. But some of the technology jumps he requires of the reader were a bit much for me. Space travel is always a bit tedious regarding the survivability of the travelers. But this one asked a little too much.

What an amazing ride!

This is right up there with Daemon and Freedom™. It keeps the listener interested all the way through to the point one does not want to stop it when it is time to get out of the truck.

Most of the science Mr. Suarez writes about is outside my realm of expertise. But I will say that unlike many other space operas, everything in the novel makes perfect sense right down the line. Nothing in the story had me shaking my head at some technical flaw.

The characters are great. The listener grows to know them and feel like they are real people, maybe even someone they know.

Delta-V is a grand slam home run. Left me wanting more. Based on how it ended, there will probably be more.