The Enceladus Mission

Ice Moon 1

By: Brandon Q. Morris

Narrated by: Doug Tisdale Jr.

In the year 2031, a robot probe detects traces of biological activity on Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons. This sensational discovery shows that there is indeed evidence of extraterrestrial life. Fifteen years later, a hurriedly built spacecraft sets out on the long journey to the ringed planet and its moon. The international crew is not just facing a difficult twenty-seven months: if the spacecraft manages to make it to Enceladus without incident it must use a drillship to penetrate the kilometer-thick sheet of ice that entombs the moon. If life does indeed exist on Enceladus, it could only be at the bottom of the salty, ice covered ocean, which formed billions of years ago.

However, shortly after takeoff disaster strikes the mission, and the chances of the crew making it to Enceladus, let alone back home, look grim. From internationally best-selling hard science fiction author Brandon Q. Morris comes a new novel for hard science fiction enthusiasts. As a physicist and space specialist, Morris describes the journey of the international expedition through the hostile vacuum of space, using the latest scientific findings and technology trends as his inspiration. This isn't a 'What If' story, this is a 'When Will' story.

©2018 Brandon Q. Morris (P)2018 Liberaudio

Critic reviews

A space odyssey that's worth taking.
-- Kirkus

Fantastic story line

Loved the premise! Somehow the narrator didn’t convey the details of this story….there was so much that could have been added to this fantastic story to make it superb, but everything was told in the same tone of voice & all was lost.
Huge events were just brushed aside…..I feel that an amazing story was “missed”!!! The author just glossed over so many opportunities & then simply ended the book. Too bad! I won’t be buying the next in the series..zzzzz….

I really wanted to like this book

I love hard science and the story line was interesting. However, the protagonist is so disconnected he felt more like an AI. Sadly, the book was narrated with a similar tone which I found extremely off putting.

Wish I hadn’t

This is the type of book that I normally love: hard science, space exploration, alien beings.. Unfortunately the narrator totally ruined it for me. His tone is more fitting for reading comedies or feel-good stories, not what is supposed to be nail-biting, suspenseful science fiction. I could barely get a sense of when something dire or life-threatening was happening because the narrator just kept on in his “this is all good, everything is great” voice. Ugh!!!!!! The author also devoted way too many chapters to the development of the equipment that wasn’t used until the last 1/4 of the book. I felt disappointed that the description of the final destination, Enceladus, was severely lacking in comparison. I would not recommend this book.

Exciting with twists and turns.

Great story. Well thought out. Nice surprises along the way. Lots of twists and turns.

Innovative hard science

Very interesting and detailed story; fresh approach, and creative problem solving. Distinct and well-developed characters; primary protagonist seems to be somewhat neurodivergent WITHOUT utilizing stereotypical tropes. Excellent narration, distinctive without distracting.