Title: THE MATHEMATICS OF ETERNITY
Series: JOE BALLEN – BOOK ONE
Author: DAVID M. KELLY
Genre: SCIENCE FICTION, MYSTERIES AND THRILLERS, CANADIAN AUTHOR
Length: 318 PAGES
Publisher: NEMESIS PRESS
Received From: THE AUTHOR
Release Date: 2017
ISBN: 9780995329416
Price: $14.99 USD (Paperback)
Rating: 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
DESCRIPTION:
The future’s about to get a lot more action-packed!
Meet former space engineer, Joe Ballen. These days, he’s scraping a living flying cabs in flooded-out Baltimore, trying to avoid the clutches of his boss and the well-meaning advice of an old friend.
When one of his passengers suffers a grisly death, Joe is dragged into a dangerous web of ruthless academic rivalry centered on a prototype spaceship.
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A NOTE ABOUT THIS REVIEW:
I had the privilege of meeting David at the Word on the Street Festival on Toronto’s waterfront. This festival is an annual event and is held every September. At the event David was gracious enough to give me an autographed copy of “Mathematics of Eternity” so that I could read and review it. Due to unforeseen medical issues I am extremely late in posting my review, but I did not want to dash off a quick review, I wanted to make sure to write an in-depth review of this terrific book.
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MY REVIEW:
MATHEMATICS OF ETERNITY is the first book in the Joe BALLEN sci-fi series written by the talented Canadian author David M. Kelly.
Set in Baltimore in the year 2143, life is unlike what we are accustomed to. The West Coast no longer exists, except underwater and even Baltimore is mostly flooded beyond redemption. The bottom floors of many highrises are now underwater. Barely anyone lives there, and those who do are extremely unwelcoming to anyone who sets foot in their domain.
Unfortunately, there are some things that, no matter how many years have passed, have remained the same. That is the fact that “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”
It is in this post-catastrophe world that Joe Ballen lives and works. He used to work in space as a construction foreman, but, an almost fatal accident put an end to that career, and almost put an end to his life. Now, he flies a taxi for a living.
One night he picks up a fare and ‘drives’ him home, only to end up as a witness/suspect in the man’s death. Now, the police want him arrested and someone wants him dead. All in all, Joe Ballen wishes he had never let the man into his cab.
With twists and turns that will keep readers on the edge of their seats, this story is both thrilling and full of excitement. This is futuristic sci-fi as it should be.
The world-building is phenomenal and I love the fact that there are a variety of genders and sexual orientations represented, including one major character who just happens to be a hermaphrodite. I completely agree with main character Joe Ballen when he says “I’ll never understand why some people feel they can treat others like property. Everyone should be able to follow their own path, so long as they’re not hurting others.” He goes on to say, “Everyone has a right to make their own choices – good or bad. Forcing your ideals on someone else is the ultimate in egotistic selfishness.”
The characters are so well developed that they will linger in the reader’s mind long after the book is finished. This, in my opinion, is the mark of a great writer. Kudos to author David M Kelly for creating such characters.
I rate MATHEMATICS OF ETERNITY as 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and I am thrilled that Book Two of the Joe Ballenger series is already available.
**Thank you to author David M. Kelly for providing me with a free copy of this book.**
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
David M. Kelly writes fast-paced, near future sci-fi thrillers with engaging characters, cynical humor, and plausible science.
He is the author of the Joe Ballen series and the short story collection Dead Reckoning And Other Stories. He has been published in Canadian SF magazine Neo-opsis.
David’s interest in science and technology began early. At the age of six his parents allowed him to stay up late into the night to watch the television broadcast of Neil Armstrong stepping on to the surface of the moon.
From that day he was hooked on everything related to science and space. An avid reader, he worked his way through the contents of the mobile library that visited his street, progressing through YA titles (or ‘juveniles’ as they were known back then) on to the classics of Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Harry Harrison.
David worked for many years in project management and software development. Along the way his interests have included IPSC combat (target) pistol shooting, crew chief on a drag racing team, and several years as bass player/vocalist in a heavy rock band. He also managed to fit in some real work in manual jobs from digging ditches and work on production lines to loading trucks in a haulage company.
Originally from the wild and woolly region of Yorkshire, England, David emigrated to Canada in 2005 and settled in Northern Ontario with his patient and supportive wife, Hilary. Foot surgery in 2014 temporarily curtailed many of his favourite activities – hiking, camping, piloting his own personal starfighter (otherwise known as a Corvette ZR-1). But on the plus side, it meant a transition from the world of IT into life as a full-time writer—an opportunity he grasped enthusiastically. David is passionate about science, especially astronomy and physics, and is a rabid science news follower.
Never short of an opinion, David writes about science and technology on his blog davidmkelly.net. He has supported various charity projects such as the Smithsonian’s Reboot The Suit and the Lowell Observatory Pluto Telescope Restoration. He also contributes to citizen science projects such as SETI@home.
To learn more about this author, visit the following links:
FACEBOOK
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YOUTUBE
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TWITTER
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AMAZON
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MORE BOOKS BY DAVID M. KELLY
PERIMETER-JOE BALLEN #2
Deceit has no boundaries Joe Ballen is working on a new ore-processing platform in the harsh environment around Mercury. But then the security forces come calling. Vital starship engineering files are missing, and without them Earth has no hope of escaping Atoll domination. Someone has to locate the files, and Ballen is bulldozed into the not-so-choice assignment. But he’s not the only one in the hunt. As Joe struggles to find the data, he becomes tangled up in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse. It’s a journey that will take him to the perilous depths of space, where no one is quite what they seem. Can old enemies ever make good allies? And can Joe trust even the people closest to him? Ballen’s back in another action-packed sci-fi noir thriller, guaranteed to keep you turning the pages.
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DEAD RECKONING AND OTHER STORIES
Looking for SF that’s intelligent, action-packed, and humorous?
This collection of ten short stories features a cast of characters all in need of some serious therapy.Hector discovers life after death ain’t easy when your shorts itch and your ass belongs to a whip-wielding giant. And Murphy’s fighting to keep the peace as his team of geeky scientists and a gung-ho lieutenant investigate a mysterious alien ship—all while dealing with his own case of Murphy’s Law. First Contact is always complicated, especially when you have to call in cranky old relic, Casteneda, to bail you out. Fresh off the battlefield, Matt Holbrook is also grappling with a perplexing new species, but all he wants is to make it home. And Earl Duarte is in for some interesting pet therapy in How Much Is That Doggy?
Discover Dead Reckoning And Other Stories. SF with attitude!
Copyright (C) David M. Kelly. http://davidmkelly.net/my-books/
This book is my entry for the letter ‘M’ in the GingerReads 2019 A to Z Reading Challenge.
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