Carpathians

Share this Amazing Deal!

Customers say

Customers find the storyline interesting and well-executed. They find the characters believable and well-developed. The book is described as an enjoyable read with an interesting world-building and thought-provoking concepts. Readers praise the writing quality as creative, colorful, and well-written. Overall, they describe the book as thoughtful and a good blend of science and human emotional psyche.

Make It Yours – See Your Price On Amazon!

Your Sales Price ~~$16.99~~ - $0.99

A quick rundown of this product’s key features:

An epic First Contact story on a galactic scale.

Humans have reached the stars, but there is no evidence any other species survived its own sentience long enough to do the same.

Until now, when the Magellanix deep-space scout Accipiter discovers the Artifact, a million-year-old alien construct resting in a dormant volcano on a faraway world.

Now TransGalactic has sent the Carpathia to steal it.

Two ships; two rival corporations; and a race only one of them can win.

But the stakes are greater than they seem. The Artifact is more than just a technological marvel. It holds the key to humanity’s survival, and – perhaps – an understanding of our place in the universe at last.

Our Top Reviews

Reviewer: Kat
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Very good, borderline exceptional First Contact novel
Review: I read a lot. It’s my principal mechanism for relaxation from a career that can be pretty intense. I’ve been a science fiction fan since I first read Heinlein’s Red Planet in second grade back in the 1960s. I don’t have the budget to buy two or three $16 Kindle novels from known authors a week, so I read a lot of self-published authors whose books are free on Kindle.This might be the best self-published book I’ve ever read. It’s really that good. Let me share why I like it so much.First, the characters are differentiated, relatable, and sympathetic. This factor alone sets this book above even many novels from known authors published by legacy publishers. The main characters in particular are distinct, and their internal dialogue is natural and unforced.Second, the world-building is interesting and relevant to current events. In the far future, corporations have replaced nation-states as the seats of power. They are organized, amoral, and devoted to maximizing shareholder value. With the US government in the process of being dismantled by the world’s richest man, thinking companies could exercise this degree of control is both credible and cautionary. The author’s concept of “holocaust worlds” provides a new perspective on the Fermi paradox.Third, the plot is at the same time clear and complex. The main two rival corporations use different techniques to maintain control. When one of the main protagonists makes a world-changing discovery, its unexpected nature disables his conditioning. As a free agent for the first time since childhood, he makes a series of self-interested decisions seeking his own advantage by the only criteria he’s ever known, that of selfish advancement.Fourth, the writing is clear, has an internal rhythm, and is borderline elegant. That’s enough without spoilers.A few quibbles. The book could have used a more thorough editing. There are five or ten clumsy sentences, usually when subject or object are repeated in the same sentence. We’re not talking Craig Alanson clumsy, with nonstop run-on sentences and random shifts between first and third person in the same passage, but some simple errors that would have been eliminated by a more careful copy editor.Read the book. I’m eager for the author’s sequel, which is clearly implied by the ending.A very significant accomplishment by a self-published author.

Reviewer: Edward J Martin
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Out of This World
Review: First of all, its a big book — well over 500 pages, so that’s a plus. Most of all, its a good book — an easy read, good story, well-developed characters even at over 500 pages I wished there were more.Couple of observations: its “science fiiction,” I suppose, because its set in the future, but actually has not much science — just the usual sci fi “gimmes” — space ships, interstellar travel, souped up technologies when needed. Certainly not a “Martian” or “The Hail Mary Project” in that regard.And the cover blurb calls iit an “epic First Contact story” — bit of a stretch there. There’s almost no interaction with the “artifact,” you find out nothing about it, how it works, what its for. “Artie” serves mainly as a background motivator for all the characters in the story. And there’s absolutely no contact, first or otherwise, with whoever or whatever constructed it.And, lastly, my personal pet pieve, as other reviews have mentioned, it has no ending — at the book’s conclusion, the characters have mostly escaped danger but are just left sitting on a rock, waiting for what’s next. Presumeably (and hopefully) they’re waiting for Book Two, but the author makes no mention of that, so we’ll see.With all that, it’s still a very good book, sorry to see it end and glad I bought it — recommended.

Reviewer: Eliot Prescott
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Top Flight Sci Fi
Review: Excellent novel. The central mystery is compelling. The characters are complex enough to be both believable and unpredictable. The descriptions of Ragnarok make you feel the cold and desolation. The writing is professional, allowing the reader to become immersed in the story. The science is speculative but solid.There are a few loose threads (e.g., what happened with the Carpathia’s real captain), rushed passages (e.g., the speed with which the field contractors figured out what had happened), and editing errors/typos (only three that I found), but none are serious enough to detract from the story.The story came to an ending but not a resolution. Three key characters are left in a sort of “now what?” stage, while three others are left standing at the edge of (or hanging onto) a cliff with potentially civilization-changing implications. In other words, this novel seems to end with the clear intention of a sequel, although none is mentioned, and we could be waiting a while given that the author has a day job.In short, this novel is well worth your time and money as a reader. Long-time sci-fi fans will appreciate the quality of the work (sorely lacking in much of the genre these days). I seriously hope that enough people buy the novel to encourage the author to produce the sequel. I’m ready to pre order #2!

Reviewer: pianomama
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Intriguing and thought provoking
Review: Can an intelligent species survive it’s own propensity for destruction? That is the philosophical question at the bottom of this very interesting pace adventure. The characters are diverse and well drawn, and the book is hard to put down.

Reviewer: Kindle-klant
Rating: 1.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Kan mij niet boeien.

Reviewer: Deane Zeeman
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: So imaginative! Really sympathetic characters! And riveting story with lots of linkages to our present geo-political challenges. I want sequels!

Reviewer: Vijit Raghavan
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This novel surpassed my expectations. I think this book requires a follow-up. Humanity in the countless years in the future remain shackled to their base emotions. Truly, remarkable story with imagined tech.

Reviewer: Peter D Drummond
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I enjoyed the characters, and the very unusual imagination. The ending was somewhat predictable, though. Worth a read if you like something different.

Reviewer: Dr Lex
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: It is not often that out of the blue comes a story so accomplished and enjoyable as this. Well-written with no sagging points (a real feather’s days!), a multifaceted and quite original plot that holds it all together, with vivid characters and even some quite profound reflections that don’t jar! Bravo Mr Dixon, please can we have more?