Customer Reviews

First Ark to Alpha Centauri

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
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The first interstellar explorers from Earth are on their way to the stars. They did not go by choice or necessity: they are going because their forefathers set the ark on this journey to safeguard mankind's presence in the universe. They built this cylindrical ark to take as much of the dying Old Earth with them as poss. They squeezed in inside its 600-square Km's of pine forests, a river called Eridanus, a small town called Utopia, a wildlife preserve, a diamond bridge built by an earlier generation that mined a small ice planet inside the Oort cloud, there's this spooky, dimly lit cemetery, a farming complex with hundreds of acres of rice fields and other food crops, a forbidding and ancient Black Forest, plus much more. The whole landscape is fantastically twisted round the inside walls of the cylinder, giving dwellers of this fact-based mythical world a dreamy perspective of their celebrated river of Eridanus and its meandering flow through ancient evergreen forests, the idyllic city of Utopia and other strange sights - all up in the overhead sky.

A trillion miles from Old Earth and two thousand years into the journey, there is no comms with home anymore and no outside help from anywhere within their sphere of reach is possible (quote from the novel). So, when commander Zakarov, his niece Caroline and their friends, Alcyone, Joey and others find themselves haunted by winged, wolf-like demonic aliens from the vacuum, they worry about their own survival, and the morals of the generation that originally sent them on this dark and dangerous voyage into the unknown, in the first place.

What were these strange apparitions traumatising their dreams? Where did they come from? What was the reasons for their attack, not just inside dreams but also in reality? How can they be stopped? Those are a few of the intriguing mysteries the small town peoples have to solve. But the real gem of this book is in its title: the First Ark to Alpha Centauri. The most compelling scientific argument I have ever read that says this is the way we will be going to the stars some day, by taking advantage of a self-enclosed small Earth ark sailing between our star and the next nearest island in space : the great Alpha Centauri Triple Star System. Not necessarily the many many more ways our physicists and academics are now exploring. At the core of this work is an in-depth analysis and conclusions to the fundamental challenge facing modern science today: will interstellar voyages to the stars ever be possible through any means other than the one depicted in Ahad's story? There is a well-known saying that `a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush'. This ark is a `bird in the hand' in all its ingeniously designed facets. I commend the author for an astonishing amount of thought and imagination he has invested in this remarkable vision, that charts a true course for future human space exploration in the foreseeable future.

I give it five stars for now, but I feel sure the author could easily improve on this debut with more novels in the same universe. Not to be missed!

The title of my review is apt. I have just finished reading the book and I believe it should be made into a Hollywood film as a continuation of Stanely Kubrik's 2010 movie. Mankind has progressed technologically in order to escape the social regression that Mankind has suffered from, due to war and poverty. This is the fist book of its kind which combines the:

1. Vision, cross-cultural utopia and futuristic physics of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek, with

2. Carl Sagan's dream that anything is possible, with the

3. Realism and human aspirations of Kubrik's 2001/2010. First Ark, should be the natural third in the trilogy.

I have read Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov etc. but this book is definitely a realistic manual on space travel. It retains some of the social issues we see on Earth, combined with some useful scientific information that would wet the appetite of any sci-fi buff. It is also a lesson for future space travel, i.e. issues that will need to be resolved such as source of fuel, how generations can survive for a long time spanning tens of thousands of years, how people get paid for their work, recreational activities in the Ark, how Earth's history would be taught, the importance of religion billions of miles away from Earth and also personality conflicts that would crop up. I cannot stress the last point enough. This would probably be the most important part of the voyage. An experiment was conducted (in Arizona I think) over a decade ago called, 'Biosphere II' which is an enclosed compound that mimics Earth (Biosphere I) in the vegetation, atmosphere etc. but is fully enclosed. It was an experiment to see if humans could survive in a similar setting on Mars. The experiment was a failure, not because of any technical issues, but because of personality conflicts. Orthodox sci-fi books tend to ignore such conflicts that could arise when humans are grouped together, but First Ark does deal with it realistically.

The book also exemplifies the fact that although the Alpha Centauri system is the closest star system to ours, it will take Man 50,000 years to get there. It is a humbling thought that 21st Century science, or even our perception of future science/technology has not progressed enough to master vast distances in a short period of time, yet we as a human species pride ourselves in our 'scientific progress' in the 21st Century which has apparently killed God. The reality is that we haven't even scratched the surface of space and there is so much that Man needs to explore in God's creation. We are still 'ancient' when it comes to scientific progress and the book highlights our limitations as the Ark ventures out to escape human arrogance.

Sense of humour is important in a long voyage and the book does have good humour sprinkled throughout. More importantly, the reader is a part of that momentous voyage and has the luck to partake in that voyage that would normally last 50,000 years. It truly is THE Space Odyssey. Read it. And then make a movie please Steven Speilberg!

by Hasan Ali Imam
Ex-Parliamentary Candidate 2005, Conservative Party
UK

Hi from sunny Pasadena, LA.

I've just spent the afternoon reading this book, and I'm feeling giddy from the prophetic vision of a 50,000 year journey to the outer realms of our neighboring star.

Boy, I sure feel tiny stuck on this little planet, and it sucks.

I want to join the soaring imagination of this new author, and journey through the forbidding Oort cloud, battle the pitiless Wolf Angels and win the heart of of the lovely Alcyone (or at least get her to put her hot-pants on!).

Sci-fi dudes, you're gonna see new concepts here, so get your notebooks ready.

Hollywood, this is movie material. Stop churning out the same old stuff. Get your check books ready for this one.

Abdul Ahad has raised the bar on science-fiction writing! I instantly identified with the Centauri Princess crew and their plight to extend future human existence into deep space. I shared their ambitions, suffered their nightmares, and united with their fight to defeat the seemingly undefeatable. Highly recommended! I will read every novel Abdul Ahad publishes!