Excellent Collection of Stories
4.5 out of 5 stars
One of my favorite parts of short stories is the ability to read them in one sitting. Yes, writing a novel is impressive, but to be able to pack a full story into such a small package is difficult. And to have each one feel like it has a proper beginning, middle, and end is even more challenging. Combining them into one easy-to-read format (a volume of them, for example, like Hayden’s World, is) is perfect, in my opinion.
Every story within this collection didn’t have to flow into the other, but each one had bits and pieces that made more sense reading them in order. But all of them being in/around the same world was pretty awesome. Rarely do I read a collection like this that feels like a complete story too. Each story had their own arc, but the whole thing felt like it was a living and breathing thing from Hayden’s World.
I won’t go into too much detail about every story here, I read and reviewed 43 Seconds before and went a little more into that story, but for this, I’ll give my overall feeling. That is to say, I did have a stand-out story. I liked Signal Loss the best, but each one had its place in my heart. Falchetti is a master storyteller who brought so much to these short stories.
Combine that with the excellent narration by Shamaan Casey, who, as I mentioned in 43 Seconds, I hadn’t ever heard do straight Sci-Fi before, and it’s such an enjoyable listen. Casey brought life to these situations, and his deep and booming voice worked well for the intense scenes.
Book Description:
Survival tales in the skies of Uranus, desperate struggles at the solar system’s edge, and near-lightspeed interstellar expeditions await in this hard science fiction collection of seven Hayden’s World short stories.
Forty-Three Seconds: James Hayden has a dream, and the Riggs test vehicle is going to take him there. But when failure after failure leads to his last chance exploding spectacularly, he must partner with an AI and gamble everything for one last shot at the stars.
Silver-Side Up: Two old friends, a silver space ship, and a perfect day for a test flight.
Erebus: In one month, Sarah will take the helm of the newest Riggs ship. But growing opposition may shut down the program before she gets her chance. When James’s last-ditch publicity stunt traps him light-days from rescue, Sarah must decide just how far she’s willing to go to save a friend.
Signal Loss: Life aboard the Aristarchus isn’t much of an adventure, and Kyan just wants to do his job and get back to his family. When he discovers a mysterious object at the edge of the solar system and an unexpected contact during comms loss, data running turns life-or-death 13 billion kilometers from home.
Last Stand: Kyan testifies about the events in Signal Loss, but other agendas are in play.
Aero One: Jia can’t breathe, her ship is minutes from breaking apart in Uranus’s atmosphere, and the lifepod just burned up. Things aren’t going well. When her injured engineer’s solution sends them plummeting into the icy stratosphere, they find themselves trapped in a life-or-death battle against time, the elements, and unexpected visitors.
Titan’s Shadow: A year later after the events of Aero One, Jia is trying to restart her life as a freelancer aboard Saturn’s newly-built Cassini Station. But Cassini has its own secrets. When a chance encounter with a past adversary sets old battles in motion, she must unravel the mystery of Titan’s Shadow before more lives are lost.
Hayden's World by S.D. FalchettiNarrator: Shamaan Casey
Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
Also by this author: 43 Seconds
- Muted (Silence Jones #10 by Erik Carter (Narrated by Gary Bennett) - December 4, 2023
- New and Notable Audiobook Releases for the Week of December 3rd on Brian’s Book Blog - December 3, 2023
- Disease X by N.J. Croft (Narrated by Joshua Saxon) - December 1, 2023
