The Eighth Continent: A Hard Science Fiction Thriller by Rhett C. Bruno

The Eighth Continent: A Hard Science Fiction Thriller Reviews

• 
  Leo

  I don't think I've read an survival thriller before so was intrigued by that and ofc that it was set in space. It was very easy getting invested in and I enjoyed it. Definitely want to read more survival Thrillers after this.
• 
  Sandra Vdplaats

  Well, this book is pretty much the surprise of my reading year - I already found the flap text promising and it actually turned out to be a page turner. It is quite a long story, but I was never bored for a moment and often found myself glued to my Kindle for hours.
  
  We are writing the year 2069 - a century after the Apollo landing on the moon.
  
  We follow Nick - a professional diver/welder in flood plains on the east coast of the US.
  The adventure takes place in the not-too-distant future, when large parts of the east coast of the US are flooded, especially in Florida, due to rising sea levels and an increase in hurricanes due to global warming.
  
  Nick and his colleague Ryder come to the aid of an elderly woman in Florida during yet another flood. She asks the divers to rescue a safe from the flooded basement. Its contents are of great importance. Later, the daughter of the woman they rescued contacts the men and Nick is offered a job with the Five Stones company, an organisation involved in solar energy from space and geo-engineering. The company is in the process of building a so-called Big Sling. A scale model of this Big Sling was in the basement of the woman they came to the rescue after a flood.
  
  Nick has nothing to lose and decides to take his chances. First, he has to go through a selection procedure. Not soon after, he leaves for the moon with some astronauts to build the Big Sling. Once on the moon, anything and everything seems to be going amiss: the crates of equipment are damaged by an explosion, the cameras in their accommodation turn out to have been hacked and many of the plants and seeds that are supposed to provide them with food and extra oxygen turn out to have disappeared. They now only have food for ninety days and it seems the six people on the moon are nothing more than props for Five Stones to achieve their goals.
  When one of the team falls from a great height and dies, Nick gets the idea that the whole mission is doomed to fail. Could the documents in the vault that Nick & Ryder turned up have anything to do with that?
  
  The story is very well written and the author has taken the time to build the story. I thought the technical and scientific information was pretty cool. The story is quite long (412 pages), but I enjoyed it. It is action-packed and is an exciting mix of MacGyver and The Martian.
  4 **** and highly recommended!
• 
  Cobwebby Reading Reindeer

  Guess you thought the globe only featured 7 continents. Well, Earth does: but there's a Moon--the Eighth Continent. Open, with sufficiently improved technology and Science, to exploration, discovery, resource mining, potential future colonization--and of course, greed, cupidity, waste, danger, wars, destruction. You know: like Earth.
  
  THE EIGHTH CONTINENT (Book 1 of THE EIGHTH CONTINENT TRILOGY), is set a few decades in the future: Moon resource use is still in its early years, with vast room for advancement of technology and Science. A consortium of nations has a base on the Moon and both Science and technology undertakings are carried on. A private company in Florida, Five Stones, intends to build a "Cruder Is Better" device to transport resources from the Moon into spaceships in Low Earth Orbit. The missions are plagued from the start, including conspiracies, sociopaths, secret government agency interference, and geniuses who've fallen over the line into madness. Add to that the unique dangers of both Space travel and of existence on the Moon, in a vacuum, in alternating light periods [lunation] and darkness.
  
  THE EIGHT CONTINENT is fast-paced, adventurous, Science Fiction, rich with breathtaking Suspense and Danger [both on the Moon and on the Earth, as well as in transit]. I'm eagerly awaiting Books 2 and 3.
• 
  Zach Bragg

  Rarely does the Kindle recommend to me ads of books I actually want to read - however, when I kept getting ads for The Eighth Continent I was intrigued because I love hard sci-fi novels and had been wanting to return to space. This novel definitely delivered, however, I will note that at first, I did not realize it was also a thriller - a point that definitely comes across quickly in the work.
  
  The novel starts off interesting and quickly engaged me with the main character and his journey to space. I really enjoyed that Bruno wrote about a different path to space: the private industry (rather than governmental) and the "fast and loose" and "simple is best" attitudes that (can) come with lessened restrictions. This concept really feeds into the paranoia and fear that permeates the first 60% of the novel and left me also feeling worried and unsure of where the novel would go and what would happen to the characters.
  
  For most of the story, I was enjoying the progression and constant subterfuge, half-truths, and partial details; the story felt like a slow burn and left me curious. However, near the end, maybe 80% on, a few new plot points (dare I say cliches) were added to the story and it felt rushed and a tad cartoonish. I loved the idea of the turmoil/standoff the main character Nick is caught between and saw what the author was going for but again it felt a little rushed and underdeveloped right at the end.
  
  Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was satisfied with the ending. There is not much technical discussion or overly academic sections of the book which makes it more accessible to a wide audience while maintaining (mostly) scientific integrity. I would put this in the category of speculative fiction/near future sci-fi. I just saw today that this novel is now officially a part of a series of 3 books (with the other 2 set to be released in late October and November of this year) and while this is the first in the series I felt like the ending was complete enough to stop after the first book if you wish to do so!
  
  
• 
  EPendleton

  Even with all the dangers, death, and deception in this book, it still makes me wish I was right there with Nick in the thick of it. The novel is written in such a realistic tone that you can almost feel the desperate need to survive and the wonders of the possibilities of being on the moon, all at once. Definitely an amazing read.
• 
  Jim

  This is billed as a hard sci-fi thriller. I’m not so sure about the hard science but it is definitely in the thriller camp. A fairly unbelievably story line with a focus on unbelievable action sequences and filled with unlikeable characters. Ended with a setup for a sequel I won’t be reading.
• 
  Ziggy Nixon

  Cruder is Better.
  
  I expected no-holds-barred adventure and suspense from "The Eighth Continent" and man oh man, did it deliver in spades! This exciting, definitely "hard science fiction thriller" - their words, not mine - was incredibly satisfying. I can't wait to read the next installment from authors Rhett C. Bruno - who over the past few years has become one of my top "go to" writers (translation: if he releases a book, I buy it!) - and Felix R. Savage, who if nothing else with a name like that should be a man well-versed in performing feats of derring-do. Or maybe a super-villain, I'm not sure which. No matter, what these gentlemen have done is have me clear my schedule for the next few days so that I can read the rest of what will no doubt be a thoroughly spell-binding ride!
  
  The moon was the single most dangerous place for humanity this side of Mars.
  
  The natural tendency I think for many fans of the genre will be to reminisce fondly back to their first exposure to Robert A. Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress". Though not nearly as in-depth in terms of the economic, political, and, yes, corporate intrique of "TEC", Heinlein's introduction to a reality where the exploration of the Moon hit so many of us that were utter NASA- and Apollo-nerds so hard that forgetting it is nigh impossible (and by my calculations, I read it somewhere between 1974 - 1975, so that's pretty "nigh" in my book!). And yes, the comparisons are more than fair, as our authors indeed address in very very acute terms what it would mean to have the moon, quote, "turned into a pawn in geopolitical power games." The answer at least so far is not pretty owing to its abundance of human nature being involved...
  
  There’s nothing to buy and sell up here. On the moon, we’re free.
  
  Whereas the pacing was in my eyes a little uneven - no doubt owing to the fact that we had so many players to introduce and so many actions that had to be pushed forward at Lightspeed (almost literally) - I was struck how this book went beyond the expected flow of what I'd typically associate with one of Bruno's books. I kept waiting for that kind of "holy shit" moment like I've seen in literally now 17 of his previous books, ranging from epic space operas to alternate histories and even my most recent favorite, his weird western offers. Instead of some of the more shocking moments in this long list of tomes, I was struck by how philosophical "Eighth Continent" left me feeling.
  
  The moment (it) goes into operation the era of lunar exploration will be over, and the era of lunar desecration will begin.
  
  Don't get me wrong: I wasn't encouraged to go out and make a wreath of lotus flowers while I meditated under a waterfall or anything, at least not at current below-freezing temperatures. But the socio-economic impact of this first chapter really had me thinking well off the path that our main players were at least obviously on. I mean, we are after all a species that imho has long put the cart well in front of the horse. And what I mean by that is simple: we're what now? 8 billion people on Earth? And while many people argue we can surely fit more onto our arguably over-taxed and strained homeworld, why must we rush forward BEFORE we have the resources IN PLACE to feed, educate, and tend to all these souls? How can any species accept unlimited expansion as long as even one of us goes hungry or otherwise suffers? And at least to me, this book asks questions just like that, particularly as the success or failure of the project far outweighs the concerns for those who are asked to carry out the basic tasks needed.
  
  We cannot leave the solution to climate change in the hands of private capital, even if there is a slight amount of collateral damage.
  
  Continuing this argument, maybe the questions are not directly addressed - it does of course touch rather heavily on climate change (no worries conservatives, it doesn't get preachy) - but I couldn't help thinking that the real message about potential exploration and exploitation of the Moon was "are we currently capable of doing that with our economic and political systems as they stand today?" Very clearly, the events in this book underline what was said time and again, namely that if profit is not being made then - AGAIN - forget things like worrying about human life or the safety of those on either the Moon or Earth. And if this is going to be the case for just the Moon and its abundance of… stuff, then what about the next step scenario of exploring and eventually colonizing Mars? Not without creating an elite class that will ultimately rule humanity as they see fit, that's for sure.
  
  I started this thing to save the planet. But what percentage is there in that for the vested interests?
  
  I mean, are we ready or even MATURE enough for any of that? If someone were to hand us the actual solution for "curing what ails us", from rising seas to polluted air and worse - and even if that were all immensely affordable (ignoring for the moment the cost of NOT doing it) - would we be able to drag ourselves from the miasma of inaction and utter lack of empathy that surrounds us all today, not even thinking ahead to 2049? Or would we become so entangled in the need to be the ones that 'wear the metaphorical pants' in the process that we'd fall flat on our faces instead? All I know is that already this book has made me very VERY skeptical of any of the current solutions for space exploration including that being pushed by the governments of the world as well as far-too-many self-involved billionaires faffing about.
  
  That was the thing about this place. It allowed the voices of the dead to reach you.
  
  Well (deep sigh)... having said all that, I do think I'm going to enjoy seeing where all this goes. I may even try to stick to the plot that's in front of me and not distract myself quite so much. Maybe we'll get lucky again and have another snowstorm shut everything down and I can just keep reading to my heart's content! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!
• 
  Jim

  This was a very different kind of book, more of a science fiction thriller than anything else. I think our main character is Nick Morrison. He’s a diver, professional, and has been earning his keep by diving to retrieve valuable lost during hurricanes along the Florida coast. People will pay quite a bit of money if you recover something they think is long gone due to the storm. What they don’t know is that while Nick and his partner, Ryder Stillman, are not the honest hard working divers they appear to be. Oh, they do recover peoples stuff, they just don’t return all of it! What they don’t return is fenced through some contacts Ryder has and they make somewhat of a decent living as long as the storms stay around.
  
  Nick isn’t all that happy about the arrangement. So, on one dive while Ryder was after something, Ryder’s equipment got caught and he couldn’t move himself. Nick figured this would be a way to get rid of Ryder and his evil intentions; just let him run out of oxygen while trapped under water. It had happen to divers before. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for Nick. Ryder had managed to free himself and also found a gun so he came after Nick. He didn’t kill him outright because there would be witness, but Nick knew that he needed to separate himself from Ryder as soon as possible.
  
  Nick does manage to get himself free of Ryder’s company. He’s tending to one of the rescued, an older lady in a wheelchair when he happens to me up with the daughter, Charlie! Charlie is a divorcee with a young daughter herself. Charlie apparently is pretty well off and the company she works for or is a partner in, has a helicopter ready to take her Mother, Charlie and daughter, Anna back to Orlando. They offer Nick a ride which he readily accepts. On the way, Charlie and Nick have a conversation that might give Nick the break he’s been looking for. It seems Charlie is a partner in NewSpace, a space startup that has some ideas about making the moon profitable. Nick is interested since he’s always thought he would like to go into space, but he just didn’t figure they could use a diver no matter how qualified. So, after the short trip to Orlando, they part ways.
  
  Not long after that, NewSpace is set to launch a space craft to the moon with a crew of six aboard. This is a very expensive venture to say the least. They have to make this work and then get the work done to setup the new “Big Sling” or a larger Moon to Earth launch capability. With the Big Sling, they could launch much larger payloads toward Earth of scarce minerals that are found in abundance on the Moon. Of course, they have to get the Big Sling built and operational and that’s what this crew are scheduled to do. Charlie knows that being a diver is a lot like working in a space suit and a space environment. She manages to offer Nick a job as a potential flight crew, but it turns out he’s only relegated to backup. He goes through all the training wishing he were on the first flight, but soon that wish goes away.
  
  Just after launch, something goes terribly wrong. The space craft suffers a catastrophic explosion just after it leaves Earth orbit. No one is quite sure what happened. But NewSpace has to get another crew ready and get back on schedule. So Nick is now part of the new crew. But, things are going so well for NewSpace. There were or are some shady deals going on that Nick isn’t aware of, but Charlie certainly is. She’s not completely involved in these shady deals, but as long as it doesn’t harm the company, she doesn’t press anyone further. She should have.
  
  Apparently, NewSpace is about to go broke. When they first formed, some of the other partners made a killing on stock purchases with insider knowledge of the Little Sling going into operation. This was an operation demo of their lunar launch capability on a smaller scale. Now the SEC was looking into those stock transactions and some of the partners were probably going to jail. What his meant for Nick and his fellow space craft crew was that they might get to the moon, but would they or could they ever get back.
  
  This story has a lot going on. Unfortunately, everything that happens on Earth gets just as nasty on the moon. People on the moon, which with other countries already setting up sites for mining is getting quite populated, are just as bad as they are on Earth, except they don’t think they’re accountable to anyone. That is a deadly attitude.
  
  While this book could have been the end of the story, it seems this series will continue. “[Moon 2.0”](
  https://amzn.to/3QSgI52) is available on Amazon and it seems to be the 2nd book of a 3 book series. Very, very good reading.
• 
  Stephen

  Nick is a commercial diver who, as a side gig, volunteers with a rescue organization to save people during flood disasters. There are a lot of those these days: rising waters, frequent hurricanes, and people who continue to build houses on the coast (presumably because they have taxpayer-funded flood insurance to support them in their moronic decisions) mean there’s no shortage of people to save. During one op, Nick rescues a woman whose daughter is involved with a commercial venture on the moon, creating a new lift system that will reduce the coast of shipping materials from Luna to Earth enormously, and she offers him a job. Nick’s stamina, resilience, and quick-fix engineering skills would be perfect for their current project, and so presently he finds himself amid that magnificent desolation, working to create a new future. Unfortunately, he and the crew are unwitting pawns in a fight for power and money between multiple corrupt corporations and an equally corrupt government, none of whom mind breaking a few dozen eggs provided they can claim the entirety of the lunar omelette for themselves. Nick and company land without all their needed kit and are soon racing against the clock to complete their work, all the while accidents and emotional volatility claim life after life: to the inherent challenges of living and working on the moon are added the stress of not knowing what’s really going on, and the ever-real spectre that they’re pawns who will be abandoned to die as soon as their work is finished. The Eighth Continent is a ‘hard’ SF novel because of its heavy emphasis on detail — a bit like The Martian, but with dread pervading instead of humor – but also hard because there’s so little to enjoy. It’s all death, gloom, and stress, and I found the deeper I got into it, the slower I moved – -rather like I was struggling through the over-mounting piles of lunar dust. Although I like the idea of this, particularly since lunar developments are more plausible than Martian ones, as a story it was too grim to enjoy. Perhaps in a different mood and another time it would have landed with me better.
• 
  Kathy KS

  A novel of survival and political intrigue, largely set on the Moon in the near future. Climate change is gradually flooding many areas and underwater diver Nick Morrison is first encountered by the reader while volunteering to rescue and assist victims of hurricanes and other flooding. But there is much more to the story, and Nick, than we first see. After a career change becomes necessary, Nick becomes part of crew sent to construct a facility on the Moon. Life will never be the same for Nick and those around him.
  
  My favorite aspects of the book were the survival issues and Nick's ability to creatively adapt to situations. In this way, the book brings to mind Andy Weir's The Martian. But the tone of the two books are vastly different. Where Weir's main character is an optimist with a sense of humor, NIck doesn't seem to have much optimism or humor. Now part of that could be the difference in their worlds, but readers need to know this.
  
  This is one of the few novels I've read where it ends up that I really don't like any of the characters. Even the couple that I am "rooting" for are not people I would want to hang around with. The tone of the work is way to pessimistic about people and their motives and depressing for me to continue the series. (I will admit the blurbs of the next two sound like something I would like, but "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." There are just too many stories I'd rather read...
  
  I do thank the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy, so that I could give an honest review.
• 
  Dave Taylor

  Nick's a bit of a ne'er do well, a diver who volunteers to help after catastrophes, while secretly stealing what he can find from the flooded homes. His partner's even worse, a criminal masquerading as a good Samaritan. Nick is invited to join Five Stones Aerospace and fly up to their nascent lunar facility to help build a game-changing transportation device: Divers have lots of useful astronautical skills. In this near future novel, there are various corporations already on the moon, however, and they're not thrilled with the introduction of this new tech.
  
  Chaos follows the Five Stones groups, both on the moon and back on Earth, and when you're on the moon and having your hab and equipment sabotaged, there's nowhere to run. Another lunar mining group shows up and soon enough, its scientists versus construction workers with inflated egos and questionable morals mixed in.
  
  Overall, I found "Eighth Continent" a fun and engaging sci-fi thriller that keeps you guessing to the very last few pages.
• 
  Mike M

  I read this book at a slower pace than a lot of the others I've read lately, but that doesn't mean I was bored with the story. There were a lot of moving pieces to this story, so sometimes I'd have to read a bit at a time to truly digest what was going on. There was a point near the end where it felt things moved a little too fast as if the authors were rushing. However, this book had a cast of memorable characters between the crew and their struggles with setting up a habitat and machinery on the moon, the mostly questionable characters from Five Stones, and more. I love the way the authors interwove the plot of what was happening presently on the moon and back on Earth, while also gradually giving us glimpses into Nick's family and backstory. I also enjoyed the extreme levels of suspense and paranoia when things go awry and resources are suddenly limited. The story kept me on my toes the entire way through. The ending paves the way for a sequel, and I'm personally looking forward to checking it out.
• 
  Vignesh S

  As other Rhett C. Bruno books that i have read, this book was also filled with many fun moments and character development. It's got action, intrigue, suspense, double-crosses, mad scientists, high action and adventure in space and more.
  
  The ideas are great, the writing is great, and the characters are believable. I enjoyed the plethora of villains, one of which I quite liked, as the character was so well written that it made me quite sympathetic towards him. The hero was quite good, too, definitely somewhat of an antihero at times. But again, well written and seemed perfectly understandable and plausible.
  
  The story follows Nick, who ends up working on the moon after a series of chance connections and the people he meets there as well as those working with and against him on earth. It had me on the edge of my seat, staying up past my bedtime, recommending it to strangers in the pub.
• 
  Ryan

  The Eighth Continent is a good mix of modern sci-fi just far enough in the future that it’s relatable and not difficult to visualize. There are the money hungry, dishonest Silicon Valley bigwigs making shadowy deals while ignoring that laws that apply to them while looking to make as much profit as possible on the backs of hardworking people… and that’s most of the book. The science that they come up with is applied by questionable people who are left to have their insides sucked out into the vacuum. Expendable at best, criminals at their worst, they carry the story along as disasters take up the space between brief interactions. I didn’t realize that this was book 1 of a series of 3, but it did wrap in a good place at its end.
  
  Thanks to NetGalley and Aethon Books for an ARC of this book.
• 
  Leo

  What if the Martian and The Purge had a space baby?
  
  This book was obviously not meant for me. I like a good hard science book, especially one about humanity reaching for the stars, but this book was anything but. The story is not unique, plenty of Martian style books out there, but this one took the idea of dealing with adversity to another level. It wasn't a computer bug, then it was the fuel used, or bad spacesuits, or their moon based aeroponic weed stash getting stolen. The story became more and more fantasy and less hard sci-fi. By the end of the book, we entered B-rate horror movie status with everyone killing everyone else until their was just one person standing. I have no idea why i stuck it out until the end. I will not be continuing this series or recommending it to anyone.
• 
  Sally Mander

  4 stars, Friends and Enemies
  
  Eighth Continent
  The Eighth Continent Book 1
  by Rhett C. Bruno & Felix R. Savage
  
  Nick Morrison had always dreamed of being an astronaut. One day he is offered a chance to go to the moon as a construction worker. He is anxious to go since his friends have turned to enemies and he doesn't see anything holding him back.
  
  He quickly finds out that it isn't any fun on the moon, other teams on the moon are thwarting his team's every move. He begins to wonder if his team will ever get to return to Earth.
  
  I received a complimentary copy of #EighthContinent from #NetGalley #AethonBooks I was under no obligation to post a review.
  
  #diversefiction #diversereads #sciencefiction #dystopian
• 
  Barbara

  I bought The Eighth Continent because the plot seemed intriguing and it was. And the science was original (as the reader finds in the acknowledgements at the end - but don't read until the end). I took a star away for the characters - who are generally believable. I cared what happened to most of them, but the women seemed a bit stereotypical. I didn't care for one of them and found her relationship to/with the main male character a bit unbelievable. The book IS a page-turner, however, with some original ideas. Unless characterization is extremely important to you, get the book, and look forward to a good read.
• 
  Read Ng

  I love good hard science books. The premise sounded very promising, so I purchase an ebook copy. I was not disappointed and look forward to the release of the rest of the series.
  
  Very well presented and did a great job of following real science. I love factual, logical, and realistic science fiction. So many competing and complex characters, mostly out for their own personal gain. Yes, we all know that taking the high ground provides strategic (military) advantage. How will our hero survive the fight of his life? And who will ultimately benefit from this new technology? I loved every page.
  
  Go find your next GoodReads
• 
  Adam Staniland

  Thank you to Aethon Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. Eighth Continent is brilliant. It is thrilling from start to finish, packed with action, science, crime, romance and everything in-between. Every character is unique and they are all fleshed out and developed well - and I was really rooting for the main character by the end of the book. If you are a fan of Andy Weir, you won't be able to put this book down. I can't wait for the sequel. 5/5.
• 
  David Zemke

  This was a page turner in the most fun way. It felt like a roller coaster ride at many points, as the character ends up on the moon and fights his way to survive and build a massive project. It's not too deep on the science part and it's not going to make you think too much, but it was an enjoyable read - kind of like a great action movie would be. I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I would, but it was great pop science fiction all the way around.
• 
  Emz

  As the stars indicate, it was okay. Read a bit like a Bond plot, but with your average Joe or Nick in this case as the main protagonist. Moon domination being fought over by high-tech companies, double dealings, back-stabbings and more double-crossings than an episode of Dallas (showing my age now). However, the action bits were entertaining and thrilling, I just felt that it lacked a certain "je ne sais quoi" French for I can't quite put my finger on it.
• 
  Jon Norimann

  The Eight Continent is book one in the Eigth Continent series. It is about contemporary moon colonization. This could have been a great story but the characters are erratic and the science is 1980s level for some reason. Still it was an entertaining read for a fan of hard-SF like me. No rush reading more of the series though.
• 
  Laurie Robertson

  tough, gritty, enthralling
  
  The moon is valuable and corporations and governments will do almost anything to be in control of it.
  So do each of the people sent there.
  Even the ‘good guys’ do some bad stuff.
  No place for the faint-hearted.
  More twists and turns than a spinning top.
  Excellent reading.