Anyone read "Voyage to Alpha Centauri" by Michael O'Brien?

[Vanny]

looks like it might be good-would like to see some more reviews before I purchase.
I like Science Fiction especially if it has Christian themes.
Loved C.S. Lewis Space Trilogy. Fantasy/ Sci Fi books by Christian authors that are really well written are hard to come by.

I’ve never read anything by Michael O’Brien-is he a good writer?

 

[3DOCTORS]

Put me down as curious as well. I was just browsing through the Ignatius catalog the other night and wondering the same thing. I have a Catholic science fiction novel I’m writing, hence an interest in what other authors are doing with this sub-genre. :coffeeread:

 

[RCbkr]

Michael O’Brien is a very prolific and elegant writer of fiction influenced by his Catholic faith. I haven’t read this one, but if it’s anything like his others, don’t plan on its being a light and easy read. If you love to read something well-written, thought provoking, and deep, you can’t go wrong with his work.

 

[Joe_5859]

I haven’t read that particular book of his, but I’ve read his earlier novels (Father Elijah, Strangers & Sojourners, Eclipse of the Sun, etc.).

I agree with RCbkr. O’Brien’s is not “pulp” fiction. But he’s a great writer. I cannot imagine that this book would not be worth reading.

 

[Cathoholic]

I just finished it several days ago.

Voyage to Alpha Centauri by Michael D. O’Brien is an excellent read. O’Brien is a very deep thinker.

I have never read a book of his that I don’t like.

Why I enjoyed it?

I tried to write a response as to “why” I enjoyed the book but I caught myself in “spoiler” commentaries (that I deleted) so I thought I’d just leave that part alone.

 

[empther]

I checked out Amazon customer reviews of Voyage to Alpha Centauri

The spaceship travels at half the speed of light. That’s impossible.

A Scientific American article I read years ago explained that the highest possible speed of any spaceship made by the most advanced civilization would be no more than ten percent the speed of light, and five percent is a more realistic goal for earthlings for the foreseeable future, like the next five thousand years or so.

The problem is getting debris out of the way so it doesn’t destroy the ship. You might do this with laser beams, but then the problems begin.
First you must send a radar beam or something out to the debris, then you must wait for the radar beam to get back to you. Then you must send out a blaster ray to destroy the debris.
Right away you can see that half light speed is impossible.

But after you blast the debris it’s possible some fragments are still in your way so you have to repeat the process. And the ultimate speed of a spaceship goes down.

It’s ok to write scientific fiction if you want to present certain points that could be raised in no other way. I’ve done it myself. But if the science is completely implausible the writing can’t be taken seriously. .

 

[Joe_5859]

I checked out Amazon customer reviews of Voyage to Alpha Centauri

The spaceship travels at half the speed of light. That’s impossible.

A Scientific American article I read years ago explained that the highest possible speed of any spaceship made by the most advanced civilization would be no more than ten percent the speed of light, and five percent is a more realistic goal for earthlings for the foreseeable future, like the next five thousand years or so.

The problem is getting debris out of the way so it doesn’t destroy the ship. You might do this with laser beams, but then the problems begin.
First you must send a radar beam or something out to the debris, then you must wait for the radar beam to get back to you. Then you must send out a blaster ray to destroy the debris.
Right away you can see that half light speed is impossible.

But after you blast the debris it’s possible some fragments are still in your way so you have to repeat the process. And the ultimate speed of a spaceship goes down.

It’s ok to write scientific fiction if you want to present certain points that could be raised in no other way. I’ve done it myself. But if the science is completely implausible the writing can’t be taken seriously. .

So the entire book cannot be taken seriously because of that one detail? I guess I’m not that particular.

 

[empther]

So the entire book cannot be taken seriously because of that one detail? I guess I’m not that particular.

I understand.

Here’s an interview of O’Brien about the book:
studiobrien.com/voyage-alpha-centauri-interview/
Excerpt:

Interviewer:From Fahrenheit 451 to Brave New World to 1984, not to mention C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy, science fiction has often been a vehicle to express concerns about the direction our world could be headed, often in quite a prophetic way. What themes do you think crop up in Voyage to Alpha Centauri that pertain to some of the directions our society is heading?

O’Brien: There are several. I have worked into the narrative, as the background of the lives of the voyageurs, the condition of Earth about a hundred years from now. Mankind is ruled by “totalitarianism with a friendly face,” a world government that controls more or less everything; technology is rewarding and omnipresent, surveillance is sophisticated and subtle; all sexual morality has been relativized, depopulation laws are draconian, sterility is highly rewarded, fertility is punished, etc. , etc. Green is good, organized religion is bad. The social matrix appears to be peaceful and “democratic” and yet there is very limited personal freedom.

Interviewer: So, Voyage to Alpha Centauri is a kind of anti-utopia or a dystopia?

O’Brien: It’s not merely a dystopian novel in the social and political sense. It also asks metaphysical questions: For example, what is it in human nature that compels us to look beyond the purely material? The scientists and other staff on the ship are the best and brightest of mankind, and along with their strengths they bring their weaknesses and blindness with them on the voyage. What are they seeking when they yearn to escape gravity, escape our planet and our solar neighborhood? What, really, does man hope to find out there in the stars? Is it no more than our abiding desire for increased knowledge? Or is there in us an inherent suppressed desire for transcendence?

Well, all right, but Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World and 1984 don’t touch people’s hearts.
And, if you concentrate a story on the inner feelings and thoughts of a single main character acting in the present day real world who makes the proverbial journey of self-discovery ( *** ) , like I do, you’re most likely to have a hit that’s long remembered.

I went to the library today. They didn’t have any of Micheal O’Brien’s books.
So I checked out Jane Austen’s Emma ( 1815 ).

( *** Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice has been called “the first great novel of self-discovery”. I just added some spectacular scenes to Theresa’s self-discovery journey. )

 

[Kithrus]

I’ve meet him 5 different times he lives 5 hours north of me. I do not agree with many of his thoughts but i do agree hes a good writer.

 

[Joe_5859]

I’ve meet him 5 different times he lives 5 hours north of me. I do not agree with many of his thoughts but i do agree hes a good writer.

Neat! Yeah, I disagree with him on Harry Potter, but he does craft some good fiction.

 

[Dorothy]

I recently ordered the book “Voyage to Alpha Centauri” and will read it soon.

Michael D. O’Brien is an excellent Catholic writer. The first book of his that I read was “Island of the World” and I couldn’t put it down,… and from then on I have read several more. Another one is “The Father’s Tale”.

There is another writer named Michael O’Brien, so it is a good idea to add the middle initial when looking for other novels by Michael D. O’Brien. He is also an artist and has used his artwork on several, if not all, the book jackets of his books.

In the future, it is hoped to have a movie about the book “Father Elijah”.

 

[Vanny]

I checked out Amazon customer reviews of Voyage to Alpha Centauri

The spaceship travels at half the speed of light. That’s impossible.

A Scientific American article I read years ago explained that the highest possible speed of any spaceship made by the most advanced civilization would be no more than ten percent the speed of light, and five percent is a more realistic goal for earthlings for the foreseeable future, like the next five thousand years or so.

The problem is getting debris out of the way so it doesn’t destroy the ship. You might do this with laser beams, but then the problems begin.
First you must send a radar beam or something out to the debris, then you must wait for the radar beam to get back to you. Then you must send out a blaster ray to destroy the debris.
Right away you can see that half light speed is impossible.

But after you blast the debris it’s possible some fragments are still in your way so you have to repeat the process. And the ultimate speed of a spaceship goes down.

It’s ok to write scientific fiction if you want to present certain points that could be raised in no other way. I’ve done it myself. But if the science is completely implausible the writing can’t be taken seriously. .

How about some sort of shields, like in Star Trek/Stargate so that debris/particles don’t destroy a ship going so fast? I have read that while it is impossible to travel faster than the speed of light, but you can go up to the speed of light(assuming you have an energy source to get you that fast). of course I know nothing about this kind of stuff-I just read that it is theoretically possible to go up to the speed of light.

 

[Vanny]

Thanks for all your replies. I think I will order this book and put it on my reading list.

 

[mikekle]

I checked out Amazon customer reviews of Voyage to Alpha Centauri

The spaceship travels at half the speed of light. That’s impossible.

A Scientific American article I read years ago explained that the highest possible speed of any spaceship made by the most advanced civilization would be no more than ten percent the speed of light, and five percent is a more realistic goal for earthlings for the foreseeable future, like the next five thousand years or so.

The problem is getting debris out of the way so it doesn’t destroy the ship. You might do this with laser beams, but then the problems begin.
First you must send a radar beam or something out to the debris, then you must wait for the radar beam to get back to you. Then you must send out a blaster ray to destroy the debris.
Right away you can see that half light speed is impossible.

But after you blast the debris it’s possible some fragments are still in your way so you have to repeat the process. And the ultimate speed of a spaceship goes down.

It’s ok to write scientific fiction if you want to present certain points that could be raised in no other way. I’ve done it myself. But if the science is completely implausible the writing can’t be taken seriously. .

Keep in mind, at one time, the mainstream scientific community also thought Radium was the best thing to sliced bread, and used it for everything! LOL Or look at some of scientific ‘facts’ of the 1950s…need I say more?

Mainstream science also has their own agenda too.

 

[empther]

From post 12:

How about some sort of shields, like in Star Trek/Stargate so that debris/particles don’t destroy a ship going so fast? I have read that while it is impossible to travel faster than the speed of light, but you can go up to the speed of light(assuming you have an energy source to get you that fast). of course I know nothing about this kind of stuff-I just read that it is theoretically possible to go up to the speed of light.

The formula for the kinetic energy of a moving particle is one half m v-squared,
where m is the mass, v is the velocity, and v-squared is the velocity multiplied by itself.
At the speed of light the kinetic energy of anything is truly horrendous.

The energy of a cosmic ray, an atomic nucleus, going at near light speed is equal to a tennis ball hit by a Wimbleton champion. That’s just one atom. For a grain of sand, multiply that energy by 6 to the 20th power. That’s enough to vaporize a tank.

No shield could be large enough.

It’s a heavy responsibility knowing everything.