Further: Beyond the Threshold

I saw Further: Beyond the Threshold by Chris Roberson recommended online at a link now lost, and I put it on my wish-list. The Husband bought it for me for Christmas. It's supposedly the first in a new space opera series, but I won't seek out the rest. It's a quick read, but that's not a primary consideration for me. Characters are one-dimensional. Scenes are like snap-shots. It takes the plot a long time to go anywhere, and then it's fairly quickly over. It is a bit on the talky -even preachy- side to suit me. The back of the book promises "politics" and "intrigue" but doesn't deliver much of either. I don't resent the time it took me to read it or anything, but I certainly will not keep the book or ever re-read it. It's not bad, but I can't recommend it except maybe for kids for whom it might serve as an introduction to space opera. It would be an excellent choice there, and I wish I'd had it 15 years ago. Some of the issues raised would make for good discussion.

from the back of the book:

Captain RJ Stone just awoke from a cryogenic suspension after disappearing twelve thousand years ago on Earth’s first unified interstellar space mission. He finds himself in a place known as the Human Entelechy, a myriad of worlds and habitats spread across three thousand light years that is linked by a network of wormholes with Earth at its center. Quickly caught in the middle of politics and intrigue he knows little about, Stone becomes the captain of the FTL Further, the first spacecraft to travel faster than the speed of light. The crew’s first mission: investigate a distant pulsar for the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence. What they find, however, may be their undoing.

Bestselling author Chris Roberson’s ambitious science fiction series drops a stranger into a strange time, combining world-building, humor, and action on a galactic scale. Among unfamiliar stars, RJ Stone’s second chance at a maiden voyage will propel listeners beyond the far reaches of space and imagination.

Wired says it's "an entertaining book, one that is legitimately interested in the challenges of finding oneself in an advanced civilization, in particular exploring questions of diversity and consciousness, but that doesn’t take itself too seriously" and concludes with this:

Further is a pretty quick read, with incredibly short chapters and a clearly-signposted plot. There are some dark moments near the end, when the protagonists get into a dangerous situation, but on balance, this is an accessible, entertaining novel that should appeal to middle-school readers and up.

SF Signal says, "The book frankly meanders like a mayfly, flipping between locations as the worldbuilding is shown off. Once the main plot of the novel finally gets going, things improve somewhat, but the other weaknesses of the novel remain in full force."