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Critical Threshold: Daedalus Mission, Book Two Kindle Edition

by Brian Stableford (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 20 ratings
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They call them the “rat-catchers.” They’re the crew of the spaceship Daedalus, which an economically destitute Earth has dispatched on a mission to re-establish contact with its far-flung, long-lost colonies in space. Alex Alexander, the ship’s biologist, together with his staff, must help solve the mysteries of human and alien ecosystems that he encounters light-years from home.

Dendra is a stable world, covered by a huge, unchanging forest—except that nothing living can really be free of change. The planet has no seasons, but its animal life still undergoes life-cycles involving birth, maturation, metamorphosis, and death. The Earth colony sent to tame the world has failed, at least in the terms expected of it, and seems beyond redemption; but the crew of the Daedalus still has to find out exactly why and how the program has gone wrong. Provided, of course, that they can survive the investigation itself!

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  1. Print length
    161 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Wildside Press
  5. Publication date
    August 7, 2017
  6. File size
    419 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B074MGHSF3
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wildside Press (August 7, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 7, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 419 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 161 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 20 ratings

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
20 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Dale
5.0 out of 5 stars Critical threshold is science fiction at it's best
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2012
The Daedalus crew are assigned to explore a world that was colonized a few years back. When they come back they find colonists half crazy--the ones they still find alive. But they can't find any reascend on for it--the world seems fertile and benign.

This should be a classic. It has all the elements of a good mystery along with good science fiction and romance. The plot twists and the non-cliche hero all add to the story. This is my first Stableford book. I can't wait to see what else he has in store.
One person found this helpful
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Caleb N. Diffell
3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, relatively short; worth the read
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2010
I disagree with the one-star review; this wasn't as bad as all that. Sure, it had its sections of political philosophizing that could've been cut out, and with some rutheless editing would've made a decent 80-page novella, but in all it was an interesting read with enough action and mystery to move it along nicely.

The tidbits of philosophy sprinkled throughout the book are amateurish and Stableford obviously hasn't anything like a consistent political philosophy, but they're infrequent enough to be worth reading to advance the story.

None of the main characters is particularly likeable, but that's OK; I think the undercurrent of animus and/or hostility between them is just subtle enough to be interesting, not annoying.

The secret revealed at the end is a bit of a let-down, but I often feel that way with these sort of novels, so I don't hold that too heavily against the book.

So far the Daedalus series has been interesting and worth the read. These can be had quite cheaply on eBay so I'd recommend picking them up. I like the concept of the series, and each of the novels seems to present different enough scenarios to maintain interest. Guarded recommendation.
One person found this helpful
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Wade D
1.0 out of 5 stars It's only 160 pages, but that's 110 too much.
Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2008
It's an interesting concept about what happened to a colony planet 150 years after settling a forest planet. It gets bogged down with meaningless political rambling of the main character, told from his perspective in the 1st person. Actually the main character rambles in his mind, over-analyzing everything and nothing. It's as if every action and conversation needs a footnote. It gets to the point that I see he is going on about nothing, so I wonder if I can skip a paragraph, see he is still at it and could have skipped another. 2 pages later he's done, with no real point made. Then he starts over. After that I skimmed a lot. The mood is very downbeat and dry, and nobody is really that likable in the book. It probably would have made an ok short story.
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