The Eclipsing of Sirus C

by Daniel B. Hunt

Major Jean Joyce's estranged brother, Rafe, is a talented hacker and a deserter from the Federation Marines-and the penalty for desertion is death. But the Federation's intelligence agency has other plans for the wayward marine. The Bureau of Intelligence and Insurgency sends a team led by the major to find her brother and recruit him, offering a full pardon in the bargain. Among them are a devious BII operative named Danner Tomblin; Akemi Murakami, a beautiful and brilliant technician; and naval pilot Captain Mike Estury. The group's orders are to steal ancient technology by hacking into an alien supercomputer, and Rafe, working with the rest of the team, has the necessary skills to do so. But there is something dangerous lurking in the heart of the computer that will threaten not only the lives of the team but those of all life, everywhere.

Genres: Thriller

232 pages, Paperback

First published September 18, 2015

About the author

Daniel B. Hunt grew up in the midwestern United States. He has a creative writing degree from the University of Kansas. He is a member of the Dryden Experiment writing group that focuses on writing science fiction set in the Dryden Primer universe.

Reviews

[Rebecca Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Danial has a great writing style that is entertaining and a way of developing not only the story and the characters. There were ones that I loved to love and loved to hate, there there was the one that I despised. This story took me into creative worlds and had me cheering for the underdog. Will the group pull of what they are to achieve, will everyone survive? This book is not my normal read but one of the better science fictions I have read.

[Meghan S Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Engaging

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review


This was an interesting read. I am a big fan of technobabble and this book definitely delivered it. The characters are complex and the plot is engaging. It held my interest and I burned through it in just few hours, and my mind didn't wander to life outside of the page once. I kinda love Calliphon.

[Teresa Lavender · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book here on goodreads. This is a great novel. I cannot wait to read more of the Dryden Universe Collection! The characters are well developed, the action is intense. The novel was very hard to put down until finished, and then I wanted more.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was happy to win this book and I enjoyed the story. I would have liked to have read the characters described in more detail, but it was definitely a page-turner!

[L B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a giveaway, just wanted to get that out of the way first.

Read this in one sitting on a flight today. Easy read, and enjoyable overall.

It was a well written book. Very few mistakes in it. I think the author called a character something out of line near the end, and one or two spelling errors. Nothing to ruin the book.

The story line progressed nicely, didn't get mired down too much. I can only think of two places where it seemed to sink in the mud for a bit. Nothing too bad, and it did help build one character better. I did like the robot, for me he was the most likable character. Pretty sure I was supposed to like the main character, Jean Joyce, the most. I didn't. Just not into that whole militant female lead character thing. She was better than many others I have read, or tried to read at least. She didn't come off as such a witch, like most do.

Over all, a enjoyable read. Thank you.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first glance it would seem that the 'Dryden Universe' mentioned in the subtitle of The Eclipsing of Sirus C would require a prior familiarity with this setting (developed by the artists' group The Dryden Experiment and made available for general writers' use), but in reality, no prior knowledge is required.

In this future world a Major embarks on a special mission to offer her hacker brother an opportunity to reverse his desertion sentence (punishable by death) and help their cause. Her team is tasked with stealing a rare technology by hacking into an alien supercomputer, and Rafe's skills could be the key to their success.

Impossible as both missions sound, things are about to get a lot more complicated, because alien technology is anything but predictable and the forces brought to life in the course of their efforts are complex, embracing singularities, changing universes, manipulation on a cosmic scale no human as ever attempted, and a newfound understanding of what arises in its place when a complex system dies.

By now it should be evident that there are several prerequisites for a thorough enjoyment of The Eclipsing of Sirus C: among them, affection for military and hard sci-fi. There's much in the way of military sci-fi on the current market but, sadly, increasingly fewer hard sci-fi reads which embrace scientific foundations in the course of presenting an adventure.

That The Eclipsing of Sirus C provides both in a riveting, changing saga is a tribute to one of its strengths: its ability to blend protagonist interests, special missions, and powerfully believable futuristic encounters and to add plenty of life and intrigue into this mix with an action-packed series of encounters.

Don't expect complex psychology and depth in Daniel Hunt's protagonists, though. Readers seeking deep emotional connections might find themselves with more action than detailed insights into anything more than the cursory motivations and emotions of protagonists.

Hunt's intention isn't to provide gripping characters nor even to explain the technology involved. Instead, he builds a universe powered with just enough science and psychology to involve readers and then adds plenty of gripping twists and unexpected moments to bring the thriller portions to life.

The result is especially recommended for sci-fi readers looking for a solid, good adventure read powered by a group's special goal of saving not just their people, but possibly the universe.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

***I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.***

This book was an interesting read with a good story arc, although I felt some of the characters lacked some depth, which keeps the reader a bit dis-engaged. There’s the usual characters to love and characters to hate which did bring out some emotions.
As my usual genre is “techno thriller”, I did enjoy reading about the imagined futuristic technology, but was a bit disappointed that the tech was not described in more detail. (such as how does framing and frame bombs work exactly), but this wasn’t a “techno thriller” novel, so I am probably expecting too much.
I did imagine the moon base, the structure on the planet, and the guardian robot, and the network of satellites as all being steampunk in my mind’s eye, which I enjoyed.
I did wonder if the title of the book, and the references to the extinct race of people described as “the makers” is a veiled reference to the book “The Sirius Mystery” by Robert K. G. Temple.

Overall I enjoyed the read.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I won this book (and a t-shirt) from Goodreads.

I enjoyed reading this book. The novel contained science fiction, action, and suspense. I liked the characters and the plot. The worlds in the Dryden Experiment seem well-established. This is a stand-alone story, so it is not necessary to read any previous books first. (Since I couldn't find any, that is a good thing.) I would not mind reading more about these characters or the adventures of the Federation, the BII, or the major corporations.

Notes:
Towards the end of the book, Paul Temple calls another character (spoiler) by a different last name.
A few pages later, the word "knew" is misspelled.
The index, while handy, may not have been completely necessary. Also, there was no indication before the story started that there *was* an index, so the only way it would be useful is if you found it by accident before or while reading the book.

[Dolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this on Good reads.

This is for the science fiction fan! In “The Eclipsing of Sirus C”, Daniel B Hunt gives us all the necessities: advanced technologies, aliens (good and bad), a helpful robot, human relationships, and a bad guy. You always have to have a bad guy; or at least an obnoxious one. In this story Marine Major Jean Joyce accepts a secret assignment that will clear her brother who deserted from the Marines. She discovers a technology that will destroy all life everywhere. Hunt leaves you to the very end to find out if the mission was successful and who made it out alive. I loved reading this.

[J. Ewbank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hunt handled this sci-fi very well. He was able to complete his story within a reasonable time but also ws able to give descriptions of the events, actions, and sights that were descriptive. You find yourself with him in this world, interested in the actions of the characters and pulling for them to succeed. A very good job.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the Isms" "Wesley's Wars" "To Whom It May Concern" and "Tell Me About the United Methodist Church"

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from Goodreads and the author, DB Hunt. Thank you for the opportunity to review this story. Liked the characters from the start. I really would like to see a "come back" of Calliphon. That would be an interesting story line on it's own. Not the typical sci-fi story. Easy afternoon read on a cold day. This book can stand alone, but I am looking forward to the next book in the series, The Dark Abyss.

[Serena]

In compliance with FTC guidelines, I have won this book through the Goodreads Giveaways.

My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am writing this review for Goodreads. This book did not go where I thought it would, I liked that. I found it a good book to read on a cold and rainy day. Held my attention throughout.

[Fatima · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book for free in a goodreads giveaway.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would recommend you read this book. This is a good action book. I won this book off the goodreaders.

[Ken Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

To start, I won this and a companion volume from Daniel Hunt on GoodReads.

This book took me a long time to finish - my life got a bit complex and I kept trying to finish other reading (a weekly magazine) so I could return to the story. I did enjoy it - it is an interesting premise with a future which grows out of a very American-centric focus, which interfaces with an older, more advanced civilization, a contact prompted by commercial competition. (Which does say much favorable about this future world.) The story moves along a a good pace, there are side stories/plots, interesting inventive technologies. I'm looking forward to the second book, but have a few others to read before I get to it.