“The Enceladus Mission” by Brandon Q. Morris is the very readable beginning of the “Ice Moon” book series. The author writes Hard Science Fiction, claiming to only work with elements which are based on real, already existing, technology and latest scientific findings. This makes his works worth reading and very fascinating. “The Enceladus Mission” therefore unfolds its magic to all readers, not only to science fiction fans.

The “Ice Moon” series already consists of five novels. All books are readable without any knowledge about the other episodes but reading them is definitely more fun in the correct order. The author also wrote several other science fiction novels which are loosely connected to each other but placed in a different time. Hopefully, these novels will be published in English as well. At the moment, “The Enceladus Mission” is the first book translated from German.

“The Enceladus Mission” is highly recommendable and should be read by all readers interested in space and space technology, distant planets and moons and contemporary science fiction writing inspired by newest scientific findings and developments.

Slow getting started, kind of boring. Couldn't follow all the science jargon. Adding the pregnancy in was pointless. Too much to go wrong with the whole thing. Didn't really need all the stuff happening in the space ship.

The story is a fascinating concept which makes it a quick read and a page turner. The twist at the end was a real surprise and lends itself to a next book.

Great book. Literally could not put it down. Mankind discovers life on a moon of Saturn. Enceladus. Martin a programmer toubleshooter, gets roped into the mission due to his unique skill sets. A multinational crew sets off on the longest research trip ever. The book is fast paced and has twists and turns until the end. Well worth the read.

The Enceladus Mission is a high stress science fiction novel that works perfectly for people who are die hard fans of space & space exploration.

The story started off a little bit rocky, and a giant cluster frick of information dumping happens within the first quarter of the book that I found my eyes skimming over the paragraphs. But once you get over the original introductions and Martin finally secured his spot on the ISLE, the story picks itself up very nicely.

Although there were still moments of info dumping throughout the novel, and sometimes the descriptions for what was happening were very confusing to my no-knowledge-about-how-space-exploration-works self, I was still able to follow the plot line nicely.

The characters also started a little bit rough for me, as I could never keep track of who was who, and I felt like all the faces were blending together. But as I continued to read, especially near the second half of the book, I started to become very fond of the characters, especially Francesca.

Another thing that troubled me about this book is that I want to know more about the alien species on Enceladus. I know, I know, it’s all part of the ~mystery~ and I should probably just read the second book for my answers, but the novel was building up for the moment they came in contact with life, and I wish those scenes had been a little bit more epic.

All in all, the author did not go into this blindly. I can tell hours of research was poured into this story. The characters were fantastic, and the plot line was intriguing, although the pacing could use some work.