This book was really a two room play(the spaceship and the mining colony). I didn't feel it was overly original nor did I think that the motivations of those people living on the meteor were fully flushed out enough to warrant their "uprising". Most of the story was people shouting at each other in conference rooms or on communication devices and the action was sub-par. I cannot say I hated the book because it was a quick read although I cannot give it a positive review either. I also have an issue with the main character committing violence against a woman. I do not think that it was in character and also I do not think it was warranted.

I started this a long time ago, and something must have happened and got in the way since I must have forgotten about it, but I’m glad I picked it up again. Read it in one day. Very realistic, and it was easy to imagine being there, viewing the icy plains of Ceres, or hobbling in zero gee, which is sometimes just what I love about scifi, it takes you to different worlds. Enjoyed it.

I was in the mood for some hard sci-fi, and Wine Dark Deep certainly delivered on that front.
Although I enjoyed this book, as the plot propelled along and dragged me with it, I found the character development to be sorely lacking. The dialogue in parts was a little clunky, and was relied upon to provide exposition / science detail (especially at the beginning).
I tend to prefer my narratives to be more character driven, so knowing a bit more of the background and personality even of just Cal would have been helpful for me.
That said, even with little background knowledge, I found myself really drawn into the science side of this novella - and I desperately wanted to know what would happen next all the way through.
This is the first in the series, and it's possible characters will be fleshed out further as it goes along.
The ending felt rather abrupt, but wasn't enough of a cliffhanger to make me urgently want to read the next book, unfortunately - if I get an all-consuming need for hard sci-fi that really plunges into the science again though, I will definitely consider the second book to meet that urge.
2.5 rounded up to 3 stars.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the Author R. Peter Keith for the opportunity to read this book.

This is the first in a three part book series. This first segment is pretty short, but that makes it a quick interesting read. The series is based on hard science fiction with detailed descriptions of the science behind the story elements. Nevertheless, I think the author does a good job of character development and keeping the story moving at a good pace even with the short chapters.

The story itself revolves around the conflict between a resource colony on the dwarf planet Ceres and Earth, and the impact on the Ulysses, a spaceship short on supplies needed for continuing their mission. The Ulysses, one of the most advanced starships in the solar system becomes a pawn in the Ceres schemes against Earth's "Mother Companies" industrial conglomerates.

Fast paced, entertaining story telling.

Wine Dark Deep is the opening novella of R. Peter Keith’s yet-to-be-concluded space opera series, Wine Dark Deep. The first three volumes, including Encounter at Jupiter and The Odyssey, were released simultaneously. All are tightly coupled, and should be read in order. I will warn you now that the end of this opening novella is abrupt, concluding the action, but without concluding any of the characters’ stories.

It is a future setting on board a crewed science mission to Jupiter, and on a crewed mining facility on the asteroid Ceres. I enjoyed the detail with which the gravitational effects and perils in these settings are worked out. The use of contemporary NASA vocabulary and specific numerical parameters helps with the plausibility of such a story, although I have to say that realistically I would expect there to be more evolution of terminology over the century or so needed to reach the time of the story. But the language does create a near-future realism. But rubber tires? Rubber? Natural rubber comes from rubber trees, and synthetic rubber is a petroleum product – neither of which can be found on Ceres.

The characters are particularly flat, playing their parts in the action, but little else. This series opens as hard-sf, so characters are not the main concern, but anything more about them would be helpful. Later volumes evolve into plot-driven space opera, which is more scientifically forgiving – but character development will be needed.

I received ebook advance reader copies of volumes 1-3 from Uphill Downhill Press (the author’s own company) and Smith Publicity through netgalley in exchange for honest reviews. All three books were released on 12 October 2020.

This was a very quick Sci-fi read but I see it’s part of a series and I’m hooked. I liked the fact that there were technical scientific explanations and I found the characters very engaging. A tense finale rounded off the book perfectly for me.

After I received this novel from NetGalley, I was quite surprised to discover that it was only 149 pages - more of a novella. I was then looking forward to a quick ready - which it was, but I'm sorry to say it was not enjoyable.

In order to keep the story moving swiftly (and thus the page count low, I suppose), the author completely sacrifices any character development or backstory for plot. If the plot was interesting, this choice would be merely regrettable for this reader, alas, the plot in question is chock-ful of technical jargon, physics, and mathematical calculations, and as a result reads more like a treatise rather than a story - ESPECIALLY populated with characters I made absolutely no connection to (due to the whole lack of backstory or development, or indeed, any actual characterization).

It's possibly one of the dullest things I've ever read - and I am left scratching my head at why bother making it a trilogy if Part One came in at only 149 pages. Wouldn't it make sense to write the entire thing and release it as a 350 page book?

This was a really interesting book! It has a lot of really plausible science and technology, and a look at some near future political possibilities with space stations trying to emancipate. The story is told with a light touch, so the grim moments don't dip into horror. It's more of a dashing space cowboy heist tale, and highly enjoyable with it!

There are certain books that are difficult to review because they were so good and there was so much going on that you want to be able to do all of it justice. Problem is, most times you can't, but I will try very hard to see if I can do just that.

Wine Dark Deep by R. Peter Keith is also a tough book to categorize. Part space opera, part SF noir, part military SF, and all action-packed goodness, making this a one of a kind reading experience that leaves you breathless and utterly exhausted by the end. I really had a fun time with it and there are so many elements that hit the correct chords for me that I'll go over just a few of them.

First, the technology is just off the charts impressive in scope. Keith has done his homework when it comes to creating an original and mind-blowing tech that is unlike anything I've read before. The next thing that really makes Wine Dark Deep a cut above many other books is the absolute breakneck action that does not let up for a singe chapter. There was not a moment that I ever felt comfortable or that things calmed down and allowed me to catch my breath. It felt like the best action movie I'd ever seen playing out in my mind every time I picked up the book. I can't emphasize enough how crazy the action sequences are and how they made me nervous, anxious, and downright frightened for the characters at times.

There are very few books that will engage you the way that this one day. HIGHLY recommend.

Wine Dark Deep is a wonderful read.

It has the hard science of 'The Martian' and authors like Ben Bova and Larry Niven, while also incorporating the nail-biting, edge of your seat thrills of shows like Cowboy Bebop or Star Wars. It's a fast read, more of a novella, and thankfully parts 2 & 3 are also available without a long wait in between books.

While reading I was really reminded of Space 1999, Silent Running and 2001 A Space Odyssey.
Ships don't shoot lasers that go 'pew-pew' and make abrupt course corrections and sweeping dogfight manuvers ala Star Wars, but instead use actual real physics for their flight, and gravity for the crew. Space is silent....huge, cold, and also beautiful.

The Ulysses is the spacecraft in the story. A deep space interplanetary exploration ship traveling to Jupiter. But, when she comes to her preselected refueling point for the final push to Jupiter. The refueling tankers...aren't there....

Wine Dark Deep is the story of the lengths that the Captain and crew of the Ulysses will go to in order to fulfill their mission and great scientific adventure. But, also the story of what the people withholding the tankers of fuel to ensure that mission's success are enduring, and what 'they' are also willing to do in order for 'their' successful endeavors to divest themselves of a distant Earth's influence and capitalistic greed.

Greatful to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this first book of the Wine Dark Deep series and now i'm going to go find Books 2 & 3 to find out exactly what happens with the crew of the Ulysees.

I liked it. Keith wrote an enjoyable, and accessible, sci-fi that should appeal to both newcomers and experienced readers looking for a lighter / shorter read. Strong action sequences and solid characterization moved the plot forward and maintained my interest in the story.

Unfortunately, this book just didn’t quite work for me. Since it was only 149 pages, I decided to power through but I did seriously consider DNF’ing it at about 30% in because I was so BORED.

Calvin Scott is the captain of the spaceship Ulysses, which was on a mission to survey a planet (if I remember correctly). The asteroid base they needed to stop at for refueling decided they were going to rebel against the corporations and they weren’t going to refuel the Ulysses. Cal Scott decided that wasn’t going to fly, so he decided to take matters into his own hands and went down to the asteroid base to negotiate or take the fuel by force. All by himself. 

The whole story was just a little ridiculous. Like, this Cal Scott guy is apparently such a wildcard he could mess up the entire rebellion by himself. Even though his ship is basically stranded because they need fuel. Also, the rebellion was such a joke - horribly planned, the people weren’t really that committed, and honestly that probably made it more realistic. For some reason the story and characters (mostly Cal Scott) were so cringey. 

This is a series I won’t be continuing for obvious reasons. I just didn’t like it and thought it was boring. Even when the action started, I just kind of chuckled and thought it would be a marvelously bad movie starring Tom Hardy because the MC didn’t talk very much and just I kept skimming along.

Wine Dark Deep is a really short Hard Sci-Fi novella. The Ulysses and its crew are on their way to an important mission to Jupiter. However, the fuel they sorely need to get there is held hostage by the citizens of Ceres. They're in the middle of a rebellion against Earth and Ulysses has arrived at a bad time.

I must commend the author for his extensive knowledge of physics. He has a background on NASA and he let it show in every detail of the novella, making everything seem plausible. However, as much as I liked these details, I have to admit they soon became the novella's greatness weakness.

As soon as the action turned intense, it immediately became bogged down in the details, halting the momentum to a complete standstill. For its short length the story sacrifices plot development, character development, and even the stakes to develop the science.

We are constantly told the mission to Jupiter is super important for Science, but we don't know why or what exactly they expect to do there that makes it imperative that they get there instead of turning home when fuel was denied. We are told they can just go home, so the stakes never resonated. It was hard for me to care, especially since characters where just names on paper.

We don't anything about them or why we should root for them. We're told Cal, the captain, is dangerous, but we never know why or how. There's tension between him and Donovan because of something in their past, but never told what it is.

I guess the series continues and maybe these things get resolved in later novellas. The fact that this ends so abruptly in a cliffhanger makes it feel like an incomplete story, and I know this is my opinion, but I prefer my books to have a good wrap up even if they belong to a series. It's a series of three novellas, and I think it would've been better to unite them all in a complete, better rounded, novel.

If you like Hard Sci-Fi books solely for the science then this is the book for you. I prefer character development and plot over the details. This is wasn't for me (I enjoy hard sci-fi but this one was too much). Don't let this sway you, though, I can see how other types of readers might enjoy it more. The writing is smooth and the science details are easy to read and follow.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC through Netgalley and decided to leave my honest review.

Not bad, not great. Good premise, but a bit disjointed, and not always engaging. It's a short read and the first of 3, and not surprisingly doesn't resolve everything in a tidy knot. Let's see how the series pans out.

Thanks very much for the review copy!!

I got intrigued by the pitch of Wine Dark Deep: "Equal parts The Martian, Star Trek, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and The Expanse". Of these four, I love 3, and I'm neutral about the fourth (I probably read it at some point, but I don't remember anything about it). That, plus an intriguing title, made me ask for a review copy on NetGalley, and be happy when I got it.

In Wine Dark Deep, some parts of the solar system are somewhat settled; Ceres is used as a refueling base for ships that go for a longer journey. The Ulysses is such a ship - destination Jupiter, for a scientific mission, and gets quite annoyed when the Ceres base refuses their refueling, for reasons that are initially unclear. A tug of war ensues between the two factions and we follow in particular Cal Scott, the captain of the Ulysses, and Helen Donovan, who's part of the Ceres colony.

I usually see myself as someone who loves all the "space details" that make me feel like a book is believable and well-researched - that go beyond the handwavy "yeah, we have cool engines and we can go to space today". I will admit that the level of these details in Wine Dark Deep was too much for me, especially since it seemed to come at the detriment of character development. I had a very hard time caring for any of these characters and what they were doing, and no amount of nerdy details could compensate for that.

Wine Deep Dark is the first part of a three-part story, and it's possible that the following parts alleviate the issues that I have with the first part, but I also regret to say that I will not try to find out by reading them.

I received a copy of this for review from the publisher via NetGalley for a honest opinion.
You know the feeling, when you have the team that can win the match for you but it falters at so many steps that it stresses you out? Well I have so many mixed feelings for the book that am actually confused.
It's a good story, the concept is intriguing, the plot is there but i felt that it was lacking enough information. Yes the hero is the captain, yes there are individuals who think he is dangerous but why? What did he do, where did he proved himself? Where is the back story for that? An AI that can do so much at such a short time?
Yet this book has many merits, fast paced, short chapters, as this is a series I definitely would want to go through book 2 before deciding on the next steps but for this one, yes it's good enough for a quick fast paced action, ignore the missing details, go for it.

I'm rather conflicted when it comes to this book. I must honestly ask something to the author (if you see this review, I would truly enjoy getting the answer !) : Why is this book so short, yet the series has 3 books ?

We follow Cal, the captain of a spaceship in need of refueling on a major inhabited asteroid, who discovers a rebellion is brewing there. They won't give him the fuel, so Cal need to be smart and find a way to get it to save his crew and his mission.

First of all, the plot is a little shaky. I didn't connect to it much. I think this is largely due to the fact I couldn't connect with the characters, so I didn't really care about their lives. This is why I'm asking why the book is so short.

There could have been sooooo much more developpement in every area of the book ! Tell us more about the Ulysses crew ! Tell us more about the rebellion, about the asteroid. Why are they really revolting, what does the population think ? We don't really get answers to that. This could easily have been a 400-500 pages book ! There is so much potential that remains unexploited !

What was really cool in this book though is the fact that the author is former NASA. That means the science and the tech in the story is quite detailed and focused on. Since I love space etc. IRL, I was bound to love that aspect of the book, and I did !

All in all, you can tell it's written by a science oriented person. I think it's both cool and a disadvantage, because it led to the plot and characters being neglected in favor of techy stuff.
That being said, I saw a lot of people enjoying the series, so maybe it's just not a book for me and my brain. I hope some of you will enjoy it more than I did !

this was a really good read, it was a fun scifi novel the characters were great and I really enjoyed going on the journey. I look forward to more from the author.

Interesting tale, but confusingly told.

No info dump in the beginning is nice, but info dumps have a purpose - to convey what we need (perhaps) to know, and without one I felt wholly stranded in this universe, unclear who the characters were, their motivations, and generally their entire reason for being near a planet without fuel.

The author (male) also had a very weird fascination for describing female hair? Auburn tresses is a phrase that I've not heard in a long while when describing the looks of a female space doctor, but by golly it was here! Look, I get that you want to accurately describe your crew but I found it odd that none of the male characters were given such flowing locks, when each and every female had such a head of hair that would make Rapunzel glow with envy.

I DNF'd, I have too many books to read and this one was confusing and the hair thing really got me.

Wine Dark Deep, Book One
R. Peter Keith

Uphill Downhill Press

The title gives some of the action away, not that I mind. I grabbed “Wine Dark Deep” because I wanted an avowed deep space retelling of the Odyssey, and you, reader, might want the same. This book is the first installment in what will be a multi-part tale detailing the adventures of the spaceship Ulysses and its crew.

For those wondering where exactly in Homer’s Odyssey we begin, the brave astronauts are not on their way home but rather on their way out to Jupiter, to discover whether and how the planet might be made suitable for human life. In this near-ish version of the future, humans are a multi-planet species. This isn’t exactly a shocking prediction: at some point, Earth is going to run out of space for us.

But beyond the name of the spaceship, it’s hard to see exactly what this story has to do with the Odyssey. The Odyssey, as told by Homer, is dotted with transformations and betrayals. For example, early on, Odysseus outsmarts the bloodthirsty Cyclops by sticking a pole into its one eye. But as his crew sails safely into the horizon, Odysseus can’t resist shouting back to the Cyclops that he, Odysseus, is the architect of the Cyclops’s gory defeat. Poseidon, sea god and the Cyclops’ father, curses Odysseus with the return journey from literal hell. Every fresh upset in the Odyssey challenges and changes Odysseus until he finally returns home to Ithaca as a humbler and more cynical man. The journey is as emotional as it is physical.

Cal Scott, who helms the spaceship Ulysses, is no Odysseus. In language that barely distinguishes him from many other space-faring captains of legend, he’s described as “capable.” He’s also described as having “wit” but doesn’t really say anything witty at any point, so I’m not sure whether to believe it. Cal’s spaceship is due to refuel on an asteroid, but a rebellion on the asteroid’s surface means the colonists deny Cal’s crew the much-needed supply. Cal parachutes down to the meet the rebels, and the rest of the briskly-moving plot focuses on Cal’s hijinks to get his desired fuel and get out. The story is less interested in the geopolitical tensions and realities of rebellion in corporatized space than it is in explaining to us exactly how physics operates, often in the form of sentences that read like they were excerpted directly from a scientific abstract. For example: “Because of this, she was actually walking at a right angle to the planetoid’s surface. The artificial gravity created by the centrifuge produced a near earth-normal field.” This attention to scientific detail makes for some interesting world-building: for example, the asteroid is a rich place in part because its nominal atmosphere makes it a lot cheaper to lift resources out of its gravity field than the equivalent lift would be on earth. Sometimes, though, it feels excessive, and appears in places where character development would have been more welcome.

Besides Cal, the most interesting character is his nemesis Helen, a fantastically murderous psychologist whose past history with Cal remains deliciously unclear. I wish she’d had more to do. The book also introduces about a thousand secondary characters, but doesn’t really develop them.

As an introduction to a longer series, this story offers an appetizer version of Keith’s style and approach. I would have liked a little more: who is Cal, really? For example, he wears a wedding band, but he doesn’t once think about his spouse, so we end up not even knowing this person’s name. More characterization would have helped me establish an emotional bond to the characters and their story. As it is, Cal comes off just a little two-dimensional, not a space cowboy but not a fully-fleshed character either. These details will likely emerge in later books, but it makes this one feel just a wee bit skimpy, kind of like one of those filler episodes of Star Trek. Still, if you’ve finished The Three Body Problem and The Expanse, this might be a fun next stop on the journey.