this was another great entry in the Wine Dark Deep series, the characters were great and I really enjoyed going on this journey with them.

Actual rating 4.5/5 stars.

This is the third instalment in the Wine Dark Deep series.

The crew of the spaceship Ulysses finds themselves veering ever closer to the planet of Jupiter and the inexplicable something orbiting around it. What will they find as the miles fall away and they descend to meet it?

Each book in this series has both continued on from the events in the preceding instalment but also worked as its own, self-contained adventure. As well as this, all three have maintained their own distinct vibe that, despite all remaining in the sci-fi genre, have made each feel like an entirely new read. I loved how I never quite knew what to anticipate, when returning to this section of space.

Each book has also increased in page length and I have loved this extended immersion in space science as well as the prolonged chance to become acquainted with the Ulysses crew. I was forever wanting to know details about their backstories, witness more of their interactions, and becoming privy to their innermost secrets and desires, so compelling was everything we were introduced to about them.

The author has created a series that is visually stunning without ever including one single image. I found the distinct writing style had me vividly imagining each scene depicted and, for someone relatively new to sci-fi, I found this aided in my immediate immersion and engagement. I am willing to journey further into space, if it means this crew and this author are there to guide me.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

another trip with this intrepid crew as they battle their way back to earth....this one was a bit more descriptive and i did struggle to imagine some of what was going on...especially the aliens would love to have seen what the author wanted us to imagine them as...hopefully a tv series so we dont go out of our minds....

brilliantly written and cant fault this series at all...each character you get to know a bit better

roll on the next book off this author

The Odyssey is the third novel of R. Peter Keith’s yet-to-be-concluded space opera series, Wine Dark Deep. The first three volumes, starting with Wine Dark Deep and Encounter at Jupiter, were released simultaneously. Volume four will be entitled “The Galactics.” All are tightly coupled, and should be read in order, each ending with a cliffhanging connection to the next, including this third one. If you have not read the previous volumes, and wish to avoid spoilers in my review regarding them, go back the beginning, and stop reading these comments now.

The title is derived from Homer’s The Odyssey, as is the name of the interplanetary ship Ulysses, plus a few other references. However, the plot is not a direct retelling. For example, I can’t imagine who is Athena in this story – I certainly hope not the female doctor, who I cannot keep from visualizing as Star Trek’s Doctor Beverly Crusher.

The title is also probably a reference to Arthur Clarke’s famous 2001: A Space Odyssey (or maybe actually Stanley Kubrick’s film version). When some characters mention the film, we learn that others of them have also seen it. The novel definitely borrows 2001’s concept of wormhole transit through Jupiter (Now I know it’s the film version, since the book version used Saturn). However, the passages of extended exploration of alien artifacts reminded more of Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama. Now, one of the powerful aspects of 2001 was the contrast of human realism with alien transcendence. This work, however, does not make that jump, staying in the literal universe of a space opera. Eventually, there are plenty of alien mysteries, as the history of a galactic civilization begins to gradually emerge out of mind-boggling and ever more superlative forces.

The Ulysses started as a scientific interplanetary spacecraft, with a small crew of specialists, but in this novel has been transformed into an interstellar context, beyond its engineering capabilities, with alien assistance. I was disappointed that even by volume three, the characters still have almost no backstory. They also have next to no internal monolog. We only see what they do and say, not what they think or feel. It is a very cinematic style. The author seems to be dominantly visually oriented; I was constantly visualizing motions, positions, and orientations - even the book covers are extraordinarily visually interesting.

In its opening volumes, this series presented as hard-sf, but by this novel has moved to more of a space opera universe. So, I was still in the hard-sf reader mode of checking the science. Here, I read that an opening in the solar-sailor’s wound is cauterized with ice from escaping water vapor. Sorry, ice sublimates in a vacuum at almost any temperature. The opening would never seal. Things like this interfere with the intended verisimilitude, which is one of the strengths of recent hard-sf works like The Martian. Now that the series is no longer in the realm of near-future known science, this should be less important, but readers like me still notice.

So, my conclusion is that after a rocky opening novella, the series has evolved into high-tension space opera entertainment, that could use better character development. But be prepared to be left with a hanging plotline, however far you get in series.

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 is a science fiction delightfully heavy on the science. It was so intriguing to learn a little about how the makeup of an atmosphere can be determined based on what colors of light are blocked passing through it. And the complicating piloting of a space craft where fuel is the scarcest resource. And the complications with navigating when you don't know where you are. And more. This book for sure goes way beyond "sensors" to figure things out. There are also really intriguing encounters with multiple, and highly varied, aliens. I really enjoyed how plausible and real everything felt. Not that I in any way understand how a wormhole could be engineered. There is also a good look into what it might be like psychologically for the crew as they deal with all the uncertainty, danger, and the need for such constant decision making and action. This story is a bit reminiscent of Start Trek Voyager. I appreciated that, like the preceding books, it did not veer into straight horror. Though there sure were some horrifying moments and opponents! I'm left pondering what's next, without any spoilers, there are some things that don't really make sense. I'll watch for the next book!

This is a review of the entire 3 book series: This is a pretty good series that starts out OK (with a rather short first book), but gets better as the series progresses. although the second book is probably the best. Each book has it's own personality and tone, and the second book builds the tension and the story nicely. The third book continues and builds the story to an interesting conclusion. The author has a great imagination (not surprisingly) but keeps the story grounded in realism. Recommended.

Hard sci-fi is one of my favorite genres, so this was a good fit for me. A pretty good bet for sci-fi fans.

I really appreciate the review copy of each book!!