Space City

Written by Jared Austin

Narrated by Digital Voice Morgan G

This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.

Armed with only his grandfather’s coin and a fake ID, sixteen-year-old Neil Ericson is desperate to join the Air Force like his grandfather before him. A flip of that coin instead launches Neil into an academy onboard Space City beyond the moon. His first day on board, Neil befriends Riagan Byrne and together they take on the challenge of field exams set on desolate planets and the Academy Games, which are rife with serpent hawks capable of gutting them if they miss a step. One instructor has already remarked that in a few rare instances, particularly undesirable students are launched into outer space. A joke. Right?

Despite the danger, Neil thinks he’s finally found a home and friends. Plus, he attracts the attention of the beautiful Maellyn Travena, even though his ability to talk to girls consists of noting that the moon is shrinking on their way to Mars. She probably thinks he’s an idiot now.

But traitors within Space City are attempting to smuggle away its newest and most prized piece of tech to the Dahaka, a blood-eyed warring alien race. After stumbling into the plot, Neil is forced to risk the friendships and home he’s gained because if the traitors succeed, Space City will end up a husk, and he’ll be dead or stranded millions of miles from Earth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Up Past Dawn
• Release date: Apr 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9781956834123

Jared Austin

Jared Austin is a young adult science fiction author who lives in the Rocket City — Huntsville, Alabama. With Space City and the books in the series to follow, he hopes to show and inspire his daughter and son, as well as all of his readers, that science and technology are not dull subjects, but gateways to a brighter, exciting future. If you would like to learn more about the series and future novels, visit: www.jareddanielaustin.com   Facebook Author Page: www.facebook.com/jareddanielaustin   Instagram: jared_austin1981   Twitter: @JaredAustin1981 Thank you for reading my book! If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a review. Even just a few words would help others decide if the book is right for them. Best regards and thank you in advance.

Reviews for Space City

[havingfaith-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The start of this adventure is really engaging and kicks the reader straight into the narrative, living the fantasy of being recruited into something secret and wondrous. From a YA point of view, this beginning really appeals and sets the tone for a saga, lifting our attention from school or the ordinary world of young adulthood and opening the doors of perception to a place where we can discover our true potential (no longer condemned to working at some boring laundromat), into a place where we might finally be respected. It’s luck though, not hard work at this entry-level stage of the story.I don’t want to suggest this is Harry Potter in space as there isn’t magic or a tyrant that has to be deposed but they have a few elements in common. It does use a version of going away to school, making new friendships (and enemies), engaging with unusual species, a games championship, a formal dance, exotic familiars (pets), the background intrigue of a mystery which is glimpsed but takes time to solve, secret assignations, puzzles about who can be trusted, puppy love and then a traumatic test with no help, to bring forth the youths’ true mettle. The Split, by Hannah Hopkins, had these elements in a sci-fi setting too.This is going to be a short review but don’t take that to mean anything negative as it was definitely a good adventure, filled with imaginative content, the characters were good enough to make the reader care what happened to them, I liked the things with the moths and eels and clouds - and the roses that change colour when they detect banned substances, the space station fulfilled a role that many people on Earth would probably agree to put money toward happening and it was an uplifting display of teamwork that still, in true YA form, brought forth a young hero. Ender’s Game was an undoubted commercial success but I’d question whether that is on a different level of science fiction story-telling to this. Space City certainly has more content. This a book which could inspire an ordinary kid to seize a chance and do something remarkable, so I don’t see any reason not to give the launch of this series the thumbs up.