Book Review: The Search for FTL
The Search for FTL (Mission to the Stars Book One). Ted Iverson. Self-published, January 21, 2018, Trade Paperback and E-book, 406 pages.
Reviewed by T. L. Needham.
In the prologue of The Search for FTL by Ted Iverson, we join Jeff Bendl and his wife, Jennifer, who are strapped into The StarDancer on her maiden voyage in the quest for FTL—the first manned flight to achieve faster-than-light speed. Instantly, I found myself recalling the classic sequence in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey—the surreal swirl and drama of speeding lights leading to a trans-dimensional reality beyond light speed. Clearly, we are travelers on a journey of the author’s imagination, and it is thrilling. That is, until the energy shield fails, and the Bendls are killed.
What we now have is a mystery. Did The StarDancer experience a technical failure? Or was the ship sabotaged?
If so, then we have a murder mystery within a technical puzzle. It’s an enigma that will challenge their four sons who survive and inherit the family business along with its wealth, power, technical supremacy, loyal friends, and dreadfully determined enemies. As the story progresses, the pace seems to slow, as, one-by-one, we meet each of the Bendl sons—Alec, Ty, Orion, and Zack.
Each of the sons brings unique and intriguing traits, talents, and personal quirks to the story. They are each likeable, and the reader becomes fully engaged in their success and survival. The pace continues to edge forward slowly until a shocking revelation stirs the reader. Then another and another, as the story begins to surge forward with each revelation, and desperation becomes a constant imperative to not only resolve a tragic mystery but to survive the quest for answers.
I found myself fully engaged in the story and admired the author, whose keen mind could conceive such a futuristic world—a world of high technology that stretches the imagination to the limit. Yet, it is a world of political ambition, greed, intrigue, and treachery. And, in the end, the smallest device takes down the greatest evil. Nicely done, Mr. Iverson.
I felt relieved, happy, and satisfied when I completed this wonderful story. I even craved a sequel and found my imagination pondering so many possibilities about what happens next. Then, I found myself recalling another iconic scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey—HAL-9000: “What is going to happen?” Dave: “Something wonderful.”