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Kumar L
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Earth to Centauri: The First Journey Kindle Edition

by Kumar L (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 out of 5 stars 228 ratings
A 140-year-old secret will throw three planets into chaos! The future is not what we expected.

The year is 2095. Voyager 1 launched in 1977 with a golden record - someone has found it and is sending a signal back to Earth. India has found her rightful place as a global superpower. With a newly constructed faster-than-light spaceship named Antariksh, and a crew which includes novices like Lt. Manisha, as well as seasoned professionals, including Commander Ryan, Captain Anara reaches the source of the signal at the nearest star to Earth - Proxima Centauri.

Before she can meet with the aliens, Anara must clear obstacles on her own ship, including a recalcitrant Artificial Intelligence and inexplicable radiation, which threatens the safety of the mission. The implications of what they find on planet Proxima B will resonate far beyond this first journey, exposing Earth to dangers on an unimaginable scale. And then Captain Anara finds out its creators buried a secret aboard Voyager 1.
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  1. Book 1 of 3
    Earth to Centauri
  2. Print length
    200 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    May 8, 2017
  6. File size
    1.7 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B071RYBF3D
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Red Knight Books
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 8, 2017
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 3rd
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.7 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 200 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Book 1 of 3 ‏ : ‎ Earth to Centauri
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 out of 5 stars 228 ratings

About the author

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Kumar L

Kumar L

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Whether you want to discuss faster-than-light travel, time travel, black holes or just the latest mobile phone, Kumar is your person.

He is a tech and social media enthusiast. He enjoys travelling and is fluent in several languages. A mechanical engineer who loves pulling apart gadgets and exploring their innards, he writes science fiction stories and tries to bring future technology alive in his books.

The First Journey is the first book of the Earth to Centauri series. It is easy to read and understand and is suitable for all age groups. The First Journey and Alien Hunt, the second book in the series, are both based on themes of adventure, thrill and drama, with a positive outlook at what the future may hold for humanity. Black Hole: Oblivion is the third book in the series with the latest adventure of Captain Anara and her crew.

A set of Sci-Fi stories was recently released – Deceptions of Tomorrow: Electrifying tales of Robots, Black Holes & Time Travel. He has also written a collection of stories - 8 Down from Saharanpur.

You can reach him on

Twitter @Captain_Anara,

Instagram @KumarLAuthor,

www.facebook.com/kumarlauthor

Visit his website www.kumarlauthor.com to learn more.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
228 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this science fiction book to be a memorable masterpiece with a suspenseful plot. The writing style receives positive feedback for its clarity and easy readability, and customers appreciate the believable characters and interesting concept. The pacing receives mixed reactions, with several customers noting a slow start.

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28 customers mention "Story quality"28 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the story quality of the book, describing it as a memorable science fiction masterpiece with plenty of intrigue and suspense that builds up throughout.

"...a great job of telling a believable fantasy-like story sprinkled with interesting mysteries along the way – Mysteries that were answered in a very..." Read more

"...The theme of first contact has produced some memorable science fiction masterpieces that make us question who we are and why we do the things we do...." Read more

"...The story is rather sound, and previous critiques aside, is told fairly well...." Read more

"...I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes scientifically written sci-fi, and I'm looking forward to the next installment in this new..." Read more

18 customers mention "Readability"18 positive0 negative

Customers find the book entertaining, with one mentioning it's particularly enjoyable for science fiction fans.

"...The characters were believable and interesting. The author’s smooth writing style allowed me to read the book over just a couple of days...." Read more

"...is more like that slab of chocolate you know you shouldn’t have; A fun, easy read, that gave me the satisfaction of watching a plot unfold while not..." Read more

"...His simple, straightforward writing style makes this a highly enjoyable story that is hard to put down...." Read more

"The premise promised an interesting read as I enjoy first contact stories, especially those within our neighborhood...." Read more

17 customers mention "Writing style"15 positive2 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, finding it easy to read and understand, with details presented with great clarity.

"...To be honest, the book seemed to read itself. The tech material was succinct and explained in a way that was both easy to understand and well..." Read more

"...more like that slab of chocolate you know you shouldn’t have; A fun, easy read, that gave me the satisfaction of watching a plot unfold while not..." Read more

"...I really don't want to spoil the plot, as the details are presented with great clarity and there are some clever twists...." Read more

"...Overall, this story had a nice flow to it and was an easy weekend read. I enjoyed the adventure." Read more

6 customers mention "Concept"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's concept interesting, with one customer noting its fresh take on human kind's ventures and another highlighting the effort put into technological creativity.

"This is a well researched and thought out concept of how a first contact would actually happen...." Read more

"...with what seemed to be a lot of research and effort put forth into the technological creativity!..." Read more

"...It's well written, fairly well edited, and presents a vision if the future both authentic and refreshingly not Western-centric...." Read more

"...I am delighted to say that he offered a fresh take on human kind’s ventures into a galaxy far far away and what might be found there...." Read more

5 customers mention "Character development"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, finding them believable, with one customer specifically noting the inclusion of non-Western-centric characters.

"...The characters were believable and interesting. The author’s smooth writing style allowed me to read the book over just a couple of days...." Read more

"...The overall story kept my interest and I enjoyed the non Western-centric characters and the fact that the captain is a woman, along with quite a few..." Read more

"...Science descriptions are accurate but never pedantic, and the characters are well shaped, with most of the story focused on the plot, which develops..." Read more

"It was a well crafted piece of work. I like how he develops the relationships between characters especially between Anara and Ryan, though this..." Read more

8 customers mention "Pacing"3 positive5 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book, with several noting a slow start.

"...I think given the slow start and where the book left off, the sequels will prove to be more entertaining." Read more

"...The action starts right away and the pace remains quick...." Read more

"...And the end felt rushed. Here is this new world, wow. We'll see you later. Bye...." Read more

"...The author explains the concepts of A.I., Faster Than Light speed (FTL speed), space travel in general, and space craft construction in such a way..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • The Bookeyman
    5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Read!
    Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I’m not a tech nerd, so, while I enjoy sci-fi, it has to have a good story behind it. The author of this book did a great job of telling a believable fantasy-like story sprinkled with interesting mysteries along the way – Mysteries that were answered in a very satisfying way. The characters were believable and interesting.

    The author’s smooth writing style allowed me to read the book over just a couple of days. To be honest, the book seemed to read itself. The tech material was succinct and explained in a way that was both easy to understand and well supportive of the story.

    I liked how the book made me feel that I was actually in the places described (spaceships, other planets, etc) without overdoing it. The Epilogue was well done and definitely leaves one looking forward to the sequel. A Job well done. You’ll be glad you read it!
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  • Carleton Chinner
    4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable lightweight first contact story
    Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I enjoyed this book far more than I probably should have. The theme of first contact has produced some memorable science fiction masterpieces that make us question who we are and why we do the things we do. Earth to Centauri is not that kind of book. The story is more like that slab of chocolate you know you shouldn’t have; A fun, easy read, that gave me the satisfaction of watching a plot unfold while not questioning any deeper meaning along the way.

    The story traces the first human journey to Alpha Centauri and the subsequent meeting with an alien race. Along the way there are problems aplenty, most of which are solved in short order. Almost as if everything had to be wrapped up within a Star Trek episode.

    I would have given the book five stars, just for being such an enjoyable read, but the entire backstory is woven in as a second plot line that goes nowhere but to deliver one set of answers.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Dingo 883
    3.0 out of 5 stars Slow start, unconvincing characters, actions, and dialogue. Interesting concept and storyline.
    Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    The book starts as hard scifi and ends with more of a space opera flair. There a several technical errors like missing words, extra words that make no sense in the sentence, and punctuation problems, mostly missing commas. Too many exclamation points, particularly with dialogue that has no reason to be shouted. On a reading level, the first half of the book deals with flashbacks that date back fifty years. These are dull and do little to add to the story other than word count.
    I found them unnecessary and skimmed most of it. Near the end I skipped past it completely. Dialogue is stilted and sounds like a script from a B movie. Character motivations and actions are unconvincing. The ship captain is concerned when she finds out her ship was equipped with nukes and rails against them, going on about peaceful missions, and yet she gets her ego deeply hurt after their first alien encounter goes awry and the aliens fire warning shots. She's so upset that she didn't start shooting from the hip to show who's boss that she then shoots at the next ship they encounter that starts talking to them peacefully. This is the actions of earth's peaceful diplomat?
    I think this may be a translated book, and some of this might have been lost in that translation.
    I was drawn in into the story after the 50% mark, but the crew/captain reactions later ruined it for me. The story is rather sound, and previous critiques aside, is told fairly well. I think given the slow start and where the book left off, the sequels will prove to be more entertaining.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Patrick Dent
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great First Contact Novel!
    Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    This is a well researched and thought out concept of how a first contact would actually happen. Kumar is an engineer, and this comes through in his writing. He leaves no scientific aspect of Man's first interstellar trip unaddressed. His simple, straightforward writing style makes this a highly enjoyable story that is hard to put down. The action starts right away and the pace remains quick.I really don't want to spoil the plot, as the details are presented with great clarity and there are some clever twists.

    I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes scientifically written sci-fi, and I'm looking forward to the next installment in this new series.

    Execution of Justice: Covert Ops Military Assassination Thriller
    One person found this helpful
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  • R. Heebner
    4.0 out of 5 stars If this becomes a series with multiple books, it's got Star Trek potential...
    Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    A fantastic sci-fi story with what seemed to be a lot of research and effort put forth into the technological creativity! The author explains the concepts of A.I., Faster Than Light speed (FTL speed), space travel in general, and space craft construction in such a way that it seems completely possible!

    In this story, the author jumps back and forth with each chapter between the current space adventure of Captain Anara and her crew, and the past several years prior, covering the discoveries and events that had led up to the crew's mission into deep space.

    I felt like there was not much suspense or conflict, even though there was a problem aboard the ship that needed solving, and there also was a temporary antagonist for the crew to deal with. But it seemed like these issues were solved rather quickly without much build. However, it's clear by the end of the novel that this is just the beginning of the Antariksh crew's adventures, and more novels will follow. With this in mind, I feel this will be a great space adventure series in which we will learn more about the characters and their motives. Looking forward to the next book!
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • G Purdue
    4.0 out of 5 stars Kumar L - The First Journey
    Reviewed in Australia on March 31, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    What a nice surprise. I've had this book electronically stowed away for some time, opened it and read it one session!
    Very enjoyable scifi and am about to buy the next in the series.
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  • Richard Abbott
    5.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable first-contact book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 13, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Earth to Centauri is largely set in the early 22nd century, and follows the journey of Earth's first spaceship capable of crewed interstellar flight. There are also a number of flashbacks to various stages of the thirty-year period while the journey is planned and the ship built.

    I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and am looking forward to subsequent books which seem very likely to follow on. For one thing, it was refreshing to read of a genuinely multi-ethnic crew, rather than representatives of a single nation. In this case the ship - the Antariksh - was designed in and launched from India, with an assorted crew.

    The nature of the quest evolves steadily through the book, from simple exploration to first contact, self-defence, and diplomacy. The crew, backed up by mission control back on Earth, have to decide how to meet the different challenges; in the process they discover that some of the ship's details had been only on a need-to-know basis. Relationships are, to say the least, strained by this.

    I liked the characterisation in the book, and found the various ship personnel very credible. The science, while obviously developed well beyond what we have, made sense in the context of a space journey of this magnitude. Personally, I would have liked a bit more resolution of how the ship was able to communicate apparently instantaneously with Earth - just like Star Trek, actually going somewhere takes a reasonable amount of time, but comms happens in real time. Likewise, the occasional mentions of the ship "coming to a stop" seem to presume some kind of absolute reference system which really doesn't exist. But these are very minor issues, and the fact that they occurred to me at all indicates how plausible the overall picture was. Certainly no reader should be put off by them.

    Fundamentally this is a grand story, filled with interesting human touches and the promise of more intrigue to come. The story is self-contained, and reaches a satisfying conclusion, but it is set in an open-ended universe which could yield a great deal more exploration.
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  • Lia Ramsay
    3.0 out of 5 stars A surprisingly intriguing textbook sci-fi entry
    Reviewed in Canada on November 2, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    In short this is a reasonably well-written and Extremely logical entry in the sci-fi genre that brilliantly includes human cliche while not being bogged down by it. Well worth the price. Subjectively I have to note that the crew being supposedly diverse but all communicating in awkwardly formal English often to the point of ignoring contractions and the occasional-to-intrusive alliteration works against that theme. I found due to that commonality as well as characters really just being resumes with voices and little imagery to visualize them; I couldn't relate or remember thier names. Save for Ryan, solely because he's the prime example of a western-name character who talks exactly like his East-Indian name counterparts. This story, I think would be well-served by a western edit, which is not to say the story is inadequate as a result of its origin, but to suggest that the great story surrounding these nitpicks deserves better. In fact, I'd love to see this work adapted by Hollywood as then we'd have faces to the names and a script that has a more refined native dialect.

    I hope that breakdown doesn't come across harsh, I wrote it solely because as I mentioned, this book is great, and the above is its only real negative. A minor thing in the grand scheme of things given there's so much detail around the dialogue. And one can argue that since India is apparently ruling the space-world that we may all have naturally acquiesced to their common slightly alliterate English dialect, though the book doesn't imply this. I just wanted to give a detailed fair review.

    As such some more positives are how the mystery surrounding their ship is handled throughout that story arc, and how unrealistically mature the politics are handled. Even when an alien reveal seems like human ego coming through, there's an interesting and logical explanation.
    Up to roughly 70% into the story the chapters rotate between flashback and present day which stops just before it gets annoying and does well to show technological progression through to present day. And after handing the reader a long flowing prose rife with logical, dry, and yet surprisingly riveting prose ala Star Trek, the author leaves them with a sequel tease that inspires more intrigue than disappointment.

    If you're a fan of dry pure sci-fi that still does well to keep an action lover like me interested, I highly recommend this book. The author's ability to write something between a resume and a textbook while still making it flow should be commended.
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  • Ajay
    5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting theme, extremely well presented.
    Reviewed in India on August 9, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    The First Journey is an extremely interesting read. A well written book that moves along at a crisp pace, and holds attention through out its plot. The central theme of discovery is well presented with some delightful surprises along the way. Definitely worth a read. I have in fact got the sequel too and am looking forward to read it.
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  • fuzzylogic
    4.0 out of 5 stars Minor Spoilers: Fun sci-fi with a different POV
    Reviewed in Canada on December 19, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I am not used to reading a sci-fi that puts India in the driver's seat as a foremost space power so this is refreshingly different. The story is not confusing and the way it moves along is easy to understand, and most issues in the text (the English version) could be resolved with a good copy editing sweep for verb tense consistency and minor cleanup, not a huge deal. Aside from that, my only concern would be the invasive species concerns from the idea of planting a garden of Earth plants on a a planet where those plants would have no natural enemies (something talked about but admittedly the crew is never seen doing, and so we can argue never actually happened). Second is the health concern of bringing a baby from another planet to Earth when the crew already knew well enough the risks to wear EVA suits on the surface to avoid cross contamination, but perhaps Dr. Lian has a way of addressing that outside of this first-book narrative. Given time, technology and carefulness I am sure there would be safe ways to do it. A fun read.
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