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Chris Mead
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Swallow the Sky: A Space Opera Kindle Edition

by Chris Mead (Author), Derek Smith (Illustrator) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 out of 5 stars 991 ratings
Galactic culture is still reverberating from the nanotech disaster that destroyed Earth. But this is ancient history to Carson, an inter-stellar mailman and a collector of antique technology, until he learns of the secret location of Earth’s lost treasures. Carson is not alone in his discovery and becomes embroiled with a wealthy megalomaniac determined to capture the bounty for himself. As their race across the galaxy accelerates it becomes chillingly clear that far more is at stake than ancient artifacts, leading to the protagonists’ final confrontation in the ruined kingdom of Sol.

Swallow the Sky embodies the essence of classic science fiction: real science, adventure, high spirits, and above all, a sense of wonder.

On sale through December 25th!

"Somewhere, EE Smith, Gene Roddenberry, and Iain Banks are sitting around wishing they'd written a Space Opera as entertaining as Swallow the Sky. Intelligent world-building, strong characterization, and settings that are just rip-roaring good fun! It tells a tale the old-fashioned way - brilliantly!"
Chris Garcia, Hugo award-winning editor

“This book is fun, filled with machines who have sassy personalities, leviathans who enjoy a good-natured game of hide-and-seek, and sentient insects who trust that someday, humans will evolve... Carson really is a unique antique himself, and an adorable good-guy to spend time with as a reader.”
Yvette Keller, Science Fiction in San Francisco Magazine
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  1. Reading age
    10 - 18 years
  2. Print length
    340 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    14 July 2014
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00LU4NFN4
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 14 July 2014
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 3rd
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.0 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 340 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 10 - 18 years
  • Customer reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 991 ratings

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Chris Mead

Chris Mead

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
991 global ratings

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 October 2022
    Verified Purchase
    This is how a sci-fi book should be written. A great story with great characters and really good technical stuff. I couldn’t put the book down. Shame there isn’t a series.
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  • @IngeniousCat
    4.0 out of 5 stars Great space adventure
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 September 2015
    In the far future, an antique dealer stays one step ahead of the bad guys as he hunts the galaxy for treasure, in this good old-fashioned space opera.

    Following a terrible catastrophe, a small number of people fled Earth to found a colony on another world. Thousands of years later, humanity has spread to hundreds of planets. Carson travels between worlds delivering mail and trading in antiques. When some shady characters try to blackmail him into helping them find priceless artifacts of the originals colonists, he plays along but makes plans to get the treasure for himself.

    The writing is very readable with few editing errors. Likeable characters, a tremendous plot which grips from the start, and some neat bits of science fiction content make for a satisfying and entertaining adventure story.

    Expect some sexual references.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Chris Halliday
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Stuff
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 February 2015
    Verified Purchase
    "Swallow the Sky" is that most rare of beasts, an intelligent science fiction novel that doesn't get wrapped up in its own cleverness or forget how to tell a thrilling story. From the opening scenes to the last, Chris Mead does a great job of describing immense vistas of space and sweeps of time, while retaining the essentially human core of the tale. Characters are well-rounded, the universe is smart, logical and nuanced, and the story itself rolls along at a cracking pace. This is a space opera tale in the classic mould, updated and enlivened with modern sensibilities. A brilliant novel, highly recommended.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Di Hassall
    5.0 out of 5 stars love, some very creative thinking (it's not often you ...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 October 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Interstellar travel, 'push drives', old English and the likely fate of mankind are all stuffed into this début book from Chris Mead. The story goes beyond the Milky Way with murder, corporate greed, love, some very creative thinking (it's not often you get a plausible explanation of faster than light travel) and there's some cleverly cynical views on today's technology too.
    Grab your birthday suit and get ready for Mailman Carson...
    3 people found this helpful
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  • GemBookEater
    4.0 out of 5 stars Don't miss the post!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 January 2016
    Carson is a mailman delivering mail from planet to planet 8,000 years after human’s were forced to colonise the universe.

    His stop off at Kaimana offers him the chance to explore for more antiques, a sideline that is a much a passion as the chance to make profit. But things start going badly wrong when he wakes up with a dead woman in his bed. It soon becomes clear he is being set up by a wealthy megalomaniac who wants him to steal an ancient cassette tape in return for his freedom. But when he finds the cassette contains the secret location of Earth’s lost treasures, Carson is determined to capture the bounty himself.

    This book is pure escapism. Imagine Indiana Jones set in space and you’ll start to get the picture! Actually one thing you won’t have to do much of whilst reading this is imagine – the author built all of these worlds so expertly that you’ll feel like you are right there with Carson on every planet and space ship he’s on.

    If I was to be really critical of this I could lament the fact that it has no deep moral meaning or mention that the characters aren’t deeply tortured individuals wringing out every last drop of emotion they have. But to be honest this is a good-time, holiday read sort of novel and it doesn’t need to be high literature. The characters are believable and the good guys have moral centres and are likeable so that’s good snout for me.

    A great read, and thoroughly recommended!

    NB This review appeared first on The BookEaters Blog - [...]
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Steve
    5.0 out of 5 stars Damn good
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 October 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Could not stop reading
    You will like this if you like space opera with proper characters, a scientific and sociological believe able universe.
    But basically it is just a good read, which for me is the most important thing.
    Such a shame there cannot be a sequel
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  • ready reader
    4.0 out of 5 stars future insight?
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 December 2014
    Not about the fabulous planets or means of travel, though I may be wrong, as the author is prescient in warning about the expansion of technology beyond the capacity of the human mind and resources to exercise control. Perhaps those who inherit the earth will escape and spread out through the universe - fun to read about at any rate! Recommended.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • bookrgooduk
    5.0 out of 5 stars loved it wish he had done more
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 September 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Chris Mead passed away on January 8th, 2015.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • J. Carey
    5.0 out of 5 stars Goes a different direction than it first appeared, but a really enjoyable read.
    Reviewed in the United States on 28 October 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Two warnings to keep in mind when reading this book:

    1. Once you've read the whole thing (likely at the cost of a several full nights of sleep) you'll go looking for other books by the same author only to discover this appears to be Chris Mead's first and so far only one.

    2. It would be easy to miscategorize Swallow the Sky before you get too far into the book. The first section of the novel takes place on a single planet. The amount of detailed cultural strangeness Chris Mead came up with for that world and the first unpleasant surprise to befall the protagonist had me thinking this would be a novel focused on a single world created in great detail, with a fair bit of time devoted to exploring the ethnical implications of cloning. But that's not what this book turned out to be about at all. The detail and attention to world building I thought was signaling a focus on a single planet is just par for the course and the author has clearly devoted that same level of time and attention to creating distinctly different and fascinatingly detailed worlds everywhere the the plot takes the two main characters. Instead of a universe that exists in order for the story to unfold, Swallow the Sky constantly throws out details that kept me engaged and reading as much to learn more about the universe and history as to follow the central plot itself, which is my favorite kind of science fiction.

    Rather than be tempted to post anything that might be considered spoiler, I'll close by mentioning that I'm posting this review in the middle of the night with work in the morning after being unable to to StS down since close to the 50% mark. Thank you Chris Mead for an absorbing and compelling read.
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  • Ramon
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in Spain on 9 June 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Correct story, placed in a future where Earth has been destroyed by something that is called "the Melt" (explained towards the end of the book) and a new civilization has been created after an agonizing split between the few survivors of Earth. The Covenant, signed in New Earth, becomes almost a religion. After eight thousand years, it is still untouchable.
    But this is not about religion, but rather about intrigue, murder and the search for past treasures related with the earliest days of survival of humanity. The fact that the main character is a mailman actually adds to the twist.
    The plot is very good, the storytelling intense. The worlds that are described are different, and not the typical stuff that you usually encounter in SciFi. I especially liked to read how an unexpected astronomical events impacted civilization.
    The gadgets that the story employs are credible and actually most of them are very logic, to the extent that I would not be surprised if we had some of those in a few decades. The humor of the intelligent machines is refreshing and the alien species -the Tallis- is simply superb.
    I can greatly recommend it. It is a pity that the author passed away, as I would have liked to see a sequel.
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  • Brian
    5.0 out of 5 stars what a great read
    Reviewed in Australia on 12 February 2015
    Verified Purchase
    I am in thorough agreement with the other reviewers of this book. Character driven, great plot, great universe and very readable. Some minor editing problems but I detest reviewers who 'take points off' for this. It is damned difficult to edit long, complex articles and I feel that authors should be given a little leeway.
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  • Tom the paddler
    4.0 out of 5 stars Almost but not quite
    Reviewed in the United States on 28 February 2015
    Verified Purchase
    I'd have given this 5 stars but the way it ended really bothered me. It's not that I disliked the resolution of the characters' situation but rather that it seemed incredibly rushed and brought into play elements that had barely been hinted at a time or two during the book. In fact there is nothing in the book that suggests that ending. Mead brings in forces at the last moments that take the role of a kind of terminal McGuffin. The elements that end the book really had no part in the rest of the story, aren't explained at all and made the ending read like the writer was just stuck and decided to wave his magic writer wand to conjure up some way to get them out of their final dilemma.

    It didn't work, and that's a real shame because up until the very end the book is a rollicking good space opera. What the classic 50's space operas would be updated with modern science and SF sensibilities. A great romp across the galaxy only to have the ending be far too lame to be up to the standards of the rest of the book. I would love for the author to rewrite the end to include more explanation. It doesn't have to be explicit but there have to be more indications that some other force is at work beyond the two or three hints vaguely referencing something unexplained that are in the early text.

    With a decently written last couple of chapters this could be an instant classic.
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  • Ralph Tamou
    5.0 out of 5 stars Space opera for sure
    Reviewed in Australia on 14 May 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Great read loved the characters and the scope of the universes they travelled to I hope the mailman goes on another great ride make it at least 600 pages or more I did not want this book to end
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