Because of the few rather average and not particulary positive reviews for this book in amazon I almost didn't buy it. Luckily por me, there is always the available sample so that when in doubt, make your own mind out. I have to admit that it was worth it. There are a few typos and spelling issues, a couple of awkward sentence formations but most of it is very good.

Of course the novel's influences are easy to spot, in many cases not even the author attempts to hide them and instead makes inside jokes with those facts. There is something of Star Trek in there, I could even say quite a bit from the Enterprise (with Scott Bakula) TV series that was cut short. Other influences can be guessed to have come from Galactica and Starship Troopers (both the movie and Heinlen's original written work). It is nice to know that Evan Currie was up to the task to come up with something fresh enough and quite engaging considering that his inspiration comes from a mix of ideas from all over the sci-fi spectrum.

After World War III and a by-the-force established peace the victors can finally put their eyes and efforts somewhere else, the stars. We are introduced to the maiden flight of the Odyssey One, the first ever Earth spaceship with FTL capabilities. We are also introduced to many of its crew, that albeit presenting their human side the author focuses more on the adventure and action they get involved in rather than their inner thoughts and conflicts, which is good.

The adventure starts by putting together a short glimpse of the events of the past years on Earth as well as what the main characters were doing and where. We also get to know a little bit more about the features and capacities of the deep space exploration ship whose adventures we are about to share.

Knowing the inspirational sources it is not strange that the Odyssey One is mainly a research vessel, with a whole compliment of scientists and laboratories. But it can as easily be seen as a military ship with the power and capacities equivalent, if not somewhat superior, to an aircraft carrier or a large battlecruiser. Having a pair of large landing decks for spacefighers and shuttles certainly makes it ready for just about anything, out there.

The Captain, Eric Weston, is a World War III hero, the commander of the fight wing of the Archangels, the most powerful craft made and the one that helped turn the outcome of the war against the Block. His first command of a spaceship was meant to be just an honor granted to his status as a hero. His own thoughts had him wondering if he didn't make the wrong choice.

His task was straight forward, take the Odyssey One for a spin. Move away from the Sol System and engage the FTL drive to test it's capacities and those of the technology and crew in the ship. Everything starts very much as expected until they discover an alien signal that seems to be a distant call for help. Curiosity and other factors give Weston the chance to poke his nose a little beyond the call of duty, another jump and the adventure starts in full.

Into the Black offers traditional sci-fi concepts and ideas as well as a couple of fresh ones. There is a good mix between story, adventure, character development, ground and space battles. None feels too overblown or unnecessary, they all complement each other properly. The typos and spelling issues sometimes slow down the action and narrative but among so much that is good they become irrelevant, and the pace stays engaging.

When the end comes the story is well rounded up, there are no missing links from this particular adventure. Obviously, there is quite a lot out there to explore, it was just the maiden flight of the Odyssey One and they certainly showed --or rather, found out-- what Earth's new technologies can do, what they can't and what they better hurry upgrading if they want to continue exploring space. This adventure ends but it inevitably opens a wide set of doors to the promise of much more to come. Hopefully, soon.