Kindle
$3.99
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Paperback
$12.99
Kindle Price: $3.99

Save $9.00 (69%)

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Audiobook Price: $17.46

Save: $9.97 (57%)

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Follow the author

Patty Jansen
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Far Horizon: Science Fiction for kids 9-12 (Ambassador) Kindle Edition

by Patty Jansen (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 out of 5 stars 29
See all formats and editions
A science fiction space adventure novel for boys and girls aged 9-12 (and the parents who love reading books to their late primary-school aged children!). By Writers of the Future winning author Patty Jansen.

Of all the things ten-year-old Cory Wilson expects to do when he moves to Midway Space Station, saving aliens from humans isn't one. An important conference is about to start at the station, not usually the sort of thing kids care about, not even when the conference is between humans and aliens, and half your family is alien. However, when bullies tease Cory, he ends up in a prohibited area where he overhears some men planning to plant a bomb at the conference. Because the terrorists hide their messages in computer games, no one believes Cory, not even his father, the station director. Kids at school think he’s crazy, some even think aliens should be bombed. The conference starts, the aliens have brought a very important person, and Cory's teacher, one of the terrorists, locks Cory in the classroom. Can he get out in time? If he does, will anyone listen?
Previous page
  1. Reading age
    8 - 13 years
  2. Print length
    184 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    3 - 6
  5. Publication date
    January 8, 2014
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  10. See all details
Next page

Editorial Reviews

Review

I'd recommend it to confident readers and those who like their science fiction a little more real and a little less 'Jimmy Neutron'.

Simon Haynes, author of the Hal Spacejock series

From the Author

This is a book for anyone from the age of ten and up.

When my children were in late primary school, I used to read lots to them, and one thing that used to bug me was that there is a lot of fantasy for younger readers, but hardly any science fiction that is not humorous.

I wrote this book with parents reading to their children in mind. While the subject matter can be understood by children, I've aimed--much in the way popular animated movies do--to include remarks that hint at a deeper meaning so that adults who read this book will enjoy it was well. As you can see in the reviews, this has proven to be the case.

If you've enjoyed this book, there is more. Cory Wilson, the main character of this book, returns in my very adult novel series Ambassador.

Want to keep up-to-date with Patty's fiction? Join the mailing list here: eepurl.com/qqlAb

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004U6WO90
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Capricornica Publications (January 8, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 8, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 703 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 184 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 29

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Patty Jansen

Patty Jansen

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Patty lives in Sydney, Australia, and writes both Science Fiction and Fantasy. Her best-known works are the trilogies set in the Icefire world, and the popular and addictive Ambassador series.

She has published over 60 novels and has sold short stories to genre magazines such as Analog Science Fiction and Fact.

Patty was trained as an agricultural scientist, and if you look closely at her stories, you will find bits of science sprinkled throughout.

Want to keep up-to-date with Patty's fiction and get four books free? Join the mailing list at pattyjansen.com

Find more information about Patty including how to get four free books at https://pattyjansen.com

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
29 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jenna
5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing
Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2018
Verified Purchase
When I started reading I didn’t realize that this was the prequel to the Ambassador series. I knew it was for ages 9-12, and as I started I wondered why I’d bought it. But the characters and story drew me in. And then I recognized the name of one of the alien races. And I thought: oh, it’s a story in the same universe. Obviously I hadn’t paid attention to Cory’s last name. The story for even more engaging, and I thought, “wow, this is like Patty Jansen’s writing.” Duh. Finally I remembered that I’d swept up the prequel. And it was great. Fascinating to the end. It was a satisfying introduction to the the Ambassador novels that I’d already read. And, as my initial cluelessness demonstrates, it’s also a great stand-alone novel. I particularly liked the way Cory and his two friends met, gradually developed their friendship, and persisted in the face of grownups. It was also delightful to see Cory being Cory, with the personal qualities that tend to bring people together with trust in one another. I’m so glad I found this book and would love to read more stories set in this time of Cory’s life.
Helpful
 Report
B.J. Baye
4.0 out of 5 stars Hooks right from the start.
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2012
Verified Purchase
While obviously aimed at a younger audience, even as an adult I found this book to be excellent. The characters (even the aliens) are believable and the story hooks you from very early on. My only complaint is that the ending seems a bit sudden and I'd have liked to see a little more of the aftermath. I fully accept I'm not the target audience, though, and the ending may be just what younger readers want.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
P. Christopher Colter
5.0 out of 5 stars A Space Tale That Hits Close To Home
Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2012
Verified Purchase
A quick but excellent sci-fi adventure. The Far Horizon may take place in the future at a space station, but it touches on themes of racism, acceptance, and doing the right thing in the face of great obstacles, all of which impact us directly here on Earth right now. I'd highly recommend this book, and am looking forward to future works by Patty Jensen.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
T
5.0 out of 5 stars A very enjoyable read.
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2012
Verified Purchase
It's a book you want to keep on reading, and then look for more works by the author. Young adult in tone, but, like any good YA book, quite enjoyable for an adult. Five stars.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Clwedd
4.0 out of 5 stars Solid MS Sci-fi
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2012
Verified Purchase
This is a good, solid novel. Well worth the read. It's the story of early contact with aliens, and how the life of a 10 year old boy named Cory is changed by those encounters.

To me there has been something missing from Young Adult and Middle School science fiction for a while now. In recent years the legacy of the 1950's science fiction has been absent. The type of science fiction where we thought BIG about the future. Stories where we explored the universe with big science and big engineering, and where we thought about the big questions of Who We Are.

The Far Horizon, to me, seems to be part of that legacy. It's not big science a la Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars, but it is for the Middle School reader, so the details have been scaled down, although not dumbed down. Good science fiction reminds us, as this does, that too often science fiction seems to be written by people without a strong science background, and that's like fantasy novels being written by people who don't know their mythology or a baseball story written by someone who doesn't know their sports.

If this book is anything to go by, the author likes to pack a lot of themes into her books. Parental loss, difficulties with new family members, being a stranger in a strange land are all there, and that's only the first couple of chapters. Two of the main themes, the ones that drive the plot of the story are racism and hate. I found that these might be a little harsh for the intended age of the reader, although they lend themselves perfectly to the genre.

At times I found that Cory didn't react like a 10 year old boy, his high level of maturity stretched my belief that he was only 10. But that was only occasionally, far more common were the believable situations, for example, where he might become engrossed in what he was doing, just as any 10 year old would, and forget to go home after school.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
ck762
5.0 out of 5 stars for kids and adults too (especially Ambassador fans!)
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2017
Verified Purchase
While this is a book for young children it was still helpful to me because I definitely enjoyed getting to learn what Cory was like at a young age and how some of feelings about "aliens" developed and were influenced during this time. If you're a fan of the Ambassador series by Patty Jansen then you'll probably like to read this as well.
Helpful
 Report
cocoqueen31
5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC!!
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2012
Verified Purchase
From the first sentence to the last, I could hardly put this book down! Plot was great, kept me interested right till the end, definetly should be on the reading list for anyone who enjoys a good sciencefiction read!
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Joe
4.0 out of 5 stars The Far Horizon
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2015
Verified Purchase
I found The Far Horizon to be predictable at times, but not so much that I was thrown a curve or two. The characters were believable for the most part and the plot moved well for the intended age group.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report