The author wisely expands his fictional and increasingly riveting futuristic universe, with room to grow.
A survivor of the first encounter with aliens in 2164 spearheads a mission to rescue a hijacked civilian ship and crew from an ostensibly aggressive species in this sci-fi tale.
Lt. Barrett Hannum, navigator for the scientific vessel the Odysseus, pulled through after an alien spacecraft dubbed the Titan hijacked the humans’ ship. But only he and Commander Tori Waylon—stuck in a medical repair-bot AutoDoc—are left, with the vessel and remaining crew lost. Hannum’s picked up by a warship, the Franklin Moyer, whose captain wants to use him and his DarkStars (probes), modified with alien hardware by his artificial intelligence, Aeon, to find the Odysseus and another missing scientific ship, the Reliant. Though the Titan’s no longer orbiting the aliens’ ocean planet, light years away from Earth, Hannum can use a DarkStar to scan and examine the colossal vessel. He’s also able to view a recording of the Reliant’s contact with aliens, who appear to attack, though Aeon speculates that the ensuing battle may have been initiated for a reason other than hostility. Hannum, promoted to lieutenant commander and with the help of ever-present Aeon, leads Marines in an effort to locate the Reliant and its crew. It’s an arduous and dangerous task, made even more difficult by antagonistic Commander Nicole Reed aboard the Franklin Moyer. The second in Logsdon’s (Odysseus, 2015) series shows definite evolution; the preceding entry was predominantly Hannum alone with Aeon, whereas the latest novel features numerous characters and some action. This time Hannum effectively gets an upgrade, able to converse with Aeon mentally, which the AI eventually explains. The two generally speak in hypotheticals, because they know little about the other species, sparking an intriguing contrast between contemplative Hannum, concerned with rescuing people, and the Marines, ready for war. Disappointingly, aliens are rarely visible, aside from a tentacled creature humans name the Kraken, and even a battle-laden final act, while exciting, involves an enemy that’s unseen. Logsdon’s narrative is unfortunately marred by sometimes toneless descriptions, like the “very oriental looking” female officer. There are, however, several inspired but ultimately unresolved notions, including a Tori-centric twist, all hopefully illuminated in a later book.
The author wisely expands his fictional and increasingly riveting futuristic universe, with room to grow.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9861402-3-5
Page Count: 290
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.
Coelho is a Brazilian writer with four books to his credit. Following Diary of a Magus (1992—not reviewed) came this book, published in Brazil in 1988: it's an interdenominational, transcendental, inspirational fable—in other words, a bag of wind.
The story is about a youth empowered to follow his dream. Santiago is an Andalusian shepherd boy who learns through a dream of a treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. An old man, the king of Salem, the first of various spiritual guides, tells the boy that he has discovered his destiny: "to realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation." So Santiago sells his sheep, sails to Tangier, is tricked out of his money, regains it through hard work, crosses the desert with a caravan, stops at an oasis long enough to fall in love, escapes from warring tribesmen by performing a miracle, reaches the pyramids, and eventually gets both the gold and the girl. Along the way he meets an Englishman who describes the Soul of the World; the desert woman Fatima, who teaches him the Language of the World; and an alchemist who says, "Listen to your heart" A message clings like ivy to every encounter; everyone, but everyone, has to put in their two cents' worth, from the crystal merchant to the camel driver ("concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man"). The absence of characterization and overall blandness suggest authorship by a committee of self-improvement pundits—a far cry from Saint- Exupery's The Little Prince: that flagship of the genre was a genuine charmer because it clearly derived from a quirky, individual sensibility.
Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls.Pub Date: July 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-06-250217-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1993
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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