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
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
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