Adventure Books - Page 17

Outbound Flight (Star Wars)

Timothy Zahn

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 94 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

It began as the ultimate voyage of discovery–only to become the stuff of lost Republic legend . . . and a dark chapter in Jedi history. Now, at last, acclaimed author Timothy Zahn returns to tell the whole extraordinary story of the remarkable–and doomed–Outbound Flight Project.

The Clone Wars have yet to erupt when Jedi Master Jorus C’baoth petitions the Senate for support of a singularly ambitious undertaking. Six Jedi Masters, twelve Jedi Knights, and fifty thousand men, women, and children will embark–aboard a gargantuan vessel, equipped for years of travel–on a mission to contact intelligent life and colonize undiscovered worlds beyond the known galaxy. The government bureaucracy threatens to scuttle the expedition before it can even start–until Master C’baoth foils a murderous conspiracy plot, winning him the political capital he needs to set in motion the dream of Outbound Flight.

Or so it would seem. For unknown to the famed Jedi Master, the successful launch of the mission is secretly being orchestrated by an unlikely ally: the evil Sith Lord, Darth Sidious, who has his own reasons for wanting Outbound Flight to move forward . . . and, ultimately, to fail.

Yet Darth Sidious is not the mission’s most dangerous challenge. Once underway, the starship crosses paths at the edge of Unknown Space with the forces of the alien Chiss Ascendancy and the brilliant mastermind best known as “Thrawn.” Even Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, aboard Outbound Flight with his young Padawan student, Anakin Skywalker, cannot help avert disaster. Thus what begins as a peaceful Jedi mission is violently transformed into an all-out war for survival against staggering odds–and the most diabolical of adversaries.

Timothy Zahn’s unique mix of espionage, political gamesmanship, and deadly interstellar combat breathes electrifying life into a Star Wars legend.


From the Hardcover edition.

Sunstorm (A Time Odyssey, Book 2)

Arthur C. Clarke, Stephen Baxter

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 50 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

When Sir Arthur C. Clarke, the greatest science fiction writer ever, teams up with award-winning author Stephen Baxter, who shares Clarke’s bold vision of a future where technology and humanism advance hand in hand, the result is bound to be a book of stellar ambition and accomplishment. Such was the case with Time’s Eye. Now, in the highly anticipated sequel, Clarke and Baxter draw their epic to a triumphant conclusion that is as mind-blowing as anything in Clarke’s famous Space Odyssey series.

SUNSTORM

Returned to the Earth of 2037 by the Firstborn, mysterious beings of almost limitless technological prowess, Bisesa Dutt is haunted by the memories of her five years spent on the strange alternate Earth called Mir, a jigsaw-puzzle world made up of lands and people cut out of different eras of Earth’s history. Why did the Firstborn create Mir? Why was Bisesa taken there and then brought back on the day after her original disappearance?

Bisesa’s questions receive a chilling answer when scientists discover an anomaly in the sun’s core–an anomaly that has no natural cause is evidence of alien intervention over two thousand years before. Now plans set in motion millennia ago by inscrutable watchers light-years away are coming to fruition in a sunstorm designed to scour the Earth of all life in a bombardment of deadly radiation.

Thus commences a furious race against a ticking solar time bomb. But even now, as apocalypse looms, cooperation is not easy for the peoples and nations of the Earth. Religious and political differences threaten to undermine every effort.

And all the while, the Firstborn are watching...

The White Dragon: (#3) (Dragonriders of Pern Trilogy)

Anne Mccaffrey

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 64 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

White Dragons are great! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

As Dragons go, Ruth is smaller and lighter colored.. but that does not stop his being just as useful as any other dragon..and a to be holder can also work thread.. enjoy

Fabulous costumer service 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This was a B-day gift for a close friend. I was worried it wouldn't get here in time for her B-day. It made it on time for her B-day, although it didn't arrive on the day it was supposed to. Without question or having to contact costumer service, my shipping was refunded to me because of the inconvenience. I appreciate Amazon for thier fast action and that I didn't have to complain like people have to do with so many other companies. Thank you!!!

A very slow book 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Nothing much really happens here until the second half of the book.
The author's characterizations are pretty good, but as hard science sci fi
this whole series rates pretty low: people call it "fantasy" as like
Edgar Rice Borroughs or Conan the Barbarian? If so it lacks the action that such series demand. I actually don't much like the style of the writing either, as it is very verbose ( says in five pages what could be said in one). This kind of writing makes me want to skip ahead and find something happening...If you are going to base a series on dragons, action seems to be demanded not thoughtful, characterizations and colorful characters.

Editorial Review:

The third volume in a series of adventures in the land of Pern.

The Robots of Dawn (Robot (Tantor))

Isaac Asimov

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 61 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Tedious and Flat... Wish I had those 400+ pages back... 1 out of 5 stars.
4 of 6 people found this review helpful.

I had to write a review somewhere after reading this book. After reading the Caves of Steel, I thought it would be an enjoyable read. However, it was not. This was the most tedious, long-winded, horribly written piece of snot that I have ever laid my eyes on. Asimov spends way too much time saying the exact same thing over and over as if the reader were completely illiterate. The plot is horribly stupid, and non of the interactions seem 'real' at all. save your time and reread the Foundation series... This book sucked.

Disappointing conclusion to the trilogy 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Robots of Dawn is the third entry in the Robot series and was written quite a few years after the second volume saw print. The story follows Elijah Bailey once again as he tries to solve a murder but this time it is not a human who has been killed but a robot. The leading suspect is a character from the first novel, the leading roboticist on the planet Aurora. Bailey travels off world and goes through his usual routine of interviewing the interested parties and accusing most of them of committing the crime in the process. His old robot partner, R Daneel Olivaw, aids Bailey in his investigation.

Perhaps due to the long delay in writing Robots of Dawn, there are some rather glaring errors in story continuity from the prior novel, The Naked Sun. Early in the story, Olivaw tells Bailey that no robot could impersonate a human on the Spacer worlds and get away with it for even a moment. They have a lengthy conversation on this point and the point is considered proven by the time they are done. Yet, in The Naked Sun, Olivaw himself impersonated a human on the Spacer world of Solaris and no one even suspected him. Bailey witnessed this, yet both characters seem to have forgotten the entire affair.

Robots of Dawn is by far the longest of the Robot novel in the series and does not benefit from the extra pages. Bailey's interviews often drag out as he puts forward exceedingly unlikely theories and forces the suspects to deny and disprove them. This has the unfortunate side effect of making Bailey seem almost stupid as he constantly asserts false solutions to the case. When he finally does come up with a solution, it is very unsatisfying. It actually feels like Asimov had written himself into a corner and didn't know how to get out so he threw together a half-baked solution and called it a day. I expected better from such an accomplished writer.

I enjoyed the earlier novels in this series considerably but was disappointed with Robots of Dawn. Asimov waited many years to write it because he didn't feel that he had a strong concept to move forward with. Having read this, I would have to say that he still didn't have a fully developed foundation for this book even when he did finally write it. He definitely needed to put more thought into the mystery, the characters, and how to keep the story interesting. This book was not lousy but it didn't live up to the earlier entries either. I would recommend it for readers who loved the earlier Robot novels and simply must read one more entry. Just don't expect it to be as strong as what you've already seen.

Editorial Review:

A puzzling case of roboticide sends New York Detective Elijah Baley on an intense search for a murderer. But can anything prepare a simple Earthman for the psychological complexities of a world where a beautiful woman can easily have fallen in love with an all-too-human robot?

Island in the Sea of Time (Nantucket)

S M Stirling

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 119 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Good story! 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The setup is simple - Nantucket in the 1990's one night has an electrical storm and when it clears the stars have changed and all connection to the outside world is gone. The entire island with all its 20th century equipment has been somehow transported back to 1250 BC - the Bronze Age of Babylonians, Assyrians, Hittites, Egypt and Troy. This is never explained and they don't understand it, but after that everything is logical and scientific.

Initially they have to invent their polity and laws, and they use their Coast Guard ship with sails to travel to the British Isles to get agricultural products, trade, etc. They make crossbows which are advanced technology back then before they eventually figure out how to make civil-war style rifles. The battle scenes are a highlight since the natives also pick up using the technology too and there is a goofy mixture of rifles, canons, arrows, ultra-lights, chariots and by book two a zeppelin.

There is a renegade from the 20th that will decide to set up his own empire and that provides the conflict that runs thru all three books but the first one is satifying and ends with his (first) defeat.

Over the course of the 3 novels and 10 plus years, the various Nantucket people get involved in battles and negotiations across all these lands. Agamemnon and Odysseus make there appearances. Odysseus even finds out to his dismay what he would have become if these people from the future didn't intervene.

The first book is almost complete in itself and I would recommend stopping there. The second book is decent but the third book is a real long slog to get thru it. First book - 600 pages, 2nd - maybe 400 and the third another 600. So read the first and call it a day unless you are really into this.

One funny highlight from the series is at the end of book two (sorry) when the renegrade, Walker, has his vast armies facing a defensive force at Troy and one of the Nantucket men goes out to parley under the white flag with the bad guys. Walker tells his fellow 20th foe that "There are no Riders of Rohan coming to save you!"

Editorial Review:

A provocative and endlessly inventive spin on the classic adventure story, Island in the Sea of Time takes you on a journey of wonder, discovery, and imagination.

Allegiance (Star Wars)

Timothy Zahn

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 66 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Never before has the incendiary mix of action, politics, and intrigue that has become Timothy Zahn’s trademark, been mmore evident that in this new Star Wars epic. On the heels of the stunning events chronicled in Star Wars: A New Hope, the newly minted heroes of the Rebellion–fledgling Jedi Luke Skywalker, smuggler turned reluctant freedom-fighter Han Solo, and Princess Leia Organa, a bold leader with a world to avenge–must face the harsh realities of the cataclysmic conflict into which they have so bravely plunged. From this point forward, legends will grow, treachery will abound, and lives will be irrevocably altered, in the long, hard fight to counter the fist of tyranny and restore hope to a galaxy too long in darkness.

The destruction of the Death Star by the Rebel Alliance was a decisive blow against the Empire, but Palpatine and his monstrous enforcer, Darth Vader, are no less of a threat. The brutal extermination of Alderaan not only demonstrated the magnitude of their murderous power, but served as a chilling testament to their resolve to crush the Rebel uprising. Standing against them, Skywalker, Solo, and the Princess remain uncertain opponents. Luke is gifted and brave, but unschooled in the power he possesses. Han has doubts about waging someone else’s war–and his contentiousness is one more burden for Leia to bear as she struggles to help keep the Rebellion alive. The three have been sent to mediate a dispute between Rebel Alliance factions in Shelsha Sector–agitating matters by forcing Han to deal not only with pirates, but with his more dreaded enemy, politics. At the same time, Mara Jade–all of eighteen and years away from her fateful meeting with Luke–is serving her evil master, Palpatine, well in her role as the Emperor’s Hand: tracking suspected treachery in the Empire to what may be high places–while trying to stay out of Darth Vader’s way.

But the Rebels will prove to be only one of the Empire’s concerns. For Imperial Stormtrooper Daric LaRone, his faith in the Empire shaken by the wanton destruction of Alderaan, will commit a sudden and violent act of defiance, and take four other enforcers with him, in a desperate bid to elude their masters’ wrath.

Each of these fateful actions, whether sanctioned, secret, or scandalous, will expose brutality and corruption, spur upheavals destined to shake the Empire to its core, and shape momentous events yet to come.


From the Hardcover edition.

Polaris (Alex Benedict)

Jack McDevitt

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 43 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Not bad 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Like other Alex/Chase stories, this one doesn't have great vision or interesting technologies (10000 years in the future and human still die of old age at 100 or so), and you're taken to a lot of places to meet one-time characters whose sole purpose of existence is to offer information to advance the plot. However, the plotline is not bad, it kept me reading even though the author made the answer of the mystery clear way early in the novel.

The underlying issue here is not as interesting as the one in the Talent for War, but by telling the story from Chase's point of view, it gives both leading characters some depth that didn't exist in the 1st novel.

Holmes and Watson 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I do love scifi mysteries. An empty spaceship with missing celebrities. What happened to them? Maybe aliens kidnapped them, or maybe a new and frightening technology that can snatch people and transport them...where?

Editorial Review:

Jack McDevitt brings back the daring Alex Benedict from A Talent for War, thrusting him into a far-future tale of mystery and suspense that will lead the prominent antiquities dealer to the truth about an abandoned space yacht called the Polaris.

2001: A Space Odyssey

Arthur C. Clarke

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 256 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Much Better Than the Movie 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I found 2001: Space Odyssey the Movie to be confusing, boring at times, and vastly overrated. The book, however, is fantastic. Plot details that I feel you couldn't possibly glean from the movie are clear in the book. The story actually makes sense. Questions like, "Why did HAL go crazy?", "What exactly happened at the end?", and "What was the significance of the ape-men at the beginning?" all become clear.

Besides the plot, the book was quite satisfying for me on a technical level. Clarke describes many technical aspects of spaceflight in prophetically accurate detail.

Editorial Review:

It has been over thirty years since the publication of this classic science fiction novel that changed the way we look at the stars and ourselves. From the savannas of Africa at the dawn of mankind to the rings of Saturn as man adventures to the outer rim of our solar system, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a journey unlike any other.

This allegory about humanity's exploration of the universe, and the universe's reaction to humanity, was the basis for director Stanley Kubrick's immortal film, and lives on as a hallmark achievement in storytelling.

A Talent For War

Jack McDevitt

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 38 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Interesting 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good character development. Interesting technical concepts, but not overwhelming. Has a few good plot twists on the way to an exciting conclusion.

Fantastic mystery in deep space 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

_A Talent for War_ by Jack McDevitt is the first volume in the Alex Benedict series, an engrossing series by one of my favorite science fiction writers. I actually read the third volume in the series, _Seeker_, first, so this novel had additional interest to me in showing something of the origins of the two characters of the trilogy, Alex Benedict and his capable assistant Chase Kolpath, particularly how the two came to work together and their first mission as a team.

The basic premise of the series is that the two main characters are antiquities dealers in the far future, a future approximately in the 11,000 AD range, a future in which humanity has spread far and wide in this galaxy and has settled hundreds of worlds. Though contact with Earth still exists and knowledge of ancient history is still common knowledge - one of the characters in the book was a keen scholar of ancient Greek history - there are worlds (about twenty or thirty or so) that experienced the rise and fall of entire civilizations over the many centuries since they were settled, of entire cultures that arose and then vanished (or were extinguished) on distant planets in what is to us the very far future but what is to people of the present of this novel the distant past. That, and the rich history of the various worlds of human space over many thousands of years mean there is quite a bit of real estate (both temporally and physically) to explore. Alex and Chase aren't scholars but they are accomplished researchers, detectives, and despite Alex's misgivings, adventurers, able to track down obscure clues, decipher ancient texts, puzzle out primitive (to them) technology to uncover truly astonishing finds to solve ancient historical mysteries and also to make a tidy profit.

The book begins with Alex receiving the unfortunate news that his uncle, Gabriel (or Gabe) was on an interstellar vessel that failed to renter normal space and is presumed deceased. Contacted by the executors of his will, Alex found that he was the sole inheritor of his uncle's estate. In addition to title to the house he grew up in and his Gabe's vast wealth, he also inherited an archaeological mystery that his late uncle was working on, one that involved one of the greatest figures in the Confederacy, a starship commander, admiral, and war hero, a man by the name of Christopher Sim, a legendary figure that lived 200 or so years ago in the novel's past, a man part George Washington (as his actions were key in forming the modern Confederacy) and part Leonidas (he was one of the few leaders of a handful of ships that stood against an invading alien race, the Ashiyyur, largely unsupported by the other human worlds, who mythically died fighting a bitter, symbolic last stand against the enemy, his sacrifice being one that turned the tide against the aliens and united the humans). McDevitt did a great job of not only in generally giving the sense of the great depth of human history that has passed in the novel's setting but the truly legendary importance of Sim to this setting, of making him very familiar to the reader as the story progressed, conveying the excitement Alex and others felt that more remained to be discovered about him.

Evidently Alex's uncle died while trying to uncover some deeply buried, closely guarded secret regarding Christopher Sim, one that also involved Ludik Talino, a much debated figure even two hundred years later who may have been a martyr, a hero, or a vile traitor who betrayed Sim: Sim's legendary ship _Corsarius_; and a woman Sim knew and served with, formerly a scholar with a reputation as a peace activist, an expert on the Ashiyuur who against her better initial judgment became a valued member of the Resistance (as the fight against the Ashiyyur was called), a woman by the name of Leisha Tanner. Alex picks up the frustratingly incomplete trail and with the help of an artificial intelligence named Jacob and Chase Kolpath undertake something that feels like a murder mystery and also an archaeological and genealogical research project. Gripping reading, it was also enjoyable to get excerpts of treatises and first hand accounts from Sim's time, including Alex himself experiencing exciting virtual reality simulation of some of the battles Sim and his fleet fought in. Oh and someone is trying to drive Alex and Chase off the trail, possibly even trying to kill them and the alien Ashiyyur may be involved, a species that still exists in great tension with the Confederacy (indeed it is pretty much a Cold War-that could turn -hot war situation in the novel). Exciting, thought provoking, and very well written, I really enjoyed _A Talent for War_.

Editorial Review:

Christopher Sim changed mankind's history forever when he forged a rag-tag group of misfits into the weapon that broke the alien Ashiyyur. But now, one man believes Sim was a fraud, and Alex must follow the legend into the heart of the alien galaxy to confront a truth far stranger than any fiction. Reissue.

The Flood (Halo #2)

William C. Dietz

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Total reviews: 125 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Human-Covenant War, a desperate struggle for humankind’s very survival, has reached its boiling point on the mysterious, ring world called Halo. But the fierce Covenant warriors, the mightiest alien military force known, are not the only peril lying in wait.

As the fortress world of Reach and its brave defenders were bombarded to rubble, a single cruiser fled the carnage with the battle’s only human survivors—Captain Keyes, his crew of a few hundred Marines, and the last remaining SPARTAN super-soldier, the Master Chief.

With the cruiser’s artificial intelligence, Cortana, concealed in his battle armor, the Master Chief crash lands on Halo in the midst of a massive Covenant occupation. Curiously, the alien soldiers appear to be searching for something hidden on the ring. Built by a long-dead race, Halo harbors many deadly secrets, but one overshadows them all. Now the Master Chief must lead the scattered troops in a brutal race to unravel Halo’s darkest mystery—and unleash its greatest source of power. . . .

This novel is based on a Mature-rated video game.