This is a 3.5 star story. I had a debate with myself, and decided to go with 3 stars.
First, there is an interesting story here. I wanted to continue reading until the end, and the ending wasn\'t really a let-down. So, for entertainment purposes, this gets a thumbs-up.
As for the bad, simply too many major plot points happen out of convenience for no particular reason. A major character suddenly switches sides in a conflict because of suddenly falling out of love with one character and just as suddenly falling in love with another. Yeah, right. That\'s believable - not. There are stupidities along the way. And the \"twist\" at the end is just way too convenient and unnecessary to be included. Throw in the sudden appearance of ESP and telekinesis, and you have a recipe for fluff. Additionally, I found the superficial treatment of the definition of humanity to be, frankly, repulsive.
This is the story of the attempt to colonize Mars permanently and economically. There\'s quite a complex play of interests involved, but it kind of boils down to the rebels and the government fighting for their respective control of the planet.
This is an interesting story. It's well written, has a good plot, and the characters are fairly well done. The odd mix-in of some Jack and the Beanstalk elements, and a few other Earth references, don't fit in so well with the other-worldly tale, but then again, neither do they particularly detract from the story. If only the author had been able to come up with a better ending, I could see the possibility of 5 stars.
Frenchmen from Earth colonize a planet that already has two sentient, and accepting, species present. They integrate with the existing societies, but after many years trouble starts brewing. Our hero must overcome the "Skin" devices which control the actions of the populace. A small bit of swashbuckling aids the cause.
I cannot grasp how anyone rated this story beyond a single star. There's hardly a plot, almost no conversation, and the only two characters are cardboard. The story is mostly narrative, and full of goofy-science references. And, just how believable is it that an Earthman single-handedly defeats an entire race of beings that are the masters of time, space, and multiple universes? Give me a break.
Somehow, this story just manages to avoid being horrible. After the initial silliness, the story is just interesting enough to keep you going. And then the ending goes back to silliness.
An invisible man isn\'t as perfectly invisible as he hopes. And this leads to trouble as he tries to steal back stolen death-ray plans.
A good, but not great, story. Holds interest throughout. The ending is a little weak, with an attempt at a twist that just comes off as additional (and unnecessary) information.
Two aliens, apparently capable of shape-shifting are marooned on Earth. One is a criminal, the other is a cop. The cop must find the criminal to save Earth. He does this by building an elaborate ride at Disneyland. Um, OK, *that\'s* certainly different.
Had this been written differently, it could have been the *beginning* of a good story. As it is, it\'s just starting to pick up speed when the author cuts it off, which ruined it for me.
A man kills his friend so that a potentially deadly secret cannot escape.
Recent comments: User reviews
Taking the long way around the mountain (Mars), the author tries to explain how Man got his voice. Plain stupid.
First, there is an interesting story here. I wanted to continue reading until the end, and the ending wasn\'t really a let-down. So, for entertainment purposes, this gets a thumbs-up.
As for the bad, simply too many major plot points happen out of convenience for no particular reason. A major character suddenly switches sides in a conflict because of suddenly falling out of love with one character and just as suddenly falling in love with another. Yeah, right. That\'s believable - not. There are stupidities along the way. And the \"twist\" at the end is just way too convenient and unnecessary to be included. Throw in the sudden appearance of ESP and telekinesis, and you have a recipe for fluff. Additionally, I found the superficial treatment of the definition of humanity to be, frankly, repulsive.
This is the story of the attempt to colonize Mars permanently and economically. There\'s quite a complex play of interests involved, but it kind of boils down to the rebels and the government fighting for their respective control of the planet.
Frenchmen from Earth colonize a planet that already has two sentient, and accepting, species present. They integrate with the existing societies, but after many years trouble starts brewing. Our hero must overcome the "Skin" devices which control the actions of the populace. A small bit of swashbuckling aids the cause.
An invisible man isn\'t as perfectly invisible as he hopes. And this leads to trouble as he tries to steal back stolen death-ray plans.
A "coward" captain is ordered to take his ship into battle.
Two aliens, apparently capable of shape-shifting are marooned on Earth. One is a criminal, the other is a cop. The cop must find the criminal to save Earth. He does this by building an elaborate ride at Disneyland. Um, OK, *that\'s* certainly different.
Men from Earth set out to be the first to reach Sirius. Let's just say they don't exactly meet their goal.
A man kills his friend so that a potentially deadly secret cannot escape.