The Caloris Rim Project

by Glenn P. MacDonald

The Caloris Rim Project opens ancient doors—the kind best left alone—that lead to distant and untouched vestiges of the Tower of Babel. Major Frank Rawdon’s entire life is committed to defending his country and Earth, but something has invaded his very soul and that changes everything. Frank has become a pawn in a power struggle full of riddles, alien prophecy and forbidden ambition. For the first time in his life he doesn’t know who to protect and who to battle.

The year is 2250 A.D., and Frank stands on the brink of an interstellar war. What he discovers changes our galaxy’s history, and future, forever. Major Rawdon is a soldier of uncommon skill and ability, fighting a battle inside himself that may destroy everything—including the woman he loves.

The Caloris Rim Project—a secret that exposes the unstoppable future of the past.

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 24, 2014

About the author

Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Glenn has spent most of his life on the move. His father was in the Royal Canadian Air Force and later felt called into full-time Christian ministry. Glenn’s formative years were spent in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, where he, along with his three siblings, brought the blessed communion of rambunctiousness to Baptist parsonages. In 1981 he was sworn in as a regular member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and later stationed in Nova Scotia, the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, and RCMP National Headquarters in Ottawa. Being a police officer harnessed his curious mind with the sober realities of working on the street and polished it with discipline. Along the way, Glenn was asked by his son, Wesley, to write out the quirky stories he sometimes made up for him and his sister, Keltie. This simple request eventually turned a natural storyteller into a dedicated writer. Retired since 2016, Glenn now lives and writes in rural Nova Scotia where he's spending much more time with his parents and family.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been very fortunate to receive a free copy of this book from ‘Goodreads First Reads’.
Wow, what a great book. I really enjoyed this book and found it quite hard to put down. As soon as I met Frank I knew that he was a goody and that he was definitely the kind of guy you would like to have on your side – as Rebecca found out. At times he employs somewhat extreme self-preservation techniques, but then that is why Frank is Frank and why he is a survivor. After all they went through together it came as no surprise that he and Rebecca did marry and I’m sure that they had an eventful and happy life together. Major Dember and his enormous Turgor soldiers were a welcome addition to the book and added a depth to the story that was completely unexpected and despite their size and foreboding presence you always felt they could be trusted and again you were glad they were in your corner. The aliens? Well, I am sure that somewhere out there there are species that we haven’t met yet. I always find it a shame that aliens like Dryya are restrained for study and yet the crew did help them against another alien race, all politically motivated. This is a book you find yourself speeding through as you want to know what happens next – ALL THE TIME – and it is a book that I shall be reading again and again. A fantastic read. Thank you.

[Anne Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected the usual science fiction book where 2+2 makes 4 one time and 3 ten pages later. But I found a humorous well thought book, quite worth reading.
You meet interesting characters, as well among the humans as with some of the aliens. Of course, once you accept the amazing number of stars and planets, it seems logical to think, like Hawking does there are alien forms of life and intelligence. A nice book.

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodreads win. Will read and review once received.

For me this book was a little slow in the very beginning, but it ended up picking up nicely. It is an excellent read. The writing was great throughout the book. This was one of those books I didn't want to see end, but was happy with the way it did. I can see myself reading this book again in the future. It is a book i would gladly recommend to friends and family.

[Ronald Sauve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glenn takes you on a journey through time and space. The book was well written. I enjoyed it a lot. At first it started a little slow but picked up speed and i found myself eager to get back to the book asap. The main character i can only say is akin to Jason Bourne of outer space. Caught between his duty and what he thinks is right but questioning the morality of all. I wished the supporting characters had more depth to them so i could like and dislike them more. Soo i wish it had been a longer book.

The science of the book is well written and the aliens are different then what you would expect in tradition science fiction. What i did enjoy in a sad way was that humanity in the future had not changed ,we were still a greedy species that would be willing to do anything for our own self interests.

Over all i would recomend this book to read because it inspired many moments of after thought once output put the book down. It made you wonder what would you do in the same situations.

[Randy Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought the book and have not been disappointed with the purchase, well worth it. The plot builds very nicely and the character development is well done, drawing me into the story. Mr. Mac Donald mixes the cold hard realities of military operations and science fiction that brings credibility to the entire story line nicely.

And humour. Pansies......you must read the book to find the reference, it was hilarious. I was reading the book in the cafeteria at work when I reached this part. I laughed so hard people were staring at me.

I enjoyed the book immensely. I am looking forward to the next book by this author.

This is an excellent debut book by Mr. Mac Donald.

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome mix of sci-fi and military thriller with a touch of romance thrown in. Powerful portrayal of a feasible potential future.

Disclaimer: I was gifted this book via a Goodreads.com giveaway in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Gayle Slagle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, I was disappointed in The Caloris Rim Project by Glenn P. Mac Donald. I am generally a huge fan of sci/fi, but this one somehow missed it for me. It started out with great promise and I thoroughly enjoyed the first quarter of the book, but it somehow fell apart for me after that. The plot and the characters showed promise in the beginning, but the plot began to meander all over the place and at times was hard to follow. The characters were never fully developed and I could not decide whether I liked or hated the main character, Frank Rawdon. I realize that in sci/fi, the reader must suspend disbelief, but to me parts of the story line simply seemed ludicrous. Mac Donald does indeed show promise as a story teller, but in my opinion, he needs to show a little more restraint and zoom in on one major story line.

[Permittivité du Vide]

Unfortunately, regardless of how many times I tried to get into this story, we just didn’t click.

If interstellar wars between aliens and space soldiers are your thing, this book might be for you; it just wasn’t for me.


I received this book through the Goodreads/Librarything giveaway program.

[Tiamatty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book free through Goodreads Giveaways. This was not a great book. MacDonald puts a lot of work into the setting and science, so he gets points for that. But the plot and characters are both weak. The plot meanders a bit, and never quite feels like it gels. The characters are bland and shallow.

But the biggest problem is the writing style. MacDonald simply isn't a strong writer. It has a tendency to be too dry, even when it shouldn't be. It ends up sucking out tension in some scenes, because it's just not written in a way that conveys the tension. There were far too many typos for a published novel, as well.

All in all, I was not impressed by this book.

[Carolin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very well-written Science Fiction novel. The author succeeds in creating interesting, likable and authentic characters and at the same time manages to build a fictional reality in the near future that will take your breathe away.