Frontier Earth

Frontier Earth #1

by Bruce Boxleitner

An alien sent to warn Earth of an invasion lands in Tombstone, Arizona, in 1881--right in the middle of the OK Corral gunfight--with two bounty hunters on his tail and war about to break out in this frontier town.

Genres: Science Fiction, Westerns, Fiction

322 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Bruce William Boxleitner is an American actor, and science fiction and suspense writer. He is known for his leading roles in the television series How the West Was Won, Bring 'Em Back Alive, Scarecrow and Mrs. King (with Kate Jackson), and Babylon 5 (as John Sheridan in seasons 2–5, 1994–98).

He is also known for his dual role as the characters Alan Bradley and Tron in the 1982 Walt Disney Pictures film Tron , a role which he reprised in the 2003 video game Tron 2.0, the 2006 Square-Enix/Disney crossover game Kingdom Hearts II, the 2010 film sequel, Tron: Legacy and the animated series Tron: Uprising. He co-starred in most of The Gambler films with Kenny Rogers, where his character provides comic relief.

Reviews

[F.J. Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was enjoyable. Boxleitner (or his ghostwriter) demonstrates a great knowledge of western terminology, even if he does tend to go off on tangents occasionally, taking a page or two to explain something that isn't really relevant to the plot or characters.

But, I thought he did a great job weaving a science fiction story around western story and historical events in Tombstone, Arizona. The famous gunfight at the OK Corral. The alien hunters were creatively designed--kind of a cross between a snake and an insect with its brain somewhere other than the head. The main character, Macklin, kind of reminded my of Gary Seven on Star Trek. Both were the product of Humans taken from Earth by an alien culture and enhanced for the purpose of guiding Mankind toward cultural maturity.

The ending sets up for a sequel, which I look forward to reading as soon as I get my hands on it.

[Deborah Cartwright · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't finish the book. It was well written but the book was too western themed for me. Now my Dad LOVED this book was super impressed by it. For me I wanted more science fiction and less history.

[B. Jay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty campy. If 'Tombstone' meets 'Predator' sounds cool, this book is worth the quick read.

[Clay Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to know how Macklin got those gold coins before he landed on Earth.

[Kathy KS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe 2.5*

At first I thought this might be the source material for Cowboys vs. Aliens, because they started in a similar fashion. From there, the stories DO diverge, although the spirit is still similar. It's amazing how blending a western with science fiction (not steampunk) can be believable for both genres.

This story takes place in Tombstone, Arizona, and much of it actually tells a story of the shootout at the O.K. Corral. Unfortunately, for me, this part got tedious after awhile. The back-and-forth tauntings between the Earps and the Cowboys just filled too much space. I found the other characters of more interest.

I'm not sure if I care enough to follow-up on the sequel... it's a definite maybe.

[Therese Brink · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised that I really enjoyed this book. Boxleitner spins a wonderful yarn that takes place on Earth during the Earp and Clanton fights in tombstone, AZ. There are also frightening aliens. Enjy this book. It is a good story.

[Derrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the mix of the Earp/Tombstone story and space. It was an easy read and felt like an alternate version of the classic story. I'm looking forward to the follow-up novel to see where things go with the monitors. I also appreciated the minimal amount of sexual content.

[Allison Pennington · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intense read and very well fleshed out characters. The world building as far as the world where Macklin was from was well done and detailed just enough not to loose the reader. Enjoyed the Earps and Clantons and the feel of the old west.

[Janet Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great concept but somewhat uneven in the telling. Relies heavily on the reader knowing a lot about the American old west.

[Jennifer Baratta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very good. I'm waiting for the second book to come via Amazon mail.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fine story, and the mediocre rating is mostly because I'm just not a huge fan of Westerns (I prefer contemporary fiction and SF... and it was the SF that got me through the story).

This story is yet another take on the American Wild West/ Doc Holliday/ the Earps, but this time, Earth is being scouted by the alien bad guys (who like to cause pain and terror and can project the exact image of almost anyone or anything) to be a food source. Luckily, the good aliens out there stole communities of humans two hundred years before and have ready-made agents fighting to save us. But (how overused is this?) one of them has amnesia.

If you want to mix up Wild West stories in a new way, I'd recommend Emma Bull's _Territory_ instead.

[Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides]

I read a review somewhere that said that this was pretty good, but it's not what I'm in the mood for right now. Seems a little didactic/earnestly explaining in voice — but I only read the first few pages.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read! A great mix of Sci-Fi and Western. Can't wait to start the sequel.

[Gary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terminator ripoff

[Eric F Knox · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just didn't get into it.