MP3 CD Format Alien meets Jurassic Park in this fast-paced science fiction thriller.
When an ill-fated NASA project causes an extrasolar meteor to hit a small Pacific island, people rush to blame the agency for a mysterious death on the island. Under social media pressure, NASA sends David Anderson to the island to investigate the death and vindicate the agency.
But Anderson is not the only newcomer to the island.
More people are dying. Anderson and his team must figure out what is killing everyone before they, too, become victims. But how do you stop a killing machine that keeps evolving?
Interstellar asteroid on collision course with earth, NASA breaks it apart a chunk lands on an island in the middle of the Pacific, by the way it's loaded with extraterrestrial life, but who cares. The build up to what should be the biggest thing on the whole planet, the discovery of life from outer space it's just not there and in of itself that is the biggest let down. The story kept my interest up to half way of the book the rest I sort of skimmed it to the end. The premise had so much potential but it lacked a good execution and better development, ok I'll stop here though I could go on and on about it.
More like the C or D version. This book makes NASA seem like the Keystone Cops. A meteor is going to be passing very close to the Earth, so NASA uses a rocket to push it aside. Unfortunately, a few pieces break off, but those should burn out in the atmosphere. One piece gets through, though, and impacts on an island populated by a very few people. One young boy from the island dies after handling the meteor, and NASA sends in one scientist to investigate the meteor. Anderson, the scientist, is accompanied by Veronica, a reporter, and Steve, her cameraman. At this point you have to be thinking how unprofessional all this sounds. Anderson studies the meteor and finds a reddish goo inside, which turns out to have living cells. He contacts NASA, who proceeds to announce that alien life was found inside the meteor. (Yep, I bet that's just what would happen in the real world.) Meanwhile, all the islanders die, after being bitten by some unknown small creatures. And does anyone come to investigate? Nope. No need to worry about that. Another NASA scientist is brought in, but no one seems too concerned by people dropping dead, or the few reporters coming to the island and cutting off bits of the meteor. Results: I call no way! All these things happening, and no one in any position of authority checking it out? Uh uh. Wouldn't happen. I won't say that it isn't an amusing storyline, but I think the humor is unintentional.
I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
When a meteor lands on earth it leaves with it an alien species very dangerous to mankind. I really liked this book until the very end. It has exciting moments and great characters. I just thought the ending was sudden, upsetting, and left much to be desired. I would still recommend this as it is a very short, quick read. Just don’t expect to necessarily like the ending.
Where to begin with this book!! I'm at a loss for words really so if this rambles a bit, please forgive me. This sounded like something I would love, I mean when it's compared to both Aliens and Jurassic Park it must be a winner...right? Wrong.
I'll start with the plot. There's a large Asteroid near Earth and NASA send a rocket to essentially blow it off path, but it goes wrong and a part of the asteroid lands near an island. It contains Alien life and a team are sent to investigate. Again, this sounds awesome but the plot fails in the execution. I'm going to break somethings down and some of them might be minor spoilers, but I don't think they will.
Point one.. if a large asteroid is near Earth but not on a collision course with us, would NASA really send a rocket to break it apart? I mean, it says that it's miles away from us and won't come anywhere near us!!
Point two... if an asteroid did hit the earth and NASA and the Government heard that it may have caused people's death, would they send an inexperienced person to check it out? Would they really tell the world about the asteroid and let reporters and other people go to the place. They know there is signs of something on the asteroid, yet they don't send people in hazard suits, nor do they block off access to the area... no, reporters from all over the world seem to be able to get there, Germany and China have sent people to get a sample of the asteroid and they were able to get some!!
Point three.. what the heck??? How in the world can this be compared to Jurassic Park when the bloody aliens things are described as starfish like??? Did I miss starfish dinosaurs in Jurassic Park??? The only reference to anything remotely dinosaur like was the fact that they said the starfish like things attacked like Raptors. Seriously!! It's being compared to Jurassic Park simply because they attack en masse from different directions. I was highly disappointed because Jurassic Park is one of my all time favourite books and movie.
I also have to comment on the characters dialogue. I'm not a writer, but the dialogue was painful to listen to at times. It felt very.... juvenile. I think that best describes it! I was rolling my eyes so much. I wanted to put this aside so many times, but I also wanted to see how it ended (which was another big let down).
In all, this book wasn't for me. I think I was hoping for too much from it but it failed to deliver. There were too many plot holes and nothing felt right with how things were handled.
Joe Hempel was the only redeeming factor. He read this really well and was able to keep my attention on the book. He had plenty of voices for the different characters and was clear and easy to follow.
I was given this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.
A large meteor is on a possible collision course with Earth. If it hits Earth, it could be a planet ending impact. With little time to work out how close it may come to hitting Earth, NASA make a decision, which may have dire consequences. Most of the fragments hit the oceans, but one part of the meteor hits what should have been a small, uninhabited island in the Pacific.
A death occurs and NASA send out an expert in space and DNA identification, David Anderson, to the island, to investigate what happened. Was it caused by the meteor or was it just a coincidence? The NASA contact flaps his lips a bit too much and others come to the island, for their part of the meteor and the big news story.
More deaths are occurring. Will Anderson be able to figure out what is causing the deaths or will he and his team become victims as well. A killing machine is evolving around them. Can they outwit it, or will it overwhelm them and kill everyone? You need to read the book to find out.
I received an ARC copy of this book from Hidden Gems and stayed up into the early hours to finish the book. I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
I liked it. Like Jurassic park it was wordy and over scientific for the 1st part IMHO. The second half got really going and accelerated away beyond all my expectation. The alien starfish reminded me of 1980's comics and the meteor was straight from a 1950's B type movie. I was frustrated with the actions of 2 of the characters who chose to deal with the body of a dead pilot whilst their comrade was valiantly (at 1st) fighting off one of the creatures - he would have had to have thought 'wtf?'if he spotted the two losers leaving him to it. I can be 15-20% critical still leaving it 80-85% positive. It was well thought out and an enjoyable read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I have read several books by this author and love the writing style. This story has a few twists and turns when a meteor lands on earth in the south pacific. It doesn't take long before the first death happens and David Anderson is sent to investigate. David is joined by Veronica Barnes, who is actually a reporter, but soon becomes more of an assistant to Jerry as they try and figure out just what is happening when some kind of strange substance coming from the meteor may be what is causing even more deaths.
Reading this book I wonder, is it possible that people are that stupid? that daft? I mean, a meteor strikes earth and the people that go to study it poke a it with a tree branch? touch it with their bare hands?? Anyway the book lost its credibility when it mentioned "hubble's live feed" of the meteor that passed very close to earth... But... I still rated it 3 stars because, setting aside the stupidity, it got me hooked!
What a fun read, and quick, I finished it in an afternoon. I was going to say there are not a lot of SF beach reads, but if you look at some of the older stuff you will find plenty of books you can knock out in a long weekend. Some are classics too. Don't get me wrong, I like a good 'brick' as much as the next reader. Between longer books I always look for something short and sweet, to cleanse the palate as it were. Mr. Dawson has written an interesting and entertaining story, check it out.
I just finished this book. It is 1:30 in the morning and I have the creeps. A meteorite lands on a small island and people start dying. Sounds like the basis of a good sci fi story. And it is a really good story. Creatures from space cling to the meteorite. But where did they come from and what do they want? You have to read this book to find out. There are twists and turns as you read along. It will grab you and hang on until the end.
Where Jerry Dawson's book is not the first I've read with the premise of a meteor bringing extraterrestrial life to earth, it is definitely one of the most uniquely creative I have read. It has great science, good drama and excellent elements of horror, with a perfect conclusion. This is no Sam and Patty book so if that is your experience of Jerry Dawson's writing, pick this one up and see what you have been missing! (Personally, I'm a fan of Sam and Patty!)
Thank you, Jerry, for making this story a real winner! The plot takes off from the opening scene and never lets up! Characters are mostly sympathetic, so you care about what happens to them. Writing is smooth and descriptive. Aliens are shivery! A cut above a lot of scifi!
If you want to read a scary story, try this one. it's about dangerous alien life landing on an island and how it spreads around the world. Some of the story was a little technical but otherwise, very well written. Also has some action scenes which enhances the story. For me, I didn't find any language errors which are my pet peeves.
Bad book. Bad, bad, bad book! Interesting premise, interesting but not original bad lifeforms, one-dimensional characters, inexplicable and unjustified technical problems, slow beginning, predictable ending.
I never felt the need to post spoilers and I'm not going to do so now, even though I do feel the need. Is that good enough to keep you away from this monstrosity? Sorry, Mr. Dawson.
Hello, this story was different, I give you that. Everything and everyone made the most idiotic and plain stupid moves I have ever seen. I mean, come on, surely the eggheads aren't that stupid. Thanks.
I liked this book except for the end. I realize the end is more realistic, but ...oh well. It makes me hope that if we ever have a meteor strike, I sure hope it's not like the one in the book. If so, be on the lookout for black slimy starfish like creatures.
The dialogue was extremely dry. All the characters had the same voice. There was little to no character building. What could have been a great thriller, just put me to sleep.
This was a good story; it was fast paced & held my attention to the very end. No spoilers here, but I was looking for a less common ending. I felt the author didn't wrap up some loose ends which left me wondering "...so what became of..." this, that and so-n-so. I'd recommend this book for it's sheer fast pace and entertainment value.