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Quantum Leap #8
Search and Rescue
Leaping into the body of a doctor who is searching for a downed airplane in the wilds of British Columbia, Sam Beckett is unaware that a lightning bolt has caused Al to leap into one of the plane's crash victims
232 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
3 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
About the author
Melissa Crandall
14 books19 followersAbout 20 years ago, I had the opportunity to spend four hours with an Asian elephant named Belle, and her keeper Roger Henneous. That occasion changed my life in ways I never anticipated, and led to the writing of my latest book, THE MAN WHO LOVED ELEPHANTS. The manuscript is complete and with my agent, Bonnie Solow, and will soon be submitted to publishers. Stay tuned for more news!
I cut my amateur writing teeth on fanzines--Star Trek, Star Wars, Elfquest, and others--so it was only natural that my professional teeth would emerge courtesy of media tie-in novels for Star Trek, Quantum Leap, and Earth 2. Since those long-ago days, a collection of short fiction has appeared, as well as a limited-run self-published endeavor, appearances in CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL, and most recently a Halloween-themed anthology. My fiction has appeared in "Allegory," the tri-annual online magazine of SF, Fantasy & Horror, and in "Amoskeag: The Journal of Southern New Hampshire University." My nonfiction has been featured in the "Journal of the American Geriatrics Society," the blog "The Wild Ride - Caretaking Mom Through Alzheimer's," on the writing podcast The Drunken Odyssey, in the ASPCA's "Animal Watch," "Strides," the magazine of NARHA/PATH Inter'l, and various newspapers. I've even appeared in two cookbooks!
I'm hopeless at organized sports and follow no teams. I love to bike, hike, and just take walks, anything to be outdoors and, preferably, among animals. I live in Connecticut with my husband, our Australian shepherd Holly, and ancient surfer-dude cat, Tuna.
I cut my amateur writing teeth on fanzines--Star Trek, Star Wars, Elfquest, and others--so it was only natural that my professional teeth would emerge courtesy of media tie-in novels for Star Trek, Quantum Leap, and Earth 2. Since those long-ago days, a collection of short fiction has appeared, as well as a limited-run self-published endeavor, appearances in CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL, and most recently a Halloween-themed anthology. My fiction has appeared in "Allegory," the tri-annual online magazine of SF, Fantasy & Horror, and in "Amoskeag: The Journal of Southern New Hampshire University." My nonfiction has been featured in the "Journal of the American Geriatrics Society," the blog "The Wild Ride - Caretaking Mom Through Alzheimer's," on the writing podcast The Drunken Odyssey, in the ASPCA's "Animal Watch," "Strides," the magazine of NARHA/PATH Inter'l, and various newspapers. I've even appeared in two cookbooks!
I'm hopeless at organized sports and follow no teams. I love to bike, hike, and just take walks, anything to be outdoors and, preferably, among animals. I live in Connecticut with my husband, our Australian shepherd Holly, and ancient surfer-dude cat, Tuna.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 4, 2015
Unfortunately, I think the author was trying too hard to be introspective with Al and Sam. It's always fun when Al gets pulled into a leap but it was overly heavy on symbolism... Perhaps I just want to call it wordy.
June 27, 2017
This is not a Quantum Leap novel. Yes it has Sam and Al and has Quantum Leap on the cover, but if you removed the Quantum Leap elements from this book, it would be the exact same book. At no point do either character do anything that wouldn't have been done had they not jumped into the situation.
Having said that, it is a very strong story as it is. The plight of Al and the survivors in the Canadian wilderness as they deal with the shock and loss in different ways was by far the most interesting aspect. Sam's story was less compelling, but it did deal with some heavy issues as his companion is the estranged father to one of the survivors (not that they know that she survived) and is dying of leukaemia.
I found the whole 'spirit animals' bits a little jarring in that they didn't fit in to the rest of the story, or the series as I remember it (not that I've seen many episodes). I haven't got an issue with the mythology of it, just the random use of it here.
Having said that, it is a very strong story as it is. The plight of Al and the survivors in the Canadian wilderness as they deal with the shock and loss in different ways was by far the most interesting aspect. Sam's story was less compelling, but it did deal with some heavy issues as his companion is the estranged father to one of the survivors (not that they know that she survived) and is dying of leukaemia.
I found the whole 'spirit animals' bits a little jarring in that they didn't fit in to the rest of the story, or the series as I remember it (not that I've seen many episodes). I haven't got an issue with the mythology of it, just the random use of it here.
April 17, 2021
“Knights of the Morning Star” was the first Quantum Leap book I read and in my review I said that I thought the author did not adequately capture the voice of the characters. In comparison to this book, however, it was spot-on. Crandall doesn’t really seem to be trying to mimic the voice of the television characters; in fact, this story feels mostly like a generic search and rescue story with QL elements shoehorned in. And that story is not particularly strong on its own - both the A and B stories just repeat over and over again, with Al getting mad at other people on their downed plane and worrying about the weather and Sam doing essentially the same. It just repeats and repeats until it’s finally resolved. That said, there are some interesting moments and it’s not *terribly* written, although it does rely on similes a lot like a high school essay.
Another thing I want to note... in both books, the word “shit” is censored at least one time, despite the fact that the word gets used freely later on. In KOMS, Sam says “No foolin’, Sherlock” to Al instead of “No shit, Sherlock” even though characters use the word “shit” later in the book. Here, Al tells somebody to cut out the “pseudo-macho bull dinky”, which is RIDICULOUS, instead of saying “bullshit”... but then proceeds to say “Shit!” throughout the rest of the book. Why? What is this about? I’m wondering if the rest of the QL books have the same bizarre single-instance censorship. I own one more, “Loch Ness Leap”. I’ll try to remember to come back and edit this once I’ve read it and know for sure.
EDIT: I’ve now read “Loch Ness Leap” and unlike the other two Sam doesn’t say “shit” throughout the book; I don’t think there’s any swearing at all, come to think of it. That said, there is a moment when the main female character, a computer hacker, receives an email from a shadowy contact who signs off as Master of Daring-Do [sic]. She thinks to herself, “Master of Illegal Do-Do [sic] is more like it.” So, yes, technically there is a childish replacement word for “shit” in this book, and a misspelled one at that, but it makes sense in context as a pun so it’s sort of forgivable? Still, that is 3 for 3. I don’t know if I’ll be reading any other QL books—these are the only 3 I own—but if I do I’ll try to remember to come back to this review to keep you updated on this.
Another thing I want to note... in both books, the word “shit” is censored at least one time, despite the fact that the word gets used freely later on. In KOMS, Sam says “No foolin’, Sherlock” to Al instead of “No shit, Sherlock” even though characters use the word “shit” later in the book. Here, Al tells somebody to cut out the “pseudo-macho bull dinky”, which is RIDICULOUS, instead of saying “bullshit”... but then proceeds to say “Shit!” throughout the rest of the book. Why? What is this about? I’m wondering if the rest of the QL books have the same bizarre single-instance censorship. I own one more, “Loch Ness Leap”. I’ll try to remember to come back and edit this once I’ve read it and know for sure.
EDIT: I’ve now read “Loch Ness Leap” and unlike the other two Sam doesn’t say “shit” throughout the book; I don’t think there’s any swearing at all, come to think of it. That said, there is a moment when the main female character, a computer hacker, receives an email from a shadowy contact who signs off as Master of Daring-Do [sic]. She thinks to herself, “Master of Illegal Do-Do [sic] is more like it.” So, yes, technically there is a childish replacement word for “shit” in this book, and a misspelled one at that, but it makes sense in context as a pun so it’s sort of forgivable? Still, that is 3 for 3. I don’t know if I’ll be reading any other QL books—these are the only 3 I own—but if I do I’ll try to remember to come back to this review to keep you updated on this.
November 26, 2014
This is the second book I read about this TV show. I love the TV show. However, I feel this author didn't capture the characters of Sam and Al. I was lost as far as where the plot was going. The characters were pretty flat. I didn't care about any of them. I did like that Sam and Al got to leap together. However, they didn't receive any help. Ziggy only made am appearance once in the entire book. I just think it could have been better. The only times there were any kind of real emotions between the characters were when 1) Al was talking to Faye before his host was about to die and 2) when Al and Sam were reunited. The only redeeming part of this book was you got to see more of Al.
June 20, 2011
This was a quaint and quiet read. Very good for soul-searching. I liked that television show a lot better though. This is what I get from accepting a book from my mother. Bleh. =)
March 26, 2015
This Quantum Leap novel has an interesting twist, having an accident leap Al into a plane crash survivor while Sam is a doctor searching for the downed plane. Well written and true to the show.
November 19, 2014
missed main components of show :(
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews