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Biased and superficial Science Fiction reviews

           
     
Impact

Copyright 2009 by Douglas Preston

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SOJALS rating:     
one SOJALS point no SOJALS point no SOJALS point no SOJALS point no SOJALS point    Awful (1/5)

I first read this on the 10th June 2011 and most recently on the 6th December 2011

A classified hard disk is missing from the National Propulsion Labs. It contains surprising data from the Mars mission Ryman Ford is called up by the CIA to explore a meteor impact in Cambodia. Harry Burr is a professional assassin and he's after Ford.

I don't think I've ever read an alien first contact novel with so little about aliens. I assume that the author hadn't been able to sell this as a spy thriller, so tacked aliens on to replace whichever third world country was originally intended. But that's probably not the case, as Douglas Preston appears to be a successful author. In that case perhaps I should thank him for expanding SF Readership. But it was a waste: there was a potentially-cool SF plot in this novel but it was largely ignored.

Easy reading and gripping at times, but not SF.

Loaded on the 10th October 2013.
    
Cover of Impact
Cover art by Superstock