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Title: Call from a Distant Shore by Stephen L. Burns ISBN: 0-451-45792-7 Publisher: Roc Pub. Date: 08 August, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.08 (13 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Call for a Distant Shore
Comment: This novel starts a bit slow as the author takes great care to introduce us to all the characters. Becoming friends with all concerned makes the plot in the second half that much better.
While the book is complete, I was left hoping that there would be a sequel to follow up on a number of topics. It almost seemed like the author suddenly decided the book had to stop which is at odds with the slow build up at the beginning.
I will read more by Stephen Burns and recommend the book as a good read. I can't say exactly why but I lost a night's sleep as I could not put the book down.
Rating: 4
Summary: Extremely absorbing and entertaining!
Comment: I found this, Stephen Burns second novel, to be not as intellectually compelling as his most excellent "Flesh And Silver", but a most enjoyable and exciting adventure nonetheless.
A typical good guys vs the bad guys story, the good guys here are a group of six humans who are interrupted in their complex lives by a mentally deafening call for help that just can't be ignored. The bad guys are all the rest who don't hear the call and can't believe their stories of an alien presence in dire need.
I loved the characters and the characterization. Burns really brought them all to vivid and interesting life and compelled me to avidly follow their progress towards a noble and world changing goal.
This is only a mild social statement, not much science in the fiction, but it is a darn good read that started out a bit slow and then came to a screaming finish. A great feeling of aaaahhhhh at the end.
Try it, you'll really like it!
Rating: 3
Summary: And where IS the Distant Shore?
Comment: Pretty good story - and a neat premise for a tale of first contact. A two individual team from a benevolent alien race, protecting earth from the natural vagaries of an indifferent universe, experiences an unexpected calamity and must reveal its existence and ask earthlings for help or perish. By fortuitous coincidence, earth's first Mars mission happens to be in the neighborhood and might be diverted to the rescue - if the few who have received the telepathic cry for help can convince a skeptical world to do so.
Perhaps there is a sequel in the future. The story ends fairly abruptly. It would have been fun to read far more about the alien, its origin, its culture, its technology, the scope of it's knowledge, etc. In short, more about this "distant shore". Additional narrative describing the specifics as to how earthlings could provide aid to such an advanced species, as well as how the global psyche was affected by this momentous landmark in human history, would have been welcome.
Unfortunately a lot the story is written in the scatological style indicative of the salacious thought patterns of teenage boys. I'm aware that much real life verbal intercourse is similarly crass, but in the written word, it to me is usually a bit unsettling, annoying - and unnecessary. I found myself frequently skipping through the text (something I rarely do), some of which seemed like mere filler, with little loss of the story line.
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Title: Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan ISBN: 0345457684 Publisher: Del Rey Books Pub. Date: 04 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Spin State by Chris Moriarty ISBN: 0553382136 Publisher: Spectra Books Pub. Date: 30 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: The Golden Age by John C. Wright ISBN: 0812579844 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Broken Angels by Richard K. Morgan ISBN: 0345457714 Publisher: Del Rey Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Phoenix Exultant by John C. Wright ISBN: 0765343541 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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