Review: "black space between the stars – bleak and endless"
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 28, 2014
From Maryland to Houston, to Kenya, to China, to Antarctica, to Pluto and beyond, this science fiction novel is quite ambitious. There are more characters than locales. And maybe as many predictable themes: artificial intelligence, anti-matter, aliens vs. humans, imminent demise of the solar system.The first third contains some very good writing and character development.However, we are giving the novel only three stars because of inattention to detail in the editing of the text. "Henry was the good son who would stay on the res and eventually take over the cattle farm."We find passages like this:"Jake’s mind races as he hypothesizes and comes up with the likeliest theory – that the aliens had been there far, far longer than anyone ever imagined. Perhaps as far back as the formation of the system."And this:"Several major newspapers lay strewn on the table between them – different cities from all over the globe, but all have the same front page story: the New Horizons crash, and the supposed cover-up going on at the site in Colorado."Predictably we find the scene before the United Nations when the aliens confront the military and various confused heads of state.“We must travel to the United Nations in New York. We must address the General Assembly immediately,” she says, with a directness and urgency that scares Marjorie to death."We endure silliness like this:"The crew all straightens their postures – and DeShawn desperately hopes there are no food cling-ons sticking to his mouth.""Yes, I am dead, aren’t I? Cecelia replies, not quite believing it herself. And yet, at the same time, I’m not. You kept me alive somehow, in this other state…or whatever it’s called. That’s all I can think of."Die-hard fans of the genre may very well like this novel as evidenced by the prior reviews. This reader would prefer a less predictable plot, without typographical errors. Donovan can write but we are hoping for a better story next time.Leila Smith for The Kindle Book Review.The Kindle Book Review received a free copy of this book for an independent, fair, and honest review. We are not associated with the author of Amazon.