Review: An OK prequel to a trilogy I probably won't read
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 10 18, 2010
A short story. It is well written, yet lacks essence. The idea of a space colony and sleeper ships is not new, so it requires a really good plot to keep me interested. The plot is not very original. [[SPOILER ALERT]] Spaceship has been traveling for a long time because earth is over polluted(this has been done before), they send a scout ship to find a landing spot for the colony(not a new idea), {epic science fail for not sending a probe ahead to measure the density of the atmosphere}, atmosphere is too dense so scout ship crashes(ships always seem to crash), everyone but the protagonist dies(how new...). Oh yeah, and then there is the fact that the scout ship needs an engineer in the engine room, that the engines have to open up for firing, and a whole other range of things that are not at all founded upon science, such as the simple fact that the spaceship should have been decelerating prior to the arrival at the planet. [[END SPOILER ALERT]] This story seems to be like most science fiction that is being written today, almost worthless.Story neither interesting nor innovative enough to get me to buy the other three novels in the trilogy...And a word on the cover art. It is professionally designed, but it seems like the cover art of a horror novel, not a science fiction one.Overall a very disappointing novel, I would expect more from an author who has taught creative writing at Oxford.