by Jason Joyner | Aug 19, 2009 | Blog, CSFF, reviews, Robin Parrish, speculative fiction
I am a fan of Robin Parrish.
I’ve followed him for a while through his now-defunct site Infuze, which melded coverage of Christianity with the latest in pop culture. I was introduced to a lot of things there. I disagreed with him on some shows. I read his first three books, the Dominion Trilogy, and was literally ready to pull out my hair after the cliffhanger for the second book, Fearless (thank goodness I was already bald). That book also inspired a post about heroes that has been my most read post (Why Do We Need Heroes?)
Today I’m reviewing his latest book, Offworld. I’ve already posted about it here.
Why the introduction?
Yesterday I gave the synopsis of the book. He starts the book off with an amazing sequence as the astronauts who are returning from the first manned-mission to Mars survive a crash landing on re-entry. The three men and one woman team set off from Kennedy Space Center to Houston, where a mysterious beacon of light is the only clue they have to the disappearance of the human race. They encounter no one, save an anomalous young woman named Mae with an empty personal history.
The opening, as mentioned, is dynamic. The pace of the book doesn’t rest much, as the team survives one harrowing event after another on their way to Houston, finally realizing someone must be out there opposing them. Slowly personal details of the characters slip out, as he continues to weave the tale. The action continues until the big climax in Houston. Robin knows how to keep pages turning.
Unfortunately, Offworld had a lot of letdown to me from his previous books. The characters didn’t have much backstory to make them really standout. There’s the brave commander with a secret, the loyal and longsuffering first officer, the steady yet mysterious specialist, and the hotshot, hot-tempered pilot. That sums up the main characters.
The set-up was so huge (the disappearance of the human race), it was hard to account for everything in the end. The cause of it all smacks too much of a MacGuffin device, too contrived to really hold up the story. I know Robin is a big fan of the TV show Lost, and I know nothing of the show, but I think he may be trying to write to that type of fan with this story.
Another aspect of the story that came across as weak was the setting. No area really stood out, and Robin did a good job of this in the Dominion Trilogy even though that series bounced around so much. The book is set in 2033, but there wasn’t a lot of new technology that punched up the story.
I enjoyed the story to a degree. Robin is a talented suspense writer not afraid of big ideas and challenges. Not every attempt works though. I started out discussing how much I have enjoyed Robin Parrish in the past because I fully intend on following his projects in the future. This book is a decent sci-fi/near future adventure with faults that keep it from really taking off. Unfortunately, I think I had high expectations from before. That might be the problem. I wanted this to be a 5 star book, but it hit me as more of a 3-3.5 star book. Still enjoyable, but not a home run.
If you want other opinions, see the other posters listed at Becky Miller’s blog. Keep an eye on Mr. Parrish, because I expect the unexpected from him in the future, and will continue to look out for his next projects.
—
by Jason Joyner | Aug 19, 2009 | Blog, CSFF, reviews, Robin Parrish, speculative fiction
I am a fan of Robin Parrish.
I’ve followed him for a while through his now-defunct site Infuze, which melded coverage of Christianity with the latest in pop culture. I was introduced to a lot of things there. I disagreed with him on some shows. I read his first three books, the Dominion Trilogy, and was literally ready to pull out my hair after the cliffhanger for the second book, Fearless (thank goodness I was already bald). That book also inspired a post about heroes that has been my most read post (Why Do We Need Heroes?)
Today I’m reviewing his latest book, Offworld. I’ve already posted about it here.
Why the introduction?
Yesterday I gave the synopsis of the book. He starts the book off with an amazing sequence as the astronauts who are returning from the first manned-mission to Mars survive a crash landing on re-entry. The three men and one woman team set off from Kennedy Space Center to Houston, where a mysterious beacon of light is the only clue they have to the disappearance of the human race. They encounter no one, save an anomalous young woman named Mae with an empty personal history.
The opening, as mentioned, is dynamic. The pace of the book doesn’t rest much, as the team survives one harrowing event after another on their way to Houston, finally realizing someone must be out there opposing them. Slowly personal details of the characters slip out, as he continues to weave the tale. The action continues until the big climax in Houston. Robin knows how to keep pages turning.
Unfortunately, Offworld had a lot of letdown to me from his previous books. The characters didn’t have much backstory to make them really standout. There’s the brave commander with a secret, the loyal and longsuffering first officer, the steady yet mysterious specialist, and the hotshot, hot-tempered pilot. That sums up the main characters.
The set-up was so huge (the disappearance of the human race), it was hard to account for everything in the end. The cause of it all smacks too much of a MacGuffin device, too contrived to really hold up the story. I know Robin is a big fan of the TV show Lost, and I know nothing of the show, but I think he may be trying to write to that type of fan with this story.
Another aspect of the story that came across as weak was the setting. No area really stood out, and Robin did a good job of this in the Dominion Trilogy even though that series bounced around so much. The book is set in 2033, but there wasn’t a lot of new technology that punched up the story.
I enjoyed the story to a degree. Robin is a talented suspense writer not afraid of big ideas and challenges. Not every attempt works though. I started out discussing how much I have enjoyed Robin Parrish in the past because I fully intend on following his projects in the future. This book is a decent sci-fi/near future adventure with faults that keep it from really taking off. Unfortunately, I think I had high expectations from before. That might be the problem. I wanted this to be a 5 star book, but it hit me as more of a 3-3.5 star book. Still enjoyable, but not a home run.
If you want other opinions, see the other posters listed at Becky Miller’s blog. Keep an eye on Mr. Parrish, because I expect the unexpected from him in the future, and will continue to look out for his next projects.
—
by Jason Joyner | Aug 18, 2009 | Blog, CSFF, Robin Parrish, sci-fi, speculative fiction
Something is wrong with the world.
“In 2032, the first manned mission to Mars is returning to Earth after a 2 1/2 year journey. Commander Christopher Burke leads his 3 other crew members back from an eventful and successful landing on the Red Planet.
After a strange anomaly occurs and communication with Earth is lost, the crew survives a harrowing crash-landing at Kennedy Space Center. The dazed and bruised astronauts exit their spacecraft, wondering why the emergency response teams didn’t pull them out of the capsule. The answer?
Everyone on Earth has disappeared.
No one is left, and the occurance seems to have happened at the same time of the anomaly and communication cut-off. The only clue: a beacon of light eminating from Houston.
The crew embarks on a new journey, much more harrowing-to find out what happened to the human race.
If you would like to read the first chapter of Offworld, go HERE.
Robin Parrish is the author of Offworld, the latest novel for the Christian Sci-fi/Fantasy Blog Tour. Check back tomorrow for my review. In the meantime, check out these tour participants.
Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Gina Burgess
Canadianladybug
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
Eve Nielsen (posting later in the week)
Nissa
John W. Otte
Lyn Perry
Steve Rice
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Stephanie
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Elizabeth Williams
by Jason Joyner | Aug 18, 2009 | Blog, CSFF, Robin Parrish, sci-fi, speculative fiction
Something is wrong with the world.
“In 2032, the first manned mission to Mars is returning to Earth after a 2 1/2 year journey. Commander Christopher Burke leads his 3 other crew members back from an eventful and successful landing on the Red Planet.
After a strange anomaly occurs and communication with Earth is lost, the crew survives a harrowing crash-landing at Kennedy Space Center. The dazed and bruised astronauts exit their spacecraft, wondering why the emergency response teams didn’t pull them out of the capsule. The answer?
Everyone on Earth has disappeared.
No one is left, and the occurance seems to have happened at the same time of the anomaly and communication cut-off. The only clue: a beacon of light eminating from Houston.
The crew embarks on a new journey, much more harrowing-to find out what happened to the human race.
If you would like to read the first chapter of Offworld, go HERE.
Robin Parrish is the author of Offworld, the latest novel for the Christian Sci-fi/Fantasy Blog Tour. Check back tomorrow for my review. In the meantime, check out these tour participants.
Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Gina Burgess
Canadianladybug
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirtika
Eve Nielsen (posting later in the week)
Nissa
John W. Otte
Lyn Perry
Steve Rice
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Stephanie
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Elizabeth Williams
by Jason Joyner | Jul 22, 2009 | bioethics, Blog, books, CSFF, culture, Karen Hancock, The Enclave
There’s a lot of buzz going on about this month’s book, The Enclave. Make sure to check out Becky Miller’s blog, as she tracks all of the confirmed posts for the tour at this page.
I really enjoy the CSFF tour because we get some intelligent, creative people who care about faith discussing the books and issues brought up. We often have interesting discussions going on via various blogs that are quite entertaining.
The nature of The Enclave, dealing with scientists at a secretive genetic research complex, lends itself to some serious discussion of issues that are facing us today.
Regarding cloning a child who died prematurely:
“Actually, I consider the whole idea of trying to replace lost loved ones to be futile and misplaced. It might be the same body, but whatever soul God imputes to the child, should she be born, it would not be the same as your [dead] daughter’s.” (p170).
Another quote on cloning:
“Twenty-five years ago [head of the complex] Parker Swain was obsessed with human cloning, which he saw as a means of attaining eternal life.” (p299).
This book may be considered science fiction, but we are not talking about far-future events here. There will soon be many issues confronting humanity regarding cloning, genetic or biologic enhancement, and the ethical dilemmas raised by these issues. Already we are seeing more and more widespread genetic screening of embryos, genetic manipulation of food sources (both plant and animal), and debates related to assisted reproductive technologies (IVF, surrogacy, PGD, etc).
Christians need to be aware of these issues and should have a basic ability to speak into the public square about them, because even if they’re not already here, they will be soon. Not all of us can be geneticists or experts on bioethics, but we need awareness.
Literature can be a great vehicle for opening our eyes to such concepts. The Enclave does a good job dealing with the issue of cloning, although it loses some fizzle in the end with the introduction of the laser-beam wielding Nephilim (if that’s not a teaser for the book, I don’t know what is!). My favorite philosopher to quote regarding these issues is none other than Dr. Ian Malcolm from Jurassic Park: “Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
Another book that hits this broad range of topics is My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult, where a sibling is conceived as a “savior sibling,” selected by preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) with the right match to be a donor. Eventually the sibling has to donate more to the older, sick sibling, but declines being used as a utilitarian tool any more.
The movie The Island was widely panned, but I really enjoyed it, not only for the action, but the intelligence behind the movie. People think they are the last remnants of society being protected underground, and the lucky ones win a lotto sending them to “the island”, the last unspoiled place on Earth-when in reality they are clones being held as insurance for the rich in case they get liver failure from alcohol or are critically injured or ill.
Storytelling has power, as books from Pilgrim’s Progress to Uncle Tom’s Cabin to 1984 show. I applaud Karen Hancock for shining a light on issues that are looming in our future. There’s a lot that can be said about this book, but this is the aspect that really caught my eye.
For more information on Bioethics and these issues, check out these links I’ve found in a little internet digging:
Breakpoint: The New Eugenics.
The Human Future.
The Center for Policy on Emerging Technologies. I liked this statement on “Enhancements”.
The Center for Bioethics and Culture.
Your homework? Check out at least one of these links, and get a little more educated today!
—
by Jason Joyner | Jul 22, 2009 | bioethics, Blog, books, CSFF, culture, Karen Hancock, The Enclave
There’s a lot of buzz going on about this month’s book, The Enclave. Make sure to check out Becky Miller’s blog, as she tracks all of the confirmed posts for the tour at this page.
I really enjoy the CSFF tour because we get some intelligent, creative people who care about faith discussing the books and issues brought up. We often have interesting discussions going on via various blogs that are quite entertaining.
The nature of The Enclave, dealing with scientists at a secretive genetic research complex, lends itself to some serious discussion of issues that are facing us today.
Regarding cloning a child who died prematurely:
“Actually, I consider the whole idea of trying to replace lost loved ones to be futile and misplaced. It might be the same body, but whatever soul God imputes to the child, should she be born, it would not be the same as your [dead] daughter’s.” (p170).
Another quote on cloning:
“Twenty-five years ago [head of the complex] Parker Swain was obsessed with human cloning, which he saw as a means of attaining eternal life.” (p299).
This book may be considered science fiction, but we are not talking about far-future events here. There will soon be many issues confronting humanity regarding cloning, genetic or biologic enhancement, and the ethical dilemmas raised by these issues. Already we are seeing more and more widespread genetic screening of embryos, genetic manipulation of food sources (both plant and animal), and debates related to assisted reproductive technologies (IVF, surrogacy, PGD, etc).
Christians need to be aware of these issues and should have a basic ability to speak into the public square about them, because even if they’re not already here, they will be soon. Not all of us can be geneticists or experts on bioethics, but we need awareness.
Literature can be a great vehicle for opening our eyes to such concepts. The Enclave does a good job dealing with the issue of cloning, although it loses some fizzle in the end with the introduction of the laser-beam wielding Nephilim (if that’s not a teaser for the book, I don’t know what is!). My favorite philosopher to quote regarding these issues is none other than Dr. Ian Malcolm from Jurassic Park: “Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
Another book that hits this broad range of topics is My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult, where a sibling is conceived as a “savior sibling,” selected by preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) with the right match to be a donor. Eventually the sibling has to donate more to the older, sick sibling, but declines being used as a utilitarian tool any more.
The movie The Island was widely panned, but I really enjoyed it, not only for the action, but the intelligence behind the movie. People think they are the last remnants of society being protected underground, and the lucky ones win a lotto sending them to “the island”, the last unspoiled place on Earth-when in reality they are clones being held as insurance for the rich in case they get liver failure from alcohol or are critically injured or ill.
Storytelling has power, as books from Pilgrim’s Progress to Uncle Tom’s Cabin to 1984 show. I applaud Karen Hancock for shining a light on issues that are looming in our future. There’s a lot that can be said about this book, but this is the aspect that really caught my eye.
For more information on Bioethics and these issues, check out these links I’ve found in a little internet digging:
Breakpoint: The New Eugenics.
The Human Future.
The Center for Policy on Emerging Technologies. I liked this statement on “Enhancements”.
The Center for Bioethics and Culture.
Your homework? Check out at least one of these links, and get a little more educated today!
—
