Call from a Distant Shore [Paperback]

Stephen L. Burns (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 8, 2000

Five people have been chosen.

They have heard the voice in their heads. A voice calling for help. A voice that must be answered...or the entire world will die.

But to answer it, they must find it.

Unfortunately, the voice is not of this earth...

Call From a Distant Shore is the amazing second novel from Stephen Burns, the fast-rising star known for his stories in Analog and his smash debut novel, Flesh and Silver. Now, Burns takes a major step forward with a novel that is part Close Encounters of the Third KindPlanes, Trains & Automobiles, and all original.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Roc (August 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451457927
• ISBN-13: 978-0451457929
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,709,280 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Extremely absorbing and entertaining!, January 19, 2001

By 

Hank Schwartz "banjo & SciFi" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Call from a Distant Shore (Paperback)

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!

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too slow, and too many hokey foreign accents, January 10, 2001

By 

M. McClure "damack1" (Pelham, AL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Call from a Distant Shore (Paperback)

The idea was interesting, but the story moved much too slowly. And the foreign accents were annoying and stereotypical. The Spanish-speaking head of the United Nations, for example, constantly interspersed his conversation with references to tacos and enchiladas (oh, brother). His Russian-speaking security agent talked about, what else, vodka and Russian ballet. The author even used these ridiculous cultural references when talking ABOUT the characters. For example, he said the UN chief was about to burst "like a pinata". In my opionion, this is a cheap way to avoid creating real, 3-dimensional characters.

20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real page turner, August 13, 2000

By 

Stephen J Kreckman - See all my reviews

This review is from: Call from a Distant Shore (Paperback)

A great follow on to his first book. A wonderfully down-to-earth (read bawdy) tale in the style of Asmivov. A good sense of Twilight-zone justice and characters that you give a damn about with a healty dose of lust and science-fact. I read it in a weekend and wished it went on forever....