Customer Reviews

Children of Destruction

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I first started reading Children of Destruction, I thought it was going to be about the Rapture. "Not another Left-Behind book!" I thought...and it wasn't. Because it isn't just the Christians who are disappearing, it's EVERYBODY!

And it ain't Jesus who's coming back, it's...well, maybe it's better you don't know.

This is science fiction in the tradition of Omega Man, I Am Legend, and just a touch of Robinson Crusoe. There's mystery here, and suspense; Phillipson has woven a tale that takes turns you don't expect. Every time you think you know where the story is going, you're wrong. I think someone said this is Phillipson's first book. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

Okay, I'm going to start with a negative, but it is only the one.
So here it is. I didn't like the first chapter, which would normally be enough to make me put the book down. However, a friend had recommended it to me, so I ploughed on; and I'm glad I did!
The rest of the book develops well, and is exceptionally well written. I found myself becoming totally immersed in the story, in fact, it kept me up late at nights.
In my opinion, this book is well worth the $4.45 I paid for it. For little more than the price of a cup of coffee, I got hours of enjoyment. That's got to be great value in anyone's books.
I gladly give it four stars.

Okay, this is supposed to be a post-apocalyptic struggle for survival of the human race, but Philipson has taken what could have been an X-rated sex romp and turned it into not only a good science fiction saga, but an R-rated romance as well.

And the bad guys (aliens) aren't all that stereotypical either. Like any intelligent race, they have their problems and good points, but they do have a basic trait that makes them something to be avoided unless you're a lot tougher then they are. Their early story is told through the eyes of a bureaucrat with a boss from hell and a shrew for a wife. I suspect that Philipson had more fun heaping abuse on his bald, reptilian head than he did writing the main plot.

The story has two segments: one in the "near future" and the second 200 years after that. I love stories with a "sweep of history" in them and this one doesn't disappoint.

If I had to fault the story anywhere, it would be not enough conflict/suspense for the humans in the first half. There's some, but not really enough for my taste. The alien story line makes up for it as does the second half, so I'll forgive the author and not subtract a star in my rating.