Customer Reviews

The Delphinus Chronicles

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

From the secret labs of a small San Diego college campus, to the dangerous sea depths off the Greek islands, to a dramatic car chase down California's rugged Route One, The Delphinus Chronicles moves with heart-stopping speed. Ross Erricson and his small group of researchers, while experimenting in communication with the dolphins, have made two incredible discoveries. Not only do these intelligent mammals understand human communication, the dolphins also hold the secret to the beginnings of human civilization on Earth.

R. G. Roane sweeps the reader along on this suspenseful journey with vividly drawn characters, stylish narration, and non-stop action that moves through several plot twists at breakneck speed. A fast, intelligent thriller that leaves the reader safisfied, yet hoping for another ride on Roane's roller coaster.

Cabrillo University in San Diego was granted Simon, the world's most powerful super-computer, for their experiment. Professor Ross Erricson and his graduate students did their research in a small subterranean computer lab that USED to be an auxiliary storage area. One wall was constantly damp due to the Ocean Park dolphin tank being on the other side of the wall. But the heat Simon generated would take care of that and no one worried.

No one could have foreseen the unintended consequences that would follow! After all, humans are not the only intelligent species on this planet.

***** This is an astounding novel that I found hard to put down. Every time I believed nothing else could happen to surprise me I was proven wrong. Highly recommended reading!

All the great American universities put in a bid to "house" and conduct experiments using the most advanced supercomputer Simon. Though MIT or one of the West Coast IT giants are the favorites, GCS shockingly assigns Simon to little Cabillo University in San Diego. The victory stuns everyone especially Professor Ross Erricson, the author of the winning concept in which Simon would be programmed to teach itself languages.

Simon moves into a basement room with a wall shared with dolphins residing at the nearby Ocean Park aquarium. Simon soon learns and translates "dolphinese" into English. However, though Ross, his students, and his mentor realize what they have learned, no one else believes them when they explain a dolphin's look at humanity and warn them of a secret race of people.

THE DELPHINUS CHRONICLES is a superb science fiction thriller that never slows down from the moment Simon checkmates the world's greatest grandmaster to the climax. The story line is loaded with intrigue, action, but especially insightful powerful relationships between people, humans and Simon, dolphins and Simon, and the world wide web of sonically connected dolphins so that the key cast including the supercomputer seem real. Though some extra intrigue involving nasties adds drama and tension, it temporarily slows down an incredible triumphant look at how mankind communicates and interprets events. This reviewer's interpretation communicated through this review is that RG Roane deserves strong accolades and a vast appreciative audience for this winning novel.

Harriet Klausner

"The Delphinus Chronicles" is an intriguing read with a superb style of writing that successfully carries the story forward with ease while giving its readers the delightfully assiduous duty of finding out what's next. With Pandora's box now open what can we expect to happen next from the mind of R.G. Roane.

"The Delphinus Chronicles has restored my faith in reading for enjoyment. It offers something for all readers. There's adventure, technology, mystery, science-fiction, and even a bit of romance. The perfect balance of each of these themes without losing sight of the plot reflects the authors true literary brilliance. This book was written with such creativity it's impossible to put down. The thing I liked best about this book was getting to the end, and thinking "Wow, I didn't expect that". The ability to keep the reader guessing is an art very few authors have mastered. READ THIS BOOK!!!"

> Ross and his staff at a tiny San Diego community college, are stunned
> to be the unexpected recipients of the world's most sophisticated
> computer, one with the capability to "learn".
>
> Installing the computer in a basement of the college, the team programs
> it carefully with their work on language learning. Since the basement
> wall abuts the dolphin tank of the Sea World-type park next door, they
> soon learn that the machine is "talking" to the dolphins through the
> tank wall. And what they're communcating is astonishing. Dolphins have
> for centuries been keeping in their collective consciousness, mapping
> information of the entire ocean floor of the planet.
>
> The discovery leads to adventure, mystery and intrigue as the
> researchers begin quietly searching for shipwrecks and treasures long
> lost on the ocean floors, and various baddies begin to learn of their
> efforts and attempt, variously, sabotage of the computer and theft of
> its findings.
>
> Delphinus Chronicles is a fun, complex, yet fast read. It will be an
> enjoyable yarn for anyone from teen age and up, who enjoys mystery,
> adventure, or science fiction.
>
> Production values: The reader, Helen Brindle Lisanti, at first seemed
> an odd choice given that most of the characters driving the plot are
> men. I'm afraid I cling to the notion that male characters are best
> represented by male readers. However, Lisanti is a wonderful reader and
> carried both narration and a long list of characters well.
>
> The production also has music placed strategically at various plot
> points and chapter endings. A good idea, and the music placements are
> well-chosen since the plot often carries us back historically to events
> such as shipwrecks when they were happening. However, on my little car
> CD player, the music overrrode the narration to such an extent that I
> couldn't hear Lisanti over it. I had trouble hearing Lisanti at most
> times, and had to turn up the volume to nearly full power in the car to
> catch some of her lower cadences. I'm not sure what the cause of this
> is, but it needs fixing for audio readers to hear the book without
> distraction.
>
> Again, a thoroughly fun and enjoyable book. I really liked the plot and
> action.
>
> Tina Vierra
>
> __________________________________

"R.G. Roane's career history probably influences the story line and qualities of The Delphinus Chronilces. A fast moving but multi-faceted plot takes the reader through a geographic, historical, technical journey - but to say more would detract from the unique experience the reader will enjoy. Written with a logical clarity which belies the expertise of the author, The Delphiniums Chronicles is, to say the least, a good read!"

THE DELPHINUS CHRONICLES grabs you by the short hairs & drags you headlong into suppositions about our world that are both new & truly exciting.

Mr. Roane has produced a classic in the genre of intra-species intelligence. I devoured THE DELPHINUS CHRONICLES at one sitting, I could not put it down!

Very well done & memorable too!

If you are the sort of person who can suspend their disbelief a bit and enjoys dolphins, wild science, conspiracy theories, Atlantis, aliens and the such, this is the book for you. Take the core elements of the book, and admitedly they sound a bit silly, but read the whole thing and what you get is a tale that just keeps going, full of twists, surpsies, humour, conspiracy theories, and of course, dolphins. It is truly entertaining to read. Salman Rushdie it isn't, but then, not everyone wants Salman Rushdie.

The plot is based around a supercomputer that's learning language, but has not been told what language it should learn. Consequently, there are some interesting results, as 'Simon', the computer, starts translating messages from other intelligent life forms. The results lead to some truly interesting places, and with a fair amount of flair, the book ties together some of the most popular Atlantian myths with a few other good conspiracies. Much of this is familair ground, we all know the popular myths on which it is based, but that adds to the enjoyment, and the entertainment of watching well known pieces being assembled into new shapes.

This is a book you can really enjoy, without having to take it too seriously. The plot is perhaps a little far fetched, but that's part of its charm. I will agree with other reviewers that there could have been a good deal more characterisation, but in the book's defence, there are some truly wonderful pieces of writing, especially around Simon and those he is talking to. I can be quite a cynical soul, but the idea of communicating with dolphins, and the way in which it was written, both moved and inspired me.

In many ways, this novel is a tribute to pulp fiction and b-movies, referencing the kinds of bizzare twists you get in both, the kinds of solutions you get in b-movie alien films, the kinds of conspiracies you get in dubious thrillers, the world history you'll find in new age fiction. If you know how to enjoy this stuff, as the author clearly does, you can have a lot of fun reading this book. It's knowing, funny, well thought through and the moment following the question 'so who shot JFK?' is brilliant indeed and made me laugh out loud.

A story with a fascinating premise and a more-than-adequate construction (as far as light entertainment goes), "The Delphinus Chronicles" was an enjoyable and entertaining experience. For those of you considering the audiobook, the confluence of Helen Lisanti's narration, sound editing, and Kennedy Smith's music made the book come alive in a way that seems greater than the sum of its parts.