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The Dig [Mass Market Paperback]

Alan Dean Foster (Author), Steven Spielberg (Contributor), LucasArts Entertainment Company (Contributor)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)


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Book Description

February 1, 1997
When an asteroid out of nowhere threatens to hit Earth, a space shuttle is sent to nudge it into a safe orbit. Venturing to the surface, three crew members become trapped as the asteroid suddenly leaves orbit, transporting them to a strange planet light years away. To find their way home, the intrepid explorers must embark on a dangerous archaeological adventure in this tale of galactic intrigue and suspense.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When a mile-wide asteroid appears in orbit around Earth, ex-astronaut Boston Low is called on to return to space and nudge the monster into a stable position. When he, a journalist and a scientist investigate the asteroid's surface, they enter a time and place of mystery, danger and revelation: the planet Cocytus, once home to an intelligent race but now a haunted museum to their incredibly advanced civilization. An epic science fiction adventure too big for even Steven Spielberg to bring to the screen! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

That this isn't an everyday SF novel is evident from the book's credits: "LucasArts Entertainment Company presents The Dig, by Alan Dean Foster, based on a story by Sean Clark, inspired by Steven Spielberg." The text reveals that, in fact, this is scarcely a novel at all; rather, it's a computer adventure game?specifically, The Dig, available later this year on CD-ROM for PCs?translated onto the page. The premise is simple: a party of astronauts travels to an asteroid that has veered too close to Earth; when they set off atomic charges to spin the rock into a stable orbit, they uncover a deserted alien civilization and go exploring. Foster (Mid-Flinx, Forecasts, Oct.16), who's an old hand at adaptations (Alien 3, etc.), doesn't get past Go here, as he's roundly defeated by stock characters?a phlegmatic German scientist, an ingenious American one, etc.?and, above all, by the computer gaming form. As any gamer knows, computer heroes run around collecting objects, solving puzzles and, often, deciding which of three tunnels to go down. And so it goes with Foster's crew, along a monotonously linear plot line that touches on the sort of simplistic metaphysics (can disembodied intelligences be happy?) sadly typical of computer games. Major ad/promo; simultaneous Time Warner AudioBook.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 310 pages
  • Publisher: Aspect (February 1, 1997)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0446603791
  • ISBN-13: 978-0446603799
  • Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 0.9 x 6.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,567,412 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Alan Dean Foster's work to date includes excursions into hard science-fiction, fantasy, horror, detective, western, historical, and contemporary fiction. He has also written numerous non-fiction articles on film, science, and scuba diving, as well as having produced the novel versions of many films, including such well-known productions as "Star Wars", the first three "Alien" films, "Alien Nation", and "The Chronicles of Riddick". Other works include scripts for talking records, radio, computer games, and the story for the first "Star Trek" movie. His novel "Shadowkeep" was the first ever book adapation of an original computer game. In addition to publication in English his work has been translated into more than fifty languages and has won awards in Spain and Russia. His novel "Cyber Way" won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990, the first work of science-fiction ever to do so.

Foster's sometimes humorous, occasionally poignant, but always entertaining short fiction has appeared in all the major SF magazines as well as in original anthologies and several "Best of the Year" compendiums. His published oeuvre includes more than 100 books.



 

Customer Reviews

37 Reviews
5 star:
 (19)
4 star:
 (9)
3 star:
 (5)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (37 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the 3rd or 4th best book I have read to date., May 30, 2005
This review is from: The Dig (Mass Market Paperback)
While this is one of the best SF books I have ever read, I am somewhat new to the SF world. It seems original, and I could not put it down in most parts. It ends kind of abruptly...but it is very good altogether.
Is about an asteroid that comes to earth that ends up not being an asteriod. Very SFish with aliens and ancient cultures and such.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Pre-"Rama" story, October 12, 2004
This review is from: The Dig (Mass Market Paperback)
This was good tale, with a lot of interesting people. It reminded me of A. C. Clarke's story "Rama" and "Rama II", though this one ended within one book and it did not have the social dilemma. The ending was a bit disappointing, but, what else to do? At least it was positive and did not dwell on the problems that would be encountered in real life.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars If only they made this into a film..., January 29, 2003
By 
"ab1aze" (Brisbane, Queensland Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Dig (Mass Market Paperback)
Let me start by saying I played the game when it first came out and fell in love with it instantly. The story was original, the music was great and the beauty and menace of Cocytus was something to behold. Scenes with the psychopathic Brink were great and the Cocytan creator's dialogue sent chills down my spine. I almost had tears in my eyes when the game finally came to a close. If this were made into a movie, it has the potential to be a classic.

Now, down to the book. I like Alan Dean Foster's work and I've been pleasantly surprised by his work in the past, but this book changed a few things from the game that lost it a few points in my mind. Boston and Maggie]s roles have been reversed. Boston is no longer the joker and teaser of the party, Maggie is. The character of Brink no longer goes crazy over the crystals, he is much more subdued which worked against the tension of the story. The beauty of Cocytus felt somewhat diminished as well. Apart from that, the book is certainly worth a read if you want to get a little more background of the game.

I will be very disappointed if Steven Spielberg doesn't get around to making this one day. I'm not usually a fan of his work, but he did a great job on "Minority Report" last year, and I'm convinced he could do great justice to this tale. It has the potential to be timeless.

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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
"It's a rock, Mr. President." Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Boston Low, Commander Low, Maggie Robbins, Mission Control, Cora Miles, Chief Executive, Ludger Brink, New York, San Francisco
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