Customer Reviews

The Dig

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

When I got this book I really didn't know what to expect. Sure it was writen by ADF by it could be a let down right? Wrong! The story revolves around an Earth saving space mission which goes wrong. The "unlucky" astronauts are ship wrecked on a planet far away from home. They battle group dynamics, alien equipment, alien creatures and others to find their way home.

This book is highly imaginative, well written and smooth. I found the book to be compelling and deeply engrossing. If you want a book that whips you along the star lines at the speed of light and doesn't let you go.. Get this book!!!

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.

When an asteroid threatens the Earth, NASA launches a shuttle mission to nuke the big rock into a stable orbit. The operation goes smoothly. But when Cmdr. Boston Low, scientist Ludger Brink & TV reporter Maggie Robbins explore the interior, the asteroid transports them to a far away planet of wonder and danger. Enjoyed it immensely! Good job on the characters. All 3 had the personalities needed to survive on the alien world of Cocytus. Great interaction between rock solid, ice-water-for-blood Low and spirited yet experienced Robbins. Loved the transformation in Brink. Added a lot to the tension of the story. Lots of really awesome stuff to be found on the planet, especially some green crystals that play a big, big part in the story. The exploration and deductive skills of the characters as they make one discovery after another was well done and believable. The Cocytans are great aliens. Millions of beings of pure thought, all connected and existing in a dimension just beyond our. Loved their observations of the human visitors and how their efforts, to many of them, are merely a sideshow. Yet others root for them and desire to help them, even though they are unable. The one complaint I have is that I would have liked to see more fear among Low, Ludger and Maggie of possibly being stranded on this alien world for the rest of their lives. While they are curious, smart and confident, even the best of us would get scared to our depths at one point or another in such a situation. Despite that, the book was a great sci-fi tale.

Game fans that have enjoyed a game always vie for the backstory. That's why they buy books based on popular games, like "The Dig", one of the best true sci-fi graphic adventures in my opinion. A game with depth. It's good therefore to see the one dimensional characters to be transfered to full dimensional, meet their thoughts, acts, fears and it's also good to bind the diferent scenes with conceivable words. It is also good the begin- ing that Foster and Clark give us, different from the game, but well narrated and again with depth. And as I said in the beginning: the backstory lies there on well written english, with a steady flow and with scenes that have a certain, but slow tem- po. A novel idea that he presents the Cocytans as caged Gods, the watching eye. And that's where the pros end. Unfortunately they don't stay focused on the game scenery, which is most imposing and while they try to exhibit the surroundings, their use of language is too complex and too picturous, to ill- ustrate clearly what they want to present us. In order to get the meanings you lose the scene. Also as they stay away from the game, their translation of the characters actions and problem solving is sometimes resolved by endless talks, or lucky findings, or too naeve descriptions. Their base should be the game and not the story they wanted to write. Description of the problem solving and of the story should be the way LUCAS ARTS had thought of the game to be better played (viz hint book), or let's say the solution to the game by a famous magazine (PC GAMER for me, you can add your favourite here). That's where a backstory can be based. Also, their characters are described in a good way, but not let's say in a vivid way that some of them had to (Ludger Brink's loonacy). Also, the end of the book seems like a hasten sum up, like they ended all they wanted to say, but if we bring again in mind the game itself, there are scenes that are missing (e.g the underwater cave, the hidden island, aso). Why then the three stars ? Well, they did a good job in trying to translate a game into a novel and they need some encouragement, with a good tendered criticism in mind. Although not as complete and close to the original idea, it has style, a good beginning and adequate character building to be criticised as a "fair" reading. Do a better job then next time gentlemen (viz Mr. Alan Dean Foster and Sean Clark).

Not because I knew about the video game or anything, but just because it had people in space-suits. I SO WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED! This book is UNBELIEVEABLE. Actually, anything by Alan Dean Foster is. So read it--you will NOT be disappointed.

The Dig was my favorite games of 1996. By reading this book I had the impression to get back to this mysterious world and solve the puzzles all over again. I just wish someone has the gutts to produce the movie or a TV show based on this incredible story.

This audio was very interesting and a great story, however the abridgement cut the story too short. Anyway, the material they do present is good and the background sounds and music are a major piece of this good audio...

This book was great very good detail and its a book with non violent aliens just like the game made by Lucas Arts