Customer Reviews

Divine Intervention (World Realities Series)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The mission of the Walt Disney Spaceship is to find a habitable planet and colonize it, reporting back to Earth periodically on their failures and their final success. They land on the planet they name Mandala in galaxy light years from Earth and in the one hundred and fifty years they have lived on it; they have put their mark on the planet. Even their religion is based on the writings of the captain of the spaceship, a combination of science and theology.

Earth has been notified of the colonizing of Mandala and with the new technology that has been developed 33,000 colonists who have been cryogenically sleeping are about to orbit the planet. The Prime Minister of Mandala fears that the colonists will be a threat to his regime. He goes to the spaceship with a few of his allies and kills off all but one of the crew. He plans to murder all the new colonists with only nine year old deaf mute Drew Randall, who has a direct pipeline to someone or something calling himself God, in his way.

Fans of space opera, political intrigue and precocious little heroes will thoroughly enjoy reading DIVINE INTERVENTION. It's fascinating to read about a group of people who colonized a world according to their own collective needs and beliefs. Readers will believe that author Ken Wharton actually visited his planet and has written about events he witnessed.

Harriet Klausner

This is, at heart, a story of the difference between religion and science, which I find intriguing. It does not say either is more or less valuable to the human condition - instead it warns against trying to blend them.

Engaging characters, page-turning plot, and (as all sci-fi authors must create), a believable fantastic setting. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

"Divine Intervention" is one of the most fascinating novels I have read in the past few months. It successfully takes a hard science fiction story and incorporates unique ideas on physics, interstellar colinization, religion and politics into an entertaining blend. The tension between the "Burnout Kingdoms" and the mainstream society of Mandala really makes the story work well. And the twist of Drew Randall, a young deaf-mute, communicating with "God" is quite intriguing.

Very original and highly recommended.

This is an exciting book by a new author who very successfully blends interstellar colonization, religion, physics, and politics into a sci-fi novel with great characters and a rip-roaring ending. The author carefully familiarizes the reader with his new world, then turns on the excitement. I would definitely recommend this book, and am looking forward to more by this author.

I will preface this review by admitting that when it comes to science-fiction, I tend to favor the fictional elements over the scientific ones. I don't mind a book that is science heavy, but I'm pretty particular about how that science is communicated. I'm not fond of the model that has two characters casually chatting about quantum physics for pages and pages.

Wharton, when he does this, does manage to give it good context (most of the time), so it doesn't get tiresome. The book is reminiscent of C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy in its attempts to address science and theology, but Wharton's aim is different. His crafting of the Randall family is really well-done, and we come to appreciate them for their individual strengths and foibles. Daddy Randall is a preacher and believes in "God" but not the "God" of his son, Drew. Drew, who is a deaf-mute and communicates through a transmitter, has regular talks with God. Mommy Randall is an atheist, but turns out to be far more-open minded than Daddy Randall.

This would be an interesting premise by itself, but Wharton successfully places the Randalls on Mandala, a long-standing colonized planet. In fact, the whole theology of Mandalans is based around a "Journal" kept by the Captain (capital "C" intentional) of the original ship that colonized the planet, the Walt Disney. But they have become their own planet, and the news that a ship containing thousands of cryogenically frozen Earthlings is on its way to Mandala isn't received as happy news by everyone.

Where the book fails, is the Epilogue. I would like to see a law against Epilogues (I'm looking at you Harry Potter). I much prefer to leave things hanging than a quick tie-up of all loose ends in 3 to 10 pages. Wharton's Epilogue, especially after all the complex relationships he has introduced, comes off as trite.

Epilogue aside, it is a good read. The scientific reasoning is mixed with personality differences and theology which makes for much more interesting reading than your standard dialogue about semiconductive materials.

I had never heard of Wharton or this book when I picked it up in the bookstore, so I considered it a ...shoot, but I liked the premise. It wasn't quite what I expected, but I really enjoyed it. I think some of the characters were a little thin, and I would have liked to learn more about the society it was set in. But I thought it was interesting how the history was presented alongside of the story and how it came together at the end.

How is it that the Star Trek series can spend $2 million an episode, and only come up with a halfway decent script about 10% of the time? Meanwhile, writers like Ken Wharton, working all alone, can come up with a fast, action-filled, provocative book like this one, and do it for probably less than a $10,000 advance. I don't particularly like "hard" science fiction, and I am sooo bored with authors pontificating about God, the universe, and everything. But Wharton has some genuinely fresh ideas, they're clearly written, and he's got a sizzling story to boot. I only gave it 4 stars (because I'm against grade-inflation!), but it's one of the best books I've read this year!

With his ability to plot several lines of thought and combine them with adventure, laugh, curiosity and suspense, "Divine Intervention" is no doubt a delight for the science fiction reader.

The author throws you into the scene right from the start. With no blabber in even one single page, and with the ability to provide new ideas and many twists along the story, the book is a great escape into a new surrounding and technology.

The scientific background of the author spices the story with hard sci-fi elements while human drama and spiritualism are kept an integral part through out the book. The writing style is very clear and intriguing. It is definitely a fast-paced adventure that keeps you awake into the night.

Highly recommended!

A great book! Dr. Wharton's scrupulous adherance to the real laws of physics as we currently understand them make this a very realistic and believable story. I loved it!

horrible, I'm afraid. I picked this up at my local drugstore, the concept looked interesting. The concept is interesting, but the execution was very poor. The characters are poorly sketched, some of the concepts seem to be just thrown in without much thought (the whole fana thing?), the conflict between the city dwellers and the 'burnouts' is never developed ... I could go on, but the book isn't worth the effort. The book might be a little interesting to someone who has never read decent SF, but you have you can see how far short it falls