Customer Reviews

Earthsearch: Mindwarp Chapter 3

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This review is based on the BBC Radio Serial. (Late 70's/early 80's?) I have recently acquired the book, and I am still searching for the sequel "Earthsearch 2" which was also broadcast as a radio serial by the BBC.

The story is quite amazing, and difficult to summarize without spoiling it, so I will try just to give some impressions. Much of it takes place on board a gigantic (miles long) spacecraft, which is equipped as a "generation ship" and has crew hibernation facilities. There is an equivalent to "HAL 9000" (very different in personality though) in the form of two computers known as the "Angels". The most amazing thing about this story is the fact that if you follow certain clues, and you have astronomical knowledge, you can figure out where and what things are, and indeed the date (to a millennium or so).

If you can find Earthsearch 2, it is just as exciting as the first book!

This is the third of three CDs issued by Big Finish Productions dramatizing the prequel to Earthsearch; Earthsearch: Mindwarp. This production in no way compares to the original BBC's Earthsearch which is just head and shoulders better, but then the BBC has been funded by a license fee paid by millions of Brits over many decades, so would you expect any less?

Mindwarp follows the adventures of Ewen and Jenine, who were born into an underground world where earth is infinite and space is finite; space cannot be made or destroyed, it can only be moved around. Of course, Ewen doesn't believe it and eventually neither does Jenine. The two of them live through some trials and tribulations while searching for a way to a blue dome that Ewen keeps dreaming about.

The story is good, the acting is not that good and the sound track leaves a lot to be desired. Oddly though, and perhaps because I'm a big fan of Earthsearch, I quite enjoyed it.

Just for the record, the BBC's Earthsearch is a completely different story following the four surviving crew members of a starship sent out from Earth to find a planet to colonize. After returning to the Earth's solar system they discover that the Earth has gone and start looking for clues so they may find where it went. Boxed sets of Earthsearch and Earthsearch II are each 10 episodes long and are available on audio tape. Demand them now; you'll be glad you did. My tapes are so warn from play that I need to replace them, on CD if possible.

Is Earthsearch: Mindwarp worth getting? I guess, but this is just the third of three chapters, you'll want the first two too.