The Engines of Dawn [Paperback]

Paul Cook (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1999

The alien Enamorati technology has provided humanity with the means to explore the vast depths of space without limitations save one: no human may view the mysterious engine which powers the human spacecraft. But when a university ship carrying thousands becomes stranded, two students and a disgraced professor uncover the disturbing truth behind the alien technology and set the stage for revolution.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A lot of contemporary SF satisfies but doesn't excite. Cook's latest delivers everything you could want." -- Science Fiction Chronicle Feb-March 1999

From the Author

This is just to alert the reader that I've published a mainstream novel (with some Philip K. Dick/high strangeness motifs scattered here and there) in a print-on-demand format. It's called THINKING OF YOU.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Roc (February 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451457366
• ISBN-13: 978-0451457363
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,927,447 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ten years ago Paul Cook made it his personal goal to simply make as many people as possible feel great about being alive. Through his struggles Paul learned that, "True success and significance comes from feeling right about yourself." Since then Paul Cook has carried that message as an award winning radio personality, TV host and the author of the Floyd and the Future Frog children's series of books and author of the memoir, Cooked in LA.

Paul frequently speaks to groups about bullying and substance abuse. Paul believes that changing the drinking and drugging culture in our schools is the only way to tackle the problem that is claiming so many great minds from our generation today.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun read!, May 13, 2000

By 

Dr. Zoidberg (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Engines of Dawn (Paperback)

This is what people might call "a light novel". It's not too deep, but it has a very engaging story. At times, I found I couldn't stop reading despite late hour and lack of sleep :) It has some interesting ideas, and it's written to the point with not too much long and boring background. As for the bad reviews it got? I can't argue with them, the book has its bad points (again - not too deep, very thin character development), but if you don't expect to read a masterpiece, and are just looking for a few hours of enjoyable reading, this book should be very satisfying!

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not great, not even good., January 15, 2001

By 

M. Scott Walters "-mscott-" (Ithaca, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Engines of Dawn (Paperback)

Although I wouldn't have expressed it with the same degree of vehemence, many of the 1 and 2 star reviews already here do highlight the problems I have with this book. I am very surprised to see it rated so highly be so many. It does demonstrate some clever ideas and has a few compelling moments, but overall I was very disappointed. The writing doesn't come across well and the characters are not presented with any sort of depth or believability. It's a basic requirement of any good story that you find something in at least some of the characters that you can either identify with or want to know more about, and that's completely lacking here. The author also does a lot of things that are a slap in the face of willing suspension of disbelief (naming all the starships after porn actresses, for example). That sort of deliberate choice doesn't help you buy into the story.

If you are curious about this book, find a copy from someone or stop by a bookstore and read the first 3 pages. They pretty much establish the quality of the writing and overall tone for the whole book. If you don't like that much of it, you probably won't like any of it.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Read, November 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Engines of Dawn (Paperback)

This is the first book I've ever read by Paul Cook and I was very surprised by the quality of the writing and by the novel's plot structure. At first, I thought the book was going to be a typical adventure story, but it quickly took off in its own direction. And the ending completely surprised the hell out of me! I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to read a well-plotted, well-written SF novel with all kinds of new concepts and interesting characters.