The Evidence (Mars Hill Classified, Book 1) [Paperback]

Austin Boyd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 8, 2006

The discovery of life on Mars coincides with a desperate terrorist attack on earth. Navy Commander John Wells must take a giant step for mankind, his family, and his God.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

No amount of training could prepare a man for Spring 2011. As Navy Commander John Wells and his crew watch hopelessly from their space station perch, terrorists cripple the nation's capital and security systems. While the world looks to the Middle East for blame, sudden images off the plains of Mars offer a staggering alternative. With a sophisticated alien culture seemingly confirmed on the Red Planet, a disorganized U.S. government struggles to formulate their next steps. Caught in a web of politics, torn by his family commitments, and called to serve not only his country but his God, John Wells must take a giant step for mankind.

About the Author

A Navy pilot, nuclear weapons officer, and spacecraft engineer, Austin Boyd flew three thousand hours in war and peacetime operations, designed satellites, and built classified systems to track terrorists. A world traveler, NASA Astronaut Finalist, and inventor with multiple patents, he served in key Navy space assignments before retiring to Huntsville, Alabama, where he lives with Cindy, his wife of twenty-eight years, and their four children. He continues to support NASA, military space, and aviation through his work with a major defense contractor. An active Christian, Boyd has served in a variety of lay ministries devoted to evangelism, stewardship, and crisis pregnancy. In addition to writing the Mars Hill Classified series, Boyd has also penned dozens of technical articles about space issues and has written award-winning poetry.

Product Details

• Paperback: 439 pages
• Publisher: NavPress (March 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576839443
• ISBN-13: 978-1576839447
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #535,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Remarkably broad story!, March 6, 2006

By 

Christian Book Previews "Christian Book Previews" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Evidence (Mars Hill Classified, Book 1) (Paperback)

In The Evidence, Austin Boyd creates a story that is of truly universal proportions. John Wells, the story's protagonist/astronaut, watches from space as the U.S. is attacked by terrorists. In the months following the attack, John develops a radical theory about who was behind the attack and how it was performed. Since his ideas run contrary to the government's plans, he must find an ally down on earth to act as his feet before the U.S. military becomes too involved in a military attack against the wrong country. The scale and impact of the terrorist attacks are extreme, but the story doesn't really take off until NASA starts receiving signals from Mars. The country then becomes obsessed with the possible discovery of alien life.

The broadness of this story is its most remarkable feature. It spans across several years and takes place in such exotic locations as Greece, Space Station Alpha, Mars, and at least a dozen places in North and South America. However, an overabundance of minor characters causes confusion and makes it hard to become immersed in the rich, detailed settings.

John's relationship with his wife Amy governs his actions throughout the book. He is presented with unique challenges when he is separated from her and confined with other women while in space. His devotion to Amy is a good example of Christianity to his predominantly unbelieving fellow crew members.

While many of the relationships between the characters feel contrived because of the labored and overly formal dialogue, one relationship that does come across well is between John and Sergei, one of his crewmates. When the two are floating in space while performing a repair on the station, Sergei's suit malfunctions, allowing them only minutes to get back inside before he runs out of oxygen. John's faith compels him to attempt a daring and dangerous rescue mission to try to save the life of his friend.

None of Boyd's characters are predictable. From the prophetic preacher to the villain from the South, each brings a unique feeling to the scenes in which he appears. But because there are so many characters, it is often difficult to keep track of what role each plays. Also, the male characters are weakened by their use of macho one-liners and other cliches.

The character of John Wells is constantly torn between going back into space or staying home with his family. This tension drives the book, because John is always making decisions based on what he thinks God is calling him to do. As far as John's beliefs go, some readers may disagree with his stance on alien life. He argues, and provides some support for the claim, that there is no indication in the Bible that denies the possibility of finding life on another planet.

The Evidence is the first book in a new series. As such, I expected that there would be some loose ends, but I was surprised at how unresolved the story felt when it ended. Boyd hits on many compelling ideas and writes in a very readable way, but don't expect a standalone epic. Hopefully, book two will provide some answers for those who chose to continue with this series, but, being more than 400 pages long, The Evidence will leave most readers who are not die-hard space enthusiasts exhausted and without any sense of completion. -- Devin B. Wieland, Christian Book Previews.com

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars "I Want my $10.00 back.", April 7, 2010

By 

Jennifer Paczkowski (New England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Evidence (Mars Hill Classified, Book 1) (Paperback)

I have never in my life commented on a book. This is my first time. I am not going to be critical of the author. Anyone who has the discipline to write fiction and get it published deserves credit for their accomplishment. My problem is how it was marked. It is clearly christian fiction, which is a good thing. I was not looking for christian fiction. I was looking for good old fashion science fiction. This is anything but that. I picked up the book over ten times. I skimmed it I tried to read the last chapter and it made no more sense than it did when I read the first. I am not ignorant and consider myself a well read person. If your looking for thrilling, thoughtful, compelling, gutsy science fiction pick up Heinlein or Asimov, not this. I would like amazon to refund my money or send me a $10.00 credit for a different book. Please move this to christian fiction where it belongs not in the science fiction genre.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting plot, but the book cannot stand alone, June 12, 2007

By 

R. Moncure (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Evidence (Mars Hill Classified, Book 1) (Paperback)

This book brings up several technological and scientific questions that many Christians, for whatever reason, frequently do not like to consider. As the world grows increasingly technologically advanced, believers will be faced with more and more complex decisions, nearly all of which will be a "gray area" with respect to their coverage in the Bible. One of these issues could very well be the presence of extra-terrestrial life, and this book does a great job of attempting to address this issue from a Biblical perspective, in spite of the fact that the Bible obviously does not directly address these potential problems.

From the point of view of personal spiritual growth, I felt the book was fitting for a variety of different spiritual backgrounds. Far too often in Christian literature, the authors spend about five chapters beating the reader over the head with the Gospel message in a way that alienates non-believers, while telling current believers something that they already know. This book is more subtle, perhaps as it has the opportunity to be spread out over a three-part series. Additionally, Boyd creates a believable character in the person of John Wells, who has to tackle some intense personal issues in his own life, particularly in dealing with the question of truly dedicating one's life to serving God, regardless of how difficult that calling might seem to some. Many people could not fathom leaving a wife and children behind for months on end, but Wells decides, with his family, that God has called him to be an astronaut to Mars, and that God's calling supercedes human desires, no matter how noble said desires may be.

The plot is very involved, but this complexity leads to too much jumping around with not enough resolution. As this book is the first of a three-part series, a reader should reasonably expect that many plot points will not be completely resolved by the end of the book, but at the same time, it is quite reasonable to expect perhaps some of the smaller details to be resolved. When I finished the first book, it seemed like the second novel should have simply been appended to the first and sold as one long book. Literally no major plot point is resolved, and the ending is relatively predictable as the plot lines continue to unfold directly into the second book. On principle, I believe that even as part of a series, any one book should be able to stand on its own, in a fashion similar to a Harry Potter book. The endings resolve the major plot points from each book, while at the same time opening much larger questions to be resolved over the remainder of the series.