Customer Reviews

The Evidence (Mars Hill Classified, Book 1)

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

 

 

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

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.

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.

Austin Boyd did an excellent job making me want to turn the page in this, his first novel. I was impressed with his broad scope of knowledge on many fronts. Especially interesting was his well-developed storyline about a spouse's conflict with ambition and relationship. I would've liked a more satisfying ending, but at least now, I'll just HAVE to pick up the next book!

A pounding door awakens John Wells from a sound sleep. In a matter of minutes, John and the other 12 members of the P-3C Orion, a U.S. Navy submarine-hunter aircraft, head to the airport. They are on a classified mission to find a Russian attack submarine, and John, nicknamed Hawk, spots it. The incident near Athens, Greece marks the end of John's time on this assignment and begins the drama in THE EVIDENCE.

A committed Christian, John slips away from his military crew and spends a few moments sitting on an outcropping of the Acropolis and reading his New Testament while staring at the planets, particularly Mars. In February 1999, John learns that he has gained his long-term dream of becoming an astronaut candidate. On the other side of the ocean, John's wife Amy is eager for his return from Europe and more of a normal family life. Instead, Amy is headed for a completely different set of trials in the story.

The second chapter begins 13 years later, in 2011, and sets the fast-paced action for the rest of the book. Nick, a former military officer, has assembled four teams of terrorists with a mysterious wealthy benefactor. Each team has a coordinated plan and uses airplanes packed with explosives and radio-controlled to wreck simultaneous havoc on four different parts of the United States. One team attacks Colorado while another attacks key buildings and transportation arteries in Washington, D.C. The key character in THE EVIDENCE, Captain John Wells, documents the terrorists' explosions from the space station orbiting the earth.

Multiple storylines and short chapters are combined with interesting characters and political intrigue. The overarching theme of the story is a classic good guy versus bad guy scenario, yet with many more complications of politics, service to country, family issues, and God. Also, this story raises the possibility of life on Mars. Malcolm Raines, a Phoenix preacher, stirs loads of publicity and controversy with his prophetic views about the future.

In terms of faith issues, John faces and conquers the temptation of a beautiful female colleague on the space station with months away from his family. Afterwards, he visits his parents in West Virginia. On the family farm, John and his skeptical, unbelieving father have one of the most interesting discussions in this book about faith. His father wants to talk about aliens but John relates it to personal faith saying, "Like it or not, Dad, church is where this conversation is headed. And not just at our dinner table, but all over the world. We need to talk about this. Everyone does. Lots of people are scared, and this alien thing takes them to the raw edge of their faith. They don't know what to believe. Plastic preachers like Raines take advantage of that confusion."

While a science fiction or futuristic novel would not be my first reading choice, first-time novelist Austin Boyd creates a compelling drama. The opening pages of THE EVIDENCE took hold and would not let go until I finished the last page. I found it spellbinding and recommend it. If you are looking for a few hours of escape reading, here's an excellent choice.

I picked up this trilogy in a closeout bin for 25 cents each. I like scifi and thought that they might be interesting since the author was almost an astronaut. What I read was a classic, a classic beginner writer's mistake of taking a premise (which the author presumably had some insight) space travel, and forcing it into a religious morality tale. Notice I said forced, not gently interwoven or slickly integrated, the whole thing comes off as contrived with dialog and situations that are devoid of anything interesting. I was really hoping that the second book would show some maturity as a writer but after 3 chapters I had to put it down. I really think something like this could be done well, I guess I'll have to wait

I loved this book, and the 2 sequels, because I got a picture of what life would be like in the space program and NASA, with lots of techie details, and then also showed a Christian perspective on relationships. Then add in a great mystery story, crazy folks with terrorist tendencies, and you have a fascinating read!

Bottom-Line: "The Evidence" is an enjoyable book that I found hard to put down

Let me preface this review by stating that I am not a Christian nor do I claim any religion as "mine." So I have no idea Austin Boyd's "The Evidence" was considered "Christian Lit" as it were. But I soon came to this realization a few chapters into the book, wherein the central characters John and Amy Wells are steeped in their faith and find their strength through their personal relationship with their God. Further evidence if you will can be found in the back of the book wherein the author, a former Navy pilot and aspirating astronaut, presents a Reader's Guide to all thing Godly referenced in the book.

While I was certainly surprised by the Bible lessons sprinkled throughout the book, they were not enough to keep me from enjoying "The Evidence", an intriguing story that takes place in the very near future. The aforementioned John Wells is a Navy Captain and astronaut on the International Space Station in 2011, when the United States is once again attacked by (domestic) terrorists who launch a multi-pronged assault on the country's space surveillance network, Washington D.C., and rocket production facilities. But all John can do is watch and pray that his family is okay.

The brilliantly executed attack leaves the world with the impression that the Iranian government was behind them ala Oklahoma City only worse. In the months following the attack, John develops a radical theory about who might be behind the attack and how and why it was carried out. He relays these thoughts to an FBI agent, one Terrance Kerry.

Kerry who was also thinking along those same lines--domestic terrorism--begins to gather damning information that seems to point a group of Americans. The attacks happen just as NASA starts to receive communications from Mars that are originating from the site of Viking I, the first probe sent to the Red Planet. The communications turn into images of the inactive rover from an external source.

While the world holds its collective breath and wonders if there is life on Mars an influential Holy Man, one Reverend Malcolm Raines claims it's a sign from God, foretelling the coming of others. John Well is considered a key to the face to face contact, but he is torn about leaving his family who needs him to rocket to Mars and confront the aliens.

My Thoughts

For the most part "The Evidence" is a well researched well thought out and written book that draws heavily on the author's past experience as a naval officer, astronaut candidate, and an space flight engineer. Boyd weaves a complex and intriguing story with more than a few interconnecting parts that complete a coherent whole. And in the process he broaches questions of faith, betrayal, and intelligent life beyond earth and what it all means to Well's and his family.

In this respect "The Evidence" is two-dimensional; only John and Amy Wells are written with any depth or back-story. Boyd does an excellent job of bringing them to life for the reader, but the other players in the drama are just bit players with no real substance. And while the plot was certainly plausible, there were holes in the schema, omissions if you will, that left me scratching my head. For instance the United States is not thrown onto a major tailspin after the attacks despite the fact that Washington D.C. is devastated. There is not ripple effect and that given the state of current paranoia is unbelievable.

Nonetheless "The Evidence" is an enjoyable book that I found hard to put down. It has been followed by two more books, The Proof and The Return, both of which will undoubtedly read in the near term.

The Evidence
By Austin Boyd

Review by: David White

Price $12.99






Christian Science Fiction has to walk a narrow path in order to be successful. It must be both entertaining and enlightening while not straying too far from a world accessible and understandable to Christian readers. The Evidence by Austin Boyd travels this path well.

In the not too distant future of 2011 John Wells orbits the earth. He is a man of talent and faith whose matter-of-fact way of talking about his faith works for some and alienates others. Meal time squabbles on the International Space Station mean little, however, when terrorists strike numerous targets throughout the US. These strikes, while enflaming the American people to go to war with Iran, present a mystery for John. They seem to have succeeded at nothing of practical value except encouraging a war and temporarily blinding US space defense capabilities. John and the terrorist investigator, FBI Agent Kerry, are left pondering what end these attacks had in mind.

A bigger mystery engulfs the entire world, however, when NASA starts receiving a signal, and then even a visitor from Mars. The aspects of these puzzles are interesting in their own right, but the end response is the same. There is going to be a manned mission to discover what is happening on Mars. At the same time, though, people of faith are left wondering if there is life on other worlds, what does that mean for them? One man takes charge of the uncertainty of the situation by preaching and prophesying about the coming of the aliens, and begins to gain followers, many of them, when his prophecies seem to come true. Many, including John and his wife Amy, are beyond skeptical as to the message that one priest refers to as a false gospel.

In the end John Wells is a man who hears God speak and obeys His will, and he is willing to let God be the one to decide if he is to go to Mars to find out.

The Evidence is one book that a sci-fi lover should read. It gives its readers an detailed look into what the actual space program is like, and reminds us that the most important part of any human endeavor is the humans themselves. If there was one problem with this book it would be the difficulty for today's readers to suspend disbelief about such a large scale terrorist attack being able to be successful. This problem does not prevent a reader from wondering at the motivation and the endgame of the terrorists, which is the real intention of the author.

The story started in The Evidence is one that will continue through two more books, and I suspect that once you start this one you will be compelled to read them all. If you are a Christian who reads science fiction, or even one who is just open minded about such things, it would be worth your time to read The Evidence.

I'm not up on the latest and greatest in what I call "Christo-Sci-Fi" Literature, but I took a chance on Austin Boyd's work and was I pleasantly surpised. I grew up with a father in the Aerospace Industry and was familiar with a lot of the references made in the book, but even if I hadn't been, this was a phenomenal read! The pace, character development, and plot were exciting and I'm looking at "The Proof" sitting on my shelf begging me to start it right now!

As a Christian and a Sci-Fi fan, I highly recommend this book!

Mr. Boyd, if you read this review, consider me a fan!