2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A great adventure with several grammatical issues..., August 16, 2009
This review is from: Great Ship Of Knowledge (Perfect Paperback)
William Bailey's first novel asks a lot of questions. Is the evil present on earth worth it? Why have we done so little to prevent mutually assured destruction? But most of all, it asks "Is life just a dream?" If you're reading this review however, I am guessing the only question you're asking is is it worth reading. In my opinion, yes. This book is a fascinating read...if you can stand grammar the level of a high school creative writing class.
The story starts out extremely shakily and feels as if the reader is being rushed into Learning Earth's Deathly History. But once we get there, it begins to pick up steam. The main plot follows a team of navy seals in an operation to bring down the evil DOOMS-TEAM. While the name may seem corny, doom is definitely their main goal. Without spoiling the story, once the history lesson is over, the reader is brought back to the present (1000 years in the future). What follows is the best part of the novel in my opinion, answering just enough questions and leaving just enough mystery to satisfy a reader.
One final warning. Grammar police, stay away. I found myself editing in my head as I read the multiple tense misuses, spelling errors, and overuse of some words. However, as the novel progresses, there is a slow but steady decline in the poor grammer usage. After talking to the author, I know that he is taking steps to improve his writing skills for the rest of the trilogy.
If one thing stands out in this novel, it is the authors enthusiasm for his story. This is both good and bad as the story is occassionally rushed yet still an entertaining ride. I rate the story itself a 4/5, but the poor grammar sadly was enough for me to knock off a point. In short, while the diction isn't exactly spot-on, I recommend this novel to science fiction fans who are ready for a new adventure.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good read, September 4, 2009
This review is from: Great Ship Of Knowledge (Perfect Paperback)
This is a hard book to rate. The story was good and I will get to that in a minute, but the problem is in the early part of the story, the writing was distracting enough that I put it down for a couple of days. As another reviewer states though, the writing becomes better as the story progresses. The story is a mash up of various movies and books, Matrix, Battlestar Galactica, Rainbow Six, and others. The story is a very interesting idea, and it takes all these really separate elements and combines them into a cohesive plot. Even with the writing working as a distraction, I still wanted to finish it, and I definitely want to read the sequel. I'd recommend it to anyone that can put their hidden "English Professor" aside long enough to get to the middle, when a lot of the problems start to disappear.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Had to put it down., September 7, 2009
This review is from: Great Ship Of Knowledge (Perfect Paperback)
Unfortunately, I was unable to finish this book. It just couldn't keep my attention. The writing was sub-par and there were too many discrepancies with the real world to allow me to suspend belief for the science fiction sections. I think this book needs to be rewritten a few more times before it winds up on the shelves. The major tenet this author needs to follow is REWRITE! The story might go somewhere if the author spends more time on it. I really wanted to finish this book, and more than that, I really wanted to enjoy it. But its going to take a lot of work before it should grace bookshelves.
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