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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This series just keeps getting better, June 19, 2002
This review is from: The Mission (Area 51, Bk. 3) (Mass Market Paperback)
The thrill and adventure of the Area 51 series shows no sign of diminishing in this third novel; so far, this series seems to get even better with each new entry. That's easier said than done; already the author has thrown together strands of a diverse set of conspiracy theories, touching on the Egyptian Pyramids and ancient sites in MesoAmerica and China, the lost civilizations of Atlantis and Thule, ancient astronauts, life on Mars, an alien invasion, Majestic 12 and other secret government agencies, Nazi scientists, secret alien bases in the world's most inhospitable locations, etc. The good guys, whose numbers are dwindling with each book, have exposed the secrets of Majestic 12, shuttled all over the planet trying to locate and stabilize ancient alien command centers, and destroyed an alien fleet coming to attack earth. After basically one day of rest, the situation becomes even more dire and more complicated. Whole tribes of villagers are dying en masse in the Amazon River basin. With the help of a Russian operative, presidential scientific advisor Lisa Duncan, Special Forces officer Mike Turcotte, and their allies at Area 51 (strangely running the whole show with virtually no government intervention of any kind) discover that the alien enemies have now unleashed the Black Death (a souped-up bubonic plague with a 100% kill rate) against the population of earth, planning to rescue a few humans who will do their bidding and return them to earth when the rest of the population has died. In their race to stop the further spread of the virus and to hopefully find a cure or antidote, they are aided as well as stymied and confused by strange individuals of unknown origin as well as unknown loyalties. This novel leaves many questions unanswered, which only further heightens my desire to pick up the fourth book immediately. In this novel, the story is a little more streamlined, as a large part of the action takes place in the Amazon jungles and underneath an ancient Chinese tomb. Turcotte has to find the source of the virus in order to identify it, and eventually he (and the world) finds himself in a race to find the Mission--the enemy's hidden bioweapons factory--and a cure for the Black Death. Other exciting things happen--e.g., a nuclear explosion, a dangerous attempt to link up two space shuttles with the hulk of the alien mothership in orbit. Enough complexities and twists are injected into the plot to keep it exciting and compelling yet not overly complicated. The characters aren't very deep, and their personal interactions outside of the job at hand are a little contrived, but the story itself is more than sufficient to maintain the reader's attention and deep interest at all times.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but ..., December 30, 2000
This review is from: The Mission (Area 51, Bk. 3) (Mass Market Paperback)
"The Mission" is the third in a series of 4 (soon to be 5) books by Doherty relating to fictional events surrounding the existence of aliens on Earth. The premise of the series is quite interesting. Area 51 is a top secret government installation that has been studying aliens for a long time. Actions by the researchers have re-ignited a civil war between two alien factions that landed on Earth a long time ago. The story ties the aliens into many of the mysteries of ancient times, e.g., the existence of Atlantis, the Ark of the Covenant, the building of the Sphinx and the Pyramids in Egypt, and even the building of the Great Wall of China. What I found most interesting about the series is how Doherty ties together many of these historical enigmas into Area 51 and the history of the aliens. The work seems to be researched quite well and the first two books in the series (Area 51 and Area 51 The Reply) are both entertaining and satisfying. This book, however entertaining, suffers from a fatal flaw in my opinion. Many subplots in the book are begun but not completed within the book's pages. Whereas the first two books are pretty well self-contained (i.e., the story ends at the end of the book), subplots in this book and the 4th book (Area 51 The Sphinx) are not completed before the end of the book. They leave the reader hanging until the next book is purchased. By the time I got half way through Area 51 The Sphinx, I became tired of everything dragging on and not knowing how many of the subplots will end. I wonder if they will even end with the publication of the next book (Area 51 The Grail). I have sworn off reading any more books in the series because of the unsatisfying feeling I had at the completion of Area 51 The Sphinx. It is a shame, actually, that such a great premise and a great start to a series seems to have degenerated into a tactic just to sell the next book in the series.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Why the one-star ratings, readers?, August 15, 1999
This review is from: The Mission (Area 51, Bk. 3) (Mass Market Paperback)
Why? This book is the best in the AREA 51 series so far! At the end of the REPLY, was the mothership in space destroyed? No, it seems it has survived a nuclear strike(yes, this is ALIEN technology) and is still OUT THERE . . . meanwhile, in Bolivia, a plague virus is raging out of control. WHat is the cause, and what is the link with the fourteenth century Black Death outbreak? Were humans slaves to alien control then? Some amazing and alarmingly plausible theories are present in this story. Also the action element is well put across. You get the reverse-engineered alien spacecraft joining forces with the US military, you get a space combat mission(laser guns are old hat and out in this case, too infeasible - Doherty describes the MK-99 kinetic energy projectile gun which might be possible one day), and the startling discovery of controlled, enslaved humans engineering a terrifying plot. Read it and keep an open mind!
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