Omega Sol (Paperback)

by Scott Mackay (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Thought-provoking science fiction from the author of Phytosphere

Dr. Cameron Conrad has learned that the alien phenomenon known as the Moon Towers was designed to accelerate the sun’s lifespan and turn it into a red giant. With Earth on the brink of destruction, Conrad needs to find a way to convince the aliens that humanity is worth saving...

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Roc (May 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451462033
• ISBN-13: 978-0451462039
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #833,224 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Pass, June 30, 2008

By	Adam Ladd (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the first book I have read by this author, and I am afraid it will be my last. The concept is eminently interesting: an alien civilization accidentally wiping out humanity as indifferently as we would wipe out an ant hill, but the implementation is just plain bad. The characters are laughably 2 dimensional (saintly scientist, check, gung ho military guy, check, cliched fellow scientist love interest, check), the prose is godawful, and there is only the barest depth to the actual story or message. Its like something from bad 50's kids pulp scifi, but I couldnt recommend this for kids either because of the choppy writing style (maybe it was machine translated from French?) There are some interesting cosmological theories buried in there, but its not worth digging out. I heartily recommend instead Blindsight by Peter Watts if you are looking for something in the "unknowable alien" vein thats both readable and includes some fascinating science.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable read with a sense of wonder, February 2, 2009

By	a reader (Grand Rapids, Michigan) - See all my reviews

I really enjoyed this book. It takes a premise not unlike the classic Dr. Seuss story "Horton Hears a Who" (not the style of course, just the concept of the microworld not being recognized by the macroworld) and applies it to humanity. The aliens in this book are so unlike us that we barely register as a life form to them--refreshingly different from the run of the mill sci-fi. The cover artist made the moon towers to be similar to the ones in 2001: A Space Odyssey,perhaps to evoke the tone of that book. To me, this book gives the same tone, but in a very different way. Some of the characterization was a bit cardboard, but that really didn't bother me. Conceptually, the book was fascinating, and for me it was a real page turner.