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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Highly entertaining!, March 25, 2005
This review is from: Out of the Blue: Book One of Project Infinity (Paperback)
I long for those wonderful days of childhood when I could kick back with a horror, science fiction, or action novel and whittle away the hours lost in make believe worlds. Now I spend my time in a different world where I don't get to read as much as I want or read the sorts of things I want. This world is called reality. The real world is a frightening place filled with strange people saying strange things as well as a particularly loathsome activity sometimes referred to as "work." For me, work consists of going to graduate school for a master's degree in history. This means that I do read things every now and then--when I can sandwich the activity between going to class, writing unexciting papers on obscure historical events, and watching cheesy movies--but the types of things I read, for the most part, hardly qualify as entertaining experiences. When you grind through stuff that uses the word "hermeneutic" as an adjective and as an adverb (that would be "hermeneutically"), you know you've strayed about as far as possible from the traditional cheap paperback novel. Fortunately, I still get the chance to read something interesting once in awhile. Enter Tom Inabnet's "Out of the Blue."
"Out of the Blue" is a science fiction novel, apparently the first in a projected series, concerning a top-secret government laboratory that houses something called "Project Infinity." Developed by brilliant physicist Dalton Parker over a number of years, Infinity is a device that can transmit matter from one point to another in mere seconds. You could send a cheeseburger from the local fast food place to a plate in your kitchen in the blink of an eye, or zip over to Tahiti for the weekend without ever boarding a plane. The applications of such a device are endless, of course, involving everything from space travel to fighting wars. Sadly, there is a downside to such a device. What would happen if terrorists got their hands on Project Infinity? They could send an assassin right into the oval office, or plant a nuclear bomb anywhere in the world, or use the device to steal all the gold in Fort Knox. Who knows what those nefarious bomb throwers would do if given the chance? Whatever the case, it wouldn't be good. The Pentagon brass funding the project recognize the inherent dangers in their new toy, and that is why they have a highly trained military specialist named Major John Starling keeping an eye on things. When the device suddenly disappears in a deadly flash, the story kicks into high gear.
It soon becomes apparent who is behind the abduction of this valuable asset. What isn't clear, however, is where the device went or who helped the people responsible for stealing it. Did Dalton Parker have a hand in the nefarious plot? Doubtful, since he inadvertently ended up going along with the project when it disappeared. What about his beautiful, highly intelligent assistant Sheri Armstrong? She also disappeared with the machine, and since everyone knows her and Parker battled for control of the program, it wouldn't be out of line to suspect her. Perhaps Bill Paxton, another researcher working on the project and a close friend of Parker, knows more than he's willing to let on. Even Dalton's sultry ex-wife Amy comes under suspicion. While Starling sorts through the list of possible traitors back in New Mexico, Dalton and Armstrong attempt to figure out where they and the laboratory went. They soon end up in the custody of the man responsible for the theft, a man who plans on selling his newfound services to the highest bidders in the Middle East. Problem is, this guy and his goons didn't count on dealing with the highly intelligent Parker, who will ultimately teach these thugs a lesson they won't soon forget.
"Out of the Blue" is an entertaining, well-written novel. The plot doesn't contain anything we haven't seen before in countless other stories, but that doesn't take away much from the experience. Inabnet is at his best when writing in lots of twists and turns, so many that the reader is kept constantly guessing as to the identities of those responsible for lending a hand in the theft of the project. At one point even Major Starling looks like he has a hand in the plot. These red herrings keep the book moving along at a smart pace. Too, the author had me totally buying into the idea that such a device could actually work. There are even some romance and chase scenes thrown in for good measure. What didn't work as well is character development and motivation. As some of the other reviewers pointed out, the Amy character is off the charts in the evil department, so much so that she comes off looking like a Bond villain. The relationship between Armstrong and Parker also seems forced considering how much they supposedly hated each other during the project's development, but I'll buy that the tragedy and danger they go through in the jungles of Brazil could realistically bring about the sort of lovey dovey rapprochement Inabnet describes.
Despite these niggling problems, "Out of the Blue" is a great read and a welcome respite from the humdrum scholarly stuff I read on a daily basis. If this book is any indication, the rest of the series ought to rank quite high on the entertainment meter. Tom Inabnet should be proud of himself for writing such an enjoyable yarn; he definitely should take pride in the fact that he avoided using the word "hermeneutics" anywhere in the narrative, too!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An entertaining science fiction excursion of a novel, March 13, 2005
This review is from: Out of the Blue: Book One of Project Infinity (Paperback)
Tom Inabnet's Out of the Blue is basically your good, old-fashioned sci-fi thrill ride of a novel. It's not perfect, and it's not going to change the world, but it is a fast, enjoyable read packed with betrayals, scientific breakthroughs, and some really big explosions. The Infinity Device is the hottest, most hush-hush, and certainly most dangerous scientific endeavor since the Manhattan Project. After twenty years of intense work, Dr. Dalton Parker stands at the cusp of history, preparing to test his extraordinary matter transference device for the first time. It is anticipated to revolutionize space travel, allowing for the instant transferal of an item, or person, or ship to a designated target. The military implications of such a device are more than obvious, of course, and we all well know that there are forces in the world more than happy to betray the human race (and America in particular) in the interests of money. Everything seems to be going right on schedule - until the night before the scheduled test, when the lab completely disappears in a devastating explosion. The military quickly descends in full force, seeking answers and asking pointed questions.
Meanwhile, the lab and its occupants (Dr. Parker, who arrived just before the explosion, after sensing something was very wrong; Sheri Armstrong, Parker's combative and egotistical assistant, whose unauthorized - at least by Parker - test had triggered the explosion; and lead technician Frank Rosato) turn up somewhere in the jungles of South America. It soon becomes clear that whatever happened was no accident - the lab has effectively been stolen. A notorious arms dealer had penetrated the secrecy of the project, and - thanks largely to Dr. Parker's ex-wife - transported it to its current location. The plan had been to "recruit" Armstrong and not the idealistic Parker, but since he came along for the ride, they decide to use him as much as they can - at least until the lab's secrets are all revealed, the whole thing is once again transmitted to a ready-made secure location, and his presence is no longer needed - or desired. Parker and Armstrong, individuals with little use for one another in the past, must now work together if they are going to survive and - more importantly - keep the secrets of the Infinity Device out of the hands of terrorists.
The one weakness of the novel involves characterization. Certainly, a life-threatening experience such as the one Parker and Armstrong manage to live through can bring two individuals closer together, but these two focused and contentious scientists quickly proceed to forget all of their many differences and fall madly in love. The interpersonal dynamics of this relationship just don't seem to ring true to me. Other characters are drawn quite well, however, especially the duplicitous head of the original project and the military man determined to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Out of the Blue may be a tad formulaic in its basic design, but it's an entertaining read without any real pretensions. It's sort of like watching one of those good old vintage science fiction movies on Saturday afternoon. I certainly enjoyed the experience enough to look forward to the next installment in the Project Infinity series.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
When Science Fiction Becomes a Credible Threat, March 1, 2005
This review is from: Out of the Blue: Book One of Project Infinity (Paperback)
Tom Inabnet knows what he is about in his first fiction novel. With a background in Information Technology and having at least two works on scientific technology published ("Anti-Gravitational Propulsion Devices" and "LASER Dynamics in a Magnetic Field" no less!) he knows how to construct 'science fiction' with authority. And since the full title of his first book includes the words 'Book One of Project Infinity', we can assume there are other installments to come in this seemingly proposed 'series' of stories. That is good to know, because for the few inherent weaknesses in this 'first novel', we are assured that here is a writer who seems to have found his metre.
I'm not a fan of science fiction, being one of the few who doesn't queue up for films like MATRIX etc. I am a fan of informed scientific daydreaming and creativity and Inabnet falls comfortable into that category. The 'Infinity Device', the focal object in this fast paced thriller, is a 'matter transmitter' - a creation that given sufficient energy input can shift a mass of matter of any kind from one location to another without the usual means of transportation - commercial or warheads. Is that possible? Well, read this book and you'll think so...and tremble.
The story, by means of fulfilling its obligations as a novel, involves scientists, the military, espionage, intrigue, and the requisite love interests to pull it along. Inabnet writes well and can create believable folks on all sides of his story dilemma while suffusing the style of his novel with short chapters and subchapters that bounce the reader from one group of activity to another in preparation for the final coming together of all the disparate groups in the finale.
It is a given that science fiction novels must ground themselves with peripheral people and their interactions/trysts/betrayals etc in order to keep the main object of focus afloat. If the characters Inabnet molds are a bit on the expected trope side, then this is a trait he can easily polish as he proceeds into his next novel. For this reader the major problem with this book is that we as non-scientific minds need MUCH more information about the Infinity Device: Inabnet describes it well albeit briefly and the device is so interesting and significant that the story would sail along even better if we had more technical information to grow into as the story progresses.
Some of the above comments may appear 'picky', but they are made out of respect for the overall worthiness of this book. The one glaring mistake in this particular publication is a cover photograph that looks like a fashion magazine ad or a series of headshots for nice looking models, but in no way suggests to the browsing reader that OUT OF THE BLUE is book worth reading. And sometimes it is the little things that keep potential audiences away from books as fine as this one. Grady Harp, March 2005
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