Customer Reviews

Outer Perimeter

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

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed "First Evidence" and anxiously awaited the sequel. "Outer Perimiter" was good, but the plot was too dependent on "First Evidence". If you haven't read the first book, this one will not make much sense. I find the plot of this "series" interesting and exciting, and most of the characters well developed. However I was hoping that "Outer Perimeter would advance the plot more than it did. About half of the book was a retelling of events in the first installment. Mr. Goddard is an excellent writer and has provided many great thriller stories. This plot line has great potential. I hope the next installment, if there is one, will advance the plot and provide closure to some of the plot lines.

Oregon State Detective Sergeant Colin Cellars is on administrative leave pending the results of a psychiatric examination following a strange X- Files-like incident. Since the events with the violet-eyed extraterrestrial, Colin is a true believer. As such, he has set an OUTER PERIMETER in his remote cabin in the mountains near Jasper Springs, Oregon to warn him of any intruder, especially serial killing aliens.

Taking the death rate seriously, the state establishes two six-person teams of crime scene investigators to search the area for the serial predators. However, Colin believes that he and his three amigos (ex DEA Bobby Dawson, electronic guru Malcolm Byzor, and lab technician Jody Catlin) will ultimately be the team to stop the rising homicide rate and send an unfriendly ET home or die in the process.

OUTER PERIMETER is an engaging, cleverly designed mixing of science fiction elements with a forensic-police procedural thriller. The exciting plot moves quickly forward with plenty of action, but references to the first book will, on occasion, leave the bewildered new reader first seeking evidence as to what previously happened. Overall, the spine tingling story stands alone as the fearsome foursome battles with a villain most likely not of this earth in Ken Goddard's latest chiller.

Harriet Klausner

Being the sequel to one of the most suspenseful books I've ever read, (First Evidence) I expected a lot. I didn't get quite what I expected but it was an engaging read. For the most part, this book fills in the gaps from "First Evidence." It explains a lot and makes you go, "Oh yeah." You must, however, read the first book or you will be lost. "Outer Perimeter" started slow but built it's intrigue bit by bit. Several times, I thought of putting it down but it finally grabbed me. Most books fizzle by the last third. This one takes off like a UFO! The ending didn't grab me but it makes me think he may be thinking of writing another one. (Sidenote: It's interesting that three recent novels all have "black panthers/jaguars" as a nemesis. <Temple by Matt Reilly, Amazonia by James Rollins, and this book> Have I missed a wildlife trend?)

The author gives us no reason to care about anyone in this novel. We don't get to know the people and, even at the end, we don't know how much of what is described in (what we will loosely define as) "the plot" is real. I found the writing ragged with the plot loose and all over the place. Ken Goddard has not thought deeply about this book before he wrote it, in my opinion. He "just wrote" and this drivel is what he ended up with. For the record, this is a story of humans tracking down the bad aliens who are causing citizens to disappear. I wish this book had disappeared before I read it.

...if you read First Evidence. Not only does Outer Perimeter continue the characters, I think it was a better book overall!!! The writing style is perfected in Outer Perimeter and flow is incredibly strong.

The book nearly made me call in to work sick in order to keep reading. (grin) Ken Goddard is one of my favorite authors and I strongly recommend starting with First Evidence and then continuing with Outer Perimeter.

The way the book ends yields 5 stars in itself! Most books I read tend to fizzle near the end, or have a predictable ending. Outer Perimeter keeps you reading until the last page. Once you finish, you will wish there was more!!!

Also, Balefire is an excellent book, especially considering the fact that it was written over 20 years ago and reads like it was recently written.

Take my word for it, this guy is incredible!!!

I bought this novel based on only the reputation of the author and past novels he has written. I did not know this was one of a series. I was lost during the first third of the book trying to fathom out reasons for the actions and fears of the characters. No mention of a prior book anywhere. Lots of questions go unanswered at the end of a chapter then show up later as a flashback or a narrative as to what had happened. I may have enjoyed the book more if I had read the first of the series. I'm not really a science fiction type although some parts were plausable. I found the ending to be irritating, with unresolved questions. I doubt if I will by the next in the series if one come out.

I really enjoyed this read.You really put a lot of excitement into your books, Mr. Goddard.Please e-mail me as to when your next part of this series is coming out.Thank-you

This is my second book by Goddard that I have read - this one being the sequel to his earlier First Evidence book about First Contact with an alien species. I had this book for a long time before I finally started to read it and once I did, I moved through it more quickly than I had suspected I would. I found this book to be more engaging than his first story, probably because I knew the underlying premise. This story set in Oregon where a cop who is a CSI guy worries about being attacked by some alien baddies and runs around trying to deal with their activities to regain their lost alien comrades.

With the recent successfull TV series about CSI stuff, this book matched well and perhaps better with the current CSI interest. Characters were believable and the story flowed well. My only disappointment was in the ending, in that like a lot of books and authors, the end came too quickly and seemed to beg more. It was not an ending that made you feel like a sequel was hiding there, it just seemed to lack a satisfying ending.

That said, I still found this book very entertaining and thus my 4-star score.

This is a fast-paced action book with lots of mysterious goings on by aliens and lots of involvement by state and county police officials who both believe and disbelieve the reports of abductions and disappearances of people in this small corner of Oregon.

I think that whether or not you have read the first book in this series, you will be hooked and can't put it down until the ending. I know I was. The only disappointment is that when the ending comes, you don't want to let the story go. So, Mr. Goddard, when is the next installment? I sure hope there is one!

When I read the jacket for this book I couldn't wait to open it and read it. Unfortunately I was quickly disappointed. I doubt I'll even bother to read the inevitable third volume in the series. The first problem is that nowhere in or on the book does it mention the fact that it is the second volume in a series. I had to find that out here on amazon.com. I felt like I was playing catch-up the whole time because I didn't know the beginning of the story. I also hate the author's habit of ending chapters at the peak of a dramatic moment, only to skip over the drama and tell about it third-hand later on. I like to read the exciting parts as they are happening, not relayed in the past tense. Finally, I just found the plot rather improbable. If you want to read a good novel of aliens hunting humans, read "The Hunters" by Burt Wetanson and Thomas Hoobler. An oldie but goodie.