Customer Reviews

The Rapture Effect

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Gnostic Computer System belonged to the Company and but did they have control over it? The GCS needed help. It was just not able to handle the problem it had been handed. The biggest problem anybody had been handed. A war with an alien race. A war which it could not win within the limits it had been given. But the danger was that it might also fail to win the war. EVER. Now it needed human help to make changes within its programming, changes that the Company did not want, changes that even it might not understand. And there was the danger that by changing it, it would change the balance, maybe even against itself.
The story is about first contact, about aliens, about computer intelligence, music, the nature of man, and about war. While some parts seem to be simplistic, there are bursts of genius and plot twists that surprise you. Even the characters, many of which I did not like, were realistic. Face it, if you don't like a character and think he is a jerk, then you are reacting to a REALISTIC character. I am loaning this book to a friend right after the review because he is a sci-fi fan and this is a great book. Get it, new or used.

Parts of the book took me back to my early years and junior high school dances... not what I want to read about in a SciFi book. Other than that I enjoyed the story.

The Rapture Effect is a great story of first contact. There are a lot of subplots thrown in that add to the story instead of detracting. I won't say any more so I don't spoil the story, but if you like stories about first contact, or about secretive government plots, then you will like this book

The actual writing in this book is fairly good, where it has a chance. However, in addition to being much too long and drawn out, the actual story is rather uninspired and pedestrian. Also, significant portions of the book take place inside the computer system, in a sort of V.R. construct. However, the descriptions of the action taking place there are largely meaningless, being concrete descriptions of abstract concepts. The same is true of the scenes of the Ell "bindings," which were full of meaningless, albeit poetic, descriptions of telepathic communication.

There are a host of other faults in the storytelling, which I don't care to get into, but suffice it to say that this book is simply not worth the time it takes to read it.

I picked it up used and was glad that I didn't pay for it! The story is much too simplistic. Even though it is science fiction the story line is not credible and the characters are impossible to identify with.

Frankly, I would not recommend this book. Try something better.