Customer Reviews

Sea Change

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

James Powlik has pulled off a remarkable feat. He has written a book with a great deal of complicated and technical scientific language, yet he makes the narrative exciting. "Sea Change" deals with an environmental threat that poses a tremendous danger to warm-blooded mammals in an area near Washington State and Vancouver, British Columbia. Powlik has a background in biology and oceanography, and although the book is fiction, there is a factual basis in what he writes. "Sea Change" is frightening in its implications and the action sweeps the reader along until the end. A word of warning--this book is not for the sqeamish. The characters and the dialogue are, for the most part, believable. Readers who love scientific mysteries will find "Sea Change" enthralling and thought-provoking.

While I appreciated the author's extensive research and obvious knowledge of his subject, he simply does not know how to write exciting fiction. The first few chapters started off with promise: inexplicable deaths. An ER doctor's horrifying loss of a child patient. A spooky ship far out at sea. And, yes, some funny repartee between characters. But from there, it became a tedious story of "telling, not showing," whereby the author tells us ABOUT what happens, but doesn't really show us the events with much vividness of language or even much dialogue. For instance, there's a scene toward the end where one helicopter loses altitude, crashing into a chopper below it. Crash! Lives lost! Sorry, but it was the most ho-hum description of a disaster I've ever read. I didn't bat an eye. Perhaps the most serious problem with this book was the nature of the "villain" itself. A microbe. Much as the author tries to infuse it with evil, it remains just that -- a microbe. And the heroes must race to -- well, kill it. That's it. Alas, not very exciting.

This novel could have the same effect on beach-going as "Jaws" did years ago! Reading the preceding reviews, I am amazed that SEA CHANGE is Powlick's debut; rarely have I seen a first novel that was so concise and well-developed from a literary perspective and so suspenseful and challenging as entertainment. Powlick made difficult oceanographic and biological concepts easy to digest and enjoyable to ponder, in terms of their dangerous implications. The romance was anticipated but not unwelcome, as I cared about the characters, and those I didn't care for (the media-hound) got just deserves. Don't be afraid of this thriller!

This book blends real-life science and a compelling mystery that makes for terrific beach reading! The author, James Powlik, takes a true-to-life menace from today's headlines and spins an exciting tale of suspense. In the tranquil waters of the Pacific Northwest, an invisible, indiscriminate killer is loose. As the body count begins to escalate, a group of intrepid scientists is left to make sense of the mystery and find out what has gone wrong. The storyline is quite clever and all the more intriguing because of the possibility that this type of disaster could really happen. I recommend this book to mystery lovers, action-adventure aficionados, and anyone concerned about real-life ecological issues.

This book caught my attention as I was walking in a book store, and I just knew I had to buy it. I went with my gut instinct, and I'm glad I did! This story is amazing, and what's more amazing is that it could become a reality! The author knows a thing or two about such scientific matters, and I'm sure that he didn't just write this story to scare us, but because we should always be careful about our environment. We never really know what's out there. That's what makes it great. I would recommend it to anyone with strong guts, and a mind for science and mysteries. I sure enjoyed it, and I'm sure that a lot of people will agree with me. Read it, and you will not be dissapointed!

Oceanographer James Powlik strikes an excellent balance of science, action, and humanity (yes, that is still possible in a technothriller -- take note Crichton and Clancy). The menace du jour in protagonist Brock Garner's life is a toxic algae bloom that reads as believably as the latest headlines in the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd. Surrounding a core of credible science is a cast of believable, well-developed characters that lure the reader compulsively into page after page as the action mounts and the danger reaches strangulation levels. As Powlik himself asserts, we are not the commanders of Mother Nature as much as we'd like to think.

This was my first reading of Powlik and I must say that I was impressed. I was drawn into this book by the plot and wonderful characters that Powlik creates.

The idea of a biological weapon getting into the wrong hands, or slipping from a research facility takes on more interest in the wake of Sept 11. This book is both thrilling and frightening, because it might be able to happen. Well, maybe not, but it is a fun read that will keep you turning the pages wanting to see what will happen next.

All in all I enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read the next Powlik work, Meltdown!

This book kept me riveted from beginning to end. The characters are believable and the science is just edgy enough to scare you into thinking a menace of this kind could really materialize. Yes, there is a lot of back and forth explanatory dialogue among the characters, but the issues are complex and the author doesn't dumb down the plot just to work in an explosion on every page (there is plenty of that anyway). I think the settings and pace of the story work well to give the reader the feeling of being on the inside of the action. I not only know what is happening, but I know why. The suspense builds nicely AND you end up caring about what happens to the characters at the end. I am looking forward to reading James Powlik's next one.

James Powlik did a mediocre job in writing so that his work would appeal to a wider range of audiences. A downfall of his writing is his use a lot of scientific terminology that makes it hard for the average reader to grasp a concept that may be easy to understand. I often found my interest lost due to the amount of scientific terms and unnecessary information. I also found it hard to relate to any of the characters in the book. There were so many, most expressing little emotion, which took away from the story as a whole. I did enjoy some of the imagery Powlik used when describing victims of the Pfiesteria.

This book is great! Its not dumbed down, but not a boring hard to read book. All around great! I think it would make a good movie. Characters are great, and its all explained with actual fact. A Must Read.