Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Solid Start...Looking Forward to more from the Author, April 19, 2005
Brian Enke is a pioneer in the area of Mars mission and operations development. His experience in simulated Mars missions is first-rate, and his thoughtful talks about the real costs of exploration reinforce a solid analytical base.
Combining these skills, he's delivered an intrigue-laden novel about a mission to Mars. While three trailblazers are on their way to the Red Planet on a publicized mission with secrecy-laden objectives, the news media is in a frenzy to find the mission backers and objectives. David, the mission director in an innovative mission support role, has indications that there are darker motivations at work. Finding out just what's happening threatens the crew's safety and perhaps his own.
Set mostly in my favorite state of Colorado, the book focuses more on ground control operations than what the crew is doing in space. Personally, I'd like to read more about the crew's activities, but I understand that a larger audience would enjoy the ground story more. There's one action sequence that feels a bit forced, and though I read it a couple times I'm still not sure that I have the whole sequence down. There are also a couple times when the dialog seems less like what people would say and more like someone would write for them.
These are nits, to be sure. I found the book to be a very enjoyable read and look forward to the sequel. Recent events make the premise seem plausible, and the author's expertise shines through in weaving an exciting future where humans and machines work together to open a new frontier for our kind in our time.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Secrets of Mars, May 1, 2005
Shadows of Medusa by Brian Enke is a genre-busting novel about a first manned mission to Mars. The novel is intrigue/suspense/mystery embedded within a strong and accurate framework of science/science fiction. The action shifts back and forth between the mission itself, where Anna/<microbrain> and her two fellow astronauts struggle to keep their bargain basement mission on track, and mission control and Earth, where David/<shepherd> tries to stay at the helm of mission control while running from the bad guys and never knowing who to trust [the good guys have chosen to remain anonymous and this adds to the mystery/confusion]. Skye, a sexy TV reporter, is this mystery's femme fatale and one corner of the novel's scalene love triangle. As it says in the Preface, there is a need for a sequel, so if you have issues with cliffhangers, avoid this novel. My only complaint is the price - it's way too high for a trade paperback! I hope the price doesn't scare away the readers Mr. Enke's novel deserves. I enjoyed Shadows of Medusa so much I was willing to stay up until 3 in the morning in the middle of the high school standardized testing season to finish it!
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mystery and Science Fiction, February 21, 2005
Brian has written a compelling mystery / science fiction novel. The clues are there, as is action and references to some familiar names. If you've ever pitched the Mars Direct plan, or spent some time at one of the Mars Society habs, you'll enjoy this book. If not, you might learn something about the best way to get humans to Mars. In either case, it's a hard book to put down.
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