Impact by Douglas Preston - Book Review

Impact by Douglas Preston, A Tom Doherty Associates Book, 2009, 364 pages.

I'm very mixed on this book. I would not read it again. The plot is very interesting but the book is laced with profanity. I therefore cannot recommend it to anyone of whatever age.

A strange thing has happened from outer space, in particularly a planet in our solar system. The story takes the star around the world but the mystery is ultimately solved by a surprising character. It involves politics, jungles, boats and planets so obviously there is something for everyone including some jabs at religion.

Mister Preston would be a writer I would follow if he could clean up his act and stop talking like someone from the back alleys.

Sumer

Sumer was an old old civilization in present day Iraq. I choose this name for my book which had little to do with the early civilization except to use that location for an important discovery (in the book). My theory (in the book) was that we did not come from a people who were ignorant of science but rather had advanced beyond our knowledge. They then were wiped out by the flood. When the discovery is made, it shows scientist just how far we have to go to catch up. Sumer Galactic Information Control Center by Milton J Southerland.

Why Write anyway - What's the Use?

Why keep on beating the keys when no one seems to be reading and certainly not buying to a profitable degree? I suppose it takes a case of the 'can't help its'. When something is in my mind that won't go away (if it wouldn't land me in jail), I have to write it down to get some peace.

Have you had a child interrupt you over and over while you were trying to do something? You try to continue your task but the child persist. Finally, you answer just so you can get on with the business at hand. Love those children but sometimes they can be, shall I say continuous. So, you take care of their business so you can get back to your business. A story can be much like that. It starts as an idea that may even seem foolish. Then, it just builds until, like steam in a boiling pot, it must escape.

One of my favorite authors, Frank Peretti, writes wholesome Christian novels and I think he has a series now, greatly impressed me with his story of his early years and his first book. He had failed to get it published and finally tossed it in the garbage can. His wife rescued the book which later sold millions of copies. Someone believed in him. The editors did not, at first, but his wife did and sometimes one is enough.

I cannot write like Mister Peretti. Nor can I write like any of the other famous authors that I respect greatly. Like all writers, each of us must be true to ourselves even in the face of failure or criticism.

When I wrote Harvest 2050 AD which is a free add on to Preserved Intellect, I felt injured by the words in the book. To think that humanity could bend to such evil deeds insulted my faith in people. Is it not better to cry snake and avoid the bite than to wait until after the damage is done? I make my stories fiction in the hope that someday they do not become historical facts. These are stories of science taking things beyond moral boundaries. They are not long stories for I wished to leave the darkness of the pages as soon as possible.

Transient was an escape for me from the darkest side of mankind to, what we think of, as ordinary life. It is sad that ordinary must include the tragedies that engulfed some of the characters. In life, even adults need heroes. I know I certainly do. I don't mean a perfect person to look to, rather a person who maintains high standards even during adversity. Tommy Bookmark faced danger, loss, had to delay his dream and grew old while duty held him captive. Yet, he gripped his cross with determination and found joy along the way.

Suppose there are no rewards for spending the hours it takes to pull a story together. Suppose the dreadful task of checking and rechecking the work is a waste of time. Then is it a story that should not have been told? Perhaps, one day, that one person will find that one thought in my books that changes their life for the better. Even if I could quit writing, I think I would still drum out the stories for the hope that they will somehow make a difference. A good difference in some one's life.

SUMER by Milton Southerland

Although Sumer was an old civilization, this book goes from there to the future and space travel. It explores the possibility of space travel before the flood that destroyed the world. I know that is a fantasy. It is true that men lived to be near a thousand years old. I wondered what they must have learned in such a long life time. They could have gained much knowledge and discussed it with generations before they died. Their minds were fresh and unpolluted. Suppose they discovered an entirely different way to leave earth and explore space. We use massive machines and massive amounts of fuel. Suppose they, instead, discovered a way to use the forces of nature to propel themselves at great speeds without the use of machines that would leave a trace of their efforts. True, we have discovered nothing to indicate that they left earth but are we smarter than they.

So, I wrote a novel that discusses in a fictional way how they are perhaps looking on as we fight and build devices to destroy each other and at our efforts to leave the planet. Suppose they found us so destructive that our venture into space would destroy their peaceful civilization. Would they not try to stop us as we would try to stop a virus from spreading? That is the jest of Sumer - Galactic Information Control Center, available as a download or hard copy here.

Previous Post