Reviews

Area 51 by Bob Mayer, Robert Doherty

kanejim57's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I grew up around an Air Force Base where my father and several family members worked as civilians and so airplanes have always been an interest of mine. And so has the area in Nevada known as Area 51.

And Bob Mayer’s, writing as Robert Doherty, initial novel in his Area 51 series brings the mysterious military base to a fast-paced, unexpected, and action packed level as he tells a tale that covers the globe from the southern Pacific to Egypt and America’s vast west and through ancient history, World War 2, and current times.

When I purchased the book for my own personal reading, it was the title that caught my attention (it is the Nook eBook version) and gave me the reason to buy it. And I am glad that I did.

Featuring a gruff and unraveling Air Force General, a planted Presidential science adviser, an Army special forces officer who is disillusioned with what he sees behind the scenes, an archaeologist who is attempting to unravel the language and story of a mysterious ancient race, a reporter who seeks to blow the cover off the secretive base as payment to a friend who dies as a result of ‘experiments,’ and an aging German scientist whose history hearkens to dark secrets of World War2, Area 51 tells a story of intrigue, deceit, power, secrets, and fantastic technology.

I give this book a ‘great’ read rating.

kanejim57's review

Go to review page

4.0

I grew up around an Air Force Base where my father and several family members worked as civilians and so airplanes have always been an interest of mine. And so has the area in Nevada known as Area 51.

And Bob Mayer’s, writing as Robert Doherty, initial novel in his Area 51 series brings the mysterious military base to a fast-paced, unexpected, and action packed level as he tells a tale that covers the globe from the southern Pacific to Egypt and America’s vast west and through ancient history, World War 2, and current times.

When I purchased the book for my own personal reading, it was the title that caught my attention (it is the Nook eBook version) and gave me the reason to buy it. And I am glad that I did.

Featuring a gruff and unraveling Air Force General, a planted Presidential science adviser, an Army special forces officer who is disillusioned with what he sees behind the scenes, an archaeologist who is attempting to unravel the language and story of a mysterious ancient race, a reporter who seeks to blow the cover off the secretive base as payment to a friend who dies as a result of ‘experiments,’ and an aging German scientist whose history hearkens to dark secrets of World War2, Area 51 tells a story of intrigue, deceit, power, secrets, and fantastic technology.

I give this book a ‘great’ read rating.

annkniggendorf's review

Go to review page

4.0

Fun. Military thriller meets conspiracy novel meets UFO science fiction. All wrapped up with good characterization, a whiff of humor and well written mil tech. Plus, the narrator of the accompanying audiobook has a good voice fitting the content. Will continue with volume two now.

cat_reads_book's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous informative mysterious fast-paced

4.0

jacqueshol's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Area 51 wasn't too bad. Some of the characters failed to make an impact on me, while others have potential to develop nicely as the series progresses.

The ending was a bit short and sharp. One moment the antagonist is there and the next he is gone without too much fuss. The book ended on a cliffhanger, and whatever reservations I may have had, I will definitely read book 2 in the series. Probably a 3.5 star book.

arachnichemist's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Sit down, have fun and relax. That is at the core of what these are. Not award winners, but dam fun.

This whole series really is probably a 3.5 star. It is at it's core a fun popcorn read. I use books like this to unwind from hard syfy or a really good trilogy. They are fast and fun if you can suspend some disbelief. I actually enjoyed them a lot. Reminds me a bit of the show Warehouse 13 mixed with the x-files. I believe these are in the same vein as Sigma Force which will be my next popcorn grab.

git_r_read's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Whew! This was a humdingah of a thrill ride. It showed up as 746 pages on the Nook, but it moved fast and the pages flew with the flick of a thumb.




It's the start of a series and I can't wait to read more. Doherty writes an intriguing mixture of science fiction and thriller. There's the military, scientists, archeologists, newspaper reporters, and aliens. The action takes place all over the world and the action moves fast. Don't get attached to anyone, as they are likely to die or get abducted or have experiments done....




All of the characters are well done, both good and bad peeps. At least this time the military isn't all the way bad guy, just onesie-twosie or threesie....




All I had to do was get over some inconsistancies in military schtuff, I can't help myself after being in the Air Force for a goodly while. The inconsistancies were hiccups after a bit, so not a biggie.




I hope there will be more archeological bits in the future books. And I hope the main core of the good guys will be in the upcoming books.




Five humdingah thrill ride beans.....

hopkinsj100's review

Go to review page

4.0

Absurd Plot and a Lot of Fun

Like classic scifi, this book has little character development or subtlety. If I stopped and thought about the plot, I’d laugh out loud. But it’s a genuine page-turner and a good read in the space opera tradition. I’ll definitely read the next one.

markazarnie's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Interesting end, will have to see how the series goes

justaguy's review

Go to review page

3.0

Rocky start

I’m not saying this book is bad at all. It just felt like an inconvenient story plot to me. Some things seem like under-effect and other over-effect. More former than latter...I would admit that near the ending. It was a nice surprise but too little and too late.