Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.19 AVERAGE
3.19 AVERAGE
When I found out that Gillian Anderson co-wrote a science fiction novel, my initial reaction was
And I can’t stress this enough: I did NOT expect it to be anything like The X-files. I expected nothing. Was it going to be good? Bad? It was without prejudice that I opened the book.
To my great surprise, The X-files was exactly what I got.
I could not put book the book down. It was very thrilling. But some parts of it just didn't work. Here’s why:
The first half is great. It starts as pure sci fi. There is a lot of science, a lot of psychiatry, linguistics and ancient history. And what can I say? I love science. So I was thrilled. It’s obvious that Gillian Anderson and Jeff Rovin did a lot of research in the respective fields.
But then somehow the story gets off track and turns into a new-agey fairy tale filled with babble about souls and spirituality. I mean, the science is still there, but it had to move to give space for all the new age crap.
The ending is an open one, given that this book is the first one in the series. Even so, there is no excuse for those loose ends.
As for the main character… well, she's basically Scully. A professional, a doctor, very smart and very strong. Unlike Scully though, Caitlin is more open to more extreme possibilities. Her beliefs are well-grounded in science but she is not as afraid as Scully to accept the truth that she cannot (yet) explain. Nevertheless, there are a lot of leftover character traits of our beloved FBI-agent and, I don't know, perhaps it's understandable.
Besides, I like Scully, so it wasn't hard to like Caitlin. I like all of the characters, really. And I like this book. I don't want to overrate it just because Gillian Anderson is one of the authors. But I don't want to rate it down just because it was a bit new-agey for my taste. So I give it a very solid 3/5.
And I can’t stress this enough: I did NOT expect it to be anything like The X-files. I expected nothing. Was it going to be good? Bad? It was without prejudice that I opened the book.
To my great surprise, The X-files was exactly what I got.
I could not put book the book down. It was very thrilling. But some parts of it just didn't work. Here’s why:
The first half is great. It starts as pure sci fi. There is a lot of science, a lot of psychiatry, linguistics and ancient history. And what can I say? I love science. So I was thrilled. It’s obvious that Gillian Anderson and Jeff Rovin did a lot of research in the respective fields.
But then somehow the story gets off track and turns into a new-agey fairy tale filled with babble about souls and spirituality. I mean, the science is still there, but it had to move to give space for all the new age crap.
The ending is an open one, given that this book is the first one in the series. Even so, there is no excuse for those loose ends.
As for the main character… well, she's basically Scully. A professional, a doctor, very smart and very strong. Unlike Scully though, Caitlin is more open to more extreme possibilities. Her beliefs are well-grounded in science but she is not as afraid as Scully to accept the truth that she cannot (yet) explain. Nevertheless, there are a lot of leftover character traits of our beloved FBI-agent and, I don't know, perhaps it's understandable.
Besides, I like Scully, so it wasn't hard to like Caitlin. I like all of the characters, really. And I like this book. I don't want to overrate it just because Gillian Anderson is one of the authors. But I don't want to rate it down just because it was a bit new-agey for my taste. So I give it a very solid 3/5.
A solid 4 stars. Excellent read, unique characters, interesting settings and situations. Good ending but clearly room for sequels, which I look forward to reading.
I know it’s fiction, and I enjoy fiction, but as an educated single mom, it was hard for me to connect or sympathize with Caitlin. I had none of her advantages; few of us do. Fiction has to be either mostly believable or totally unbelievable.
I appreciated the inside look at the workings of the UN, and the heartbreaking drama of the Middle East conflicts.
I know it’s fiction, and I enjoy fiction, but as an educated single mom, it was hard for me to connect or sympathize with Caitlin. I had none of her advantages; few of us do. Fiction has to be either mostly believable or totally unbelievable.
I appreciated the inside look at the workings of the UN, and the heartbreaking drama of the Middle East conflicts.
Apparently working on The X-Files for a significant portion of her adult life has rubbed off on Gillian Anderson, the actress who plays Special Agent Dana Scully on the show, as she has turned to writing books recently of a definite supernatural vein. A Vision of Fire is a science fiction thriller and the first book in the EarthEnd Saga co-authored with New York Times bestselling author Jeff Rovin.
Caitlin O’Hara is a renowned child psychologist who is asked to quietly and secretly help Maanik, the daughter of India’s Ambassador. The teenager has begun speaking in tongues, having strange fits, and powerful visions. Caitlin begins working with the girl, thinking a lot of her stress and actions are due to a recent assassination attempt on the girl’s father’s life. Meanwhile, India’s ambassador is wrapped up in escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.
But then more kids around the world start acting in a similar manner. Caitlin travels to Haiti to investigate a girl who appears to be drowning on dry land. An Iranian boy inexplicably sets himself on fire. And then animals from rats in New York City to birds in South America are starting to act out of the ordinary which is somehow related to what’s happening to the kids.
Gillian Anderson and Jeff Rovin have created a compelling work of science fiction that immediately sucks the reader in and keeps their curiosity clock ticking. Caitlin O’Hara is a fully rounded character who has to juggle her own life and a son who is partially deaf, which makes her feel all the more real and relatable. At the end a big reveal is made that leaves the reader wondering where the sequel is going to go.
And for those wanting to go all the way for the full immersive experience the audiobook is ready by Gillian Anderson, featuring her sultry voice that we have all come to know so well through The X-Files.
Originally written on March 24, 2016 ©Alex C. Telander.
For more reviews, check out the BookBanter site.
Caitlin O’Hara is a renowned child psychologist who is asked to quietly and secretly help Maanik, the daughter of India’s Ambassador. The teenager has begun speaking in tongues, having strange fits, and powerful visions. Caitlin begins working with the girl, thinking a lot of her stress and actions are due to a recent assassination attempt on the girl’s father’s life. Meanwhile, India’s ambassador is wrapped up in escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.
But then more kids around the world start acting in a similar manner. Caitlin travels to Haiti to investigate a girl who appears to be drowning on dry land. An Iranian boy inexplicably sets himself on fire. And then animals from rats in New York City to birds in South America are starting to act out of the ordinary which is somehow related to what’s happening to the kids.
Gillian Anderson and Jeff Rovin have created a compelling work of science fiction that immediately sucks the reader in and keeps their curiosity clock ticking. Caitlin O’Hara is a fully rounded character who has to juggle her own life and a son who is partially deaf, which makes her feel all the more real and relatable. At the end a big reveal is made that leaves the reader wondering where the sequel is going to go.
And for those wanting to go all the way for the full immersive experience the audiobook is ready by Gillian Anderson, featuring her sultry voice that we have all come to know so well through The X-Files.
Originally written on March 24, 2016 ©Alex C. Telander.
For more reviews, check out the BookBanter site.
Started out great, but then got a little too metaphysical for me.
I went into this book knowing nothing. I was (and still am) a huge X-Files nerd, so anything with Gillian Anderson's name attached to it I'm more than happy to check out. The book was interesting, held my attention, but - without giving away spoilers - I'm not sure how Caitlin made the connections she did. I look forward to reading more, if there is any, though.
Just re-read this so I could follow the sequel. Really well written, lovely characters, and character moments, and some really interesting ideas being pulled together in what is a fairly original sci fi idea as far as I know. Very based in the spiritual, there are hints of much more early civilisations - are they human? Antarctic settlements before it froze over, and spiritual explanations for what looks like demonic possession but is something far more interesting.
My criticism is that the book apologises for being spiritual a lot. How dare we believe in Voudo! But this is fiction, we can believe in whatever we want, right? It seems like this is the first in a series and I can't help but wish there'd been more answers and less "You don't believe in this stuff do you?". So while the ending was intriguing it was a bit of a let down, I definitely wanted more Bigger Picture.
This said, considering I'm not usually a fan of spiritual/mysticism or even fantasy, I really enjoyed this book, and flew through it, it made a horrific plane flight MUCH more bearable and piqued my interest in a whole lot of new/old ideas I'm enjoying exploring.
I found upon rereading that while I remembered the "real world" aspects of the story clearly and dearly, I had forgotten the mystical world that our protagonist Caitlin was discovering... This isn't surprising I forget books REALLY. Easily. But you will need to give this a re read if you've gotten hazy on the mystic side of things, before you crack open book two.
My criticism is that the book apologises for being spiritual a lot. How dare we believe in Voudo! But this is fiction, we can believe in whatever we want, right? It seems like this is the first in a series and I can't help but wish there'd been more answers and less "You don't believe in this stuff do you?". So while the ending was intriguing it was a bit of a let down, I definitely wanted more Bigger Picture.
This said, considering I'm not usually a fan of spiritual/mysticism or even fantasy, I really enjoyed this book, and flew through it, it made a horrific plane flight MUCH more bearable and piqued my interest in a whole lot of new/old ideas I'm enjoying exploring.
I found upon rereading that while I remembered the "real world" aspects of the story clearly and dearly, I had forgotten the mystical world that our protagonist Caitlin was discovering... This isn't surprising I forget books REALLY. Easily. But you will need to give this a re read if you've gotten hazy on the mystic side of things, before you crack open book two.
To be honest, I only read this because Gillian Anderson (co-)wrote it. Apart from it being science-fiction, I didn't know what it would be about and just started it. First things first, it is a very quick read. Rather entertaining, too, and sometimes that's actually enough for a novel. I was surprised that the storyline is, all in all, quite compelling and interesting; I felt myself wanting to know what was happening. Then towards the end, I began to lose faith in the book. Caitlin, a child psychologist, first treats Maanik, who is seemingly possessed by something. So far so good. As the book progresses, though, Caitlin is more and more drawn into this whole thing and I just don't buy it. She doesn't question all these weird things, people catching fire, speaking dead languages. They happen and she is trying to come up with WHY, but she is not shocked by it; at least it doesn't seem to me like she this. It's more like 'been there, done that'. Her whole attitude is like that. And that's part of the reason why this reminds me of The X-Files. I did not start this book looking for parallels or anything. But the whole situation feels like an x-files. Not to mention that Caitlin has this sidekick, Ben, who is a translator (I want to say he's a linguist, too?), but who is also totally ok with all these strange things happening. That really weirded me out.
Like I said, it's an entertaining read, which is why the book gets 4 stars instead of just 3. There are a few things that bothered me, but since this is only the first part of a saga, some might be cleared up later. For example, why is Caitlin so open to all of this? The charcters, to me, don't seem very fleshed out. They are for the most part pretty stereotypical. Unsurprisingly, since it's a short book. I hope that changes in the next parts.
Like I said, it's an entertaining read, which is why the book gets 4 stars instead of just 3. There are a few things that bothered me, but since this is only the first part of a saga, some might be cleared up later. For example, why is Caitlin so open to all of this? The charcters, to me, don't seem very fleshed out. They are for the most part pretty stereotypical. Unsurprisingly, since it's a short book. I hope that changes in the next parts.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
SCULLY WROTE A BOOK, EVERYBODY!!!!!
It is vaguely X-files-y, so that will satisfy everyone in that respect, though it lacks a broody Mulder.
I like watching sci-fi, but I rarely enjoy reading it. This one was actually pretty good, and I had a hard time putting it down, but I also had a hard time buying the story at times. So much of what takes place happens in visions, so it so perhaps a visual medium would be a better platform. It would make a decent movie.
Even though the book is part of a series, it holds it's own, completing the novel while still leaving enough unanswered to allow further installments.
Kind of like the X-files...
It is vaguely X-files-y, so that will satisfy everyone in that respect, though it lacks a broody Mulder.
I like watching sci-fi, but I rarely enjoy reading it. This one was actually pretty good, and I had a hard time putting it down, but I also had a hard time buying the story at times. So much of what takes place happens in visions, so it so perhaps a visual medium would be a better platform. It would make a decent movie.
Even though the book is part of a series, it holds it's own, completing the novel while still leaving enough unanswered to allow further installments.
Kind of like the X-files...
The story feels like a strange cross between Lovecraft and Hubbard, but it does keep me interested enough to want the next one to come out soon. The writing style is better than a lot of books with celebrity names on the cover. I'm not sure if that is more credit to Anderson or Rovin, but as a team they definitely came up with a good read.