Boundary, by Eric Flint, Ryk Spoor
Book Review by Steven Sawicki
Have you read this book?
Dr. Helen Sutter is a paleontologist, digging in the Montana badlands, who, one day, finds an interesting set of fossils. One fossil in particular seems very out of place. The fossils, as well, are sitting right on top of the K-T layer, that deposit thought to represent the remnants of a massive meteor strike that wiped out most living things at that time. To assist with her find, a friend calls in another friend who just happens to be working on sensor technology for a manned space effort to Mars. The sensors work, a paper is written and soon, everything seems to return to normal. Not for long though as on a preliminary mission to Phobos mummified remains are found that appear to be directly related to one of the fossils. Thus begins an adventure on many different levels.
Flint and Spoor take this one event and use it to springboard the plot from the Earth to Martian orbit and later to the surface of Mars itself. The characters are an odd collection of atypical geeks and military who seem more in line with moving the plot forward than they are in representing any serious attempt at alternative or antagonistic viewpoints. Simply put, nearly everyone in this books wants the mission to succeed. I mention this because it could play a role in how you feel about the story as it unfolds. This is a tale of discovery rather than a story of a protagonist or a group of protagonists achieving a goal against multiple odds. As such it is reminiscent of the kind of fiction around in the fifties and sixties where the idea held sway over plot and character.
The book is a fairly quick read and the plot moves forward on almost every page with little time spent rehashing material. There are a group of six or seven main characters that remain the focus of the action. I found the characters interesting if a bit thin and formulaic. As for the story itself, there's plenty of it and it's told in an interesting way that will keep you moving from page to page.
Flint and Spoor take this one event and use it to springboard the plot from the Earth to Martian orbit and later to the surface of Mars itself. The characters are an odd collection of atypical geeks and military who seem more in line with moving the plot forward than they are in representing any serious attempt at alternative or antagonistic viewpoints. Simply put, nearly everyone in this books wants the mission to succeed. I mention this because it could play a role in how you feel about the story as it unfolds. This is a tale of discovery rather than a story of a protagonist or a group of protagonists achieving a goal against multiple odds. As such it is reminiscent of the kind of fiction around in the fifties and sixties where the idea held sway over plot and character.
The book is a fairly quick read and the plot moves forward on almost every page with little time spent rehashing material. There are a group of six or seven main characters that remain the focus of the action. I found the characters interesting if a bit thin and formulaic. As for the story itself, there's plenty of it and it's told in an interesting way that will keep you moving from page to page.
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