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Review of FIRST CONTACT by Kenneth E. Ingle (see his website)ESCAPE TO 55 CANCRIBooksForABuck.com, April 2009
As a lead scientist and entrepreneur in DNA research, Maria has the money needed to launch a space flight program. But hostile spies and men anxious to learn her secret dog the work of the growing band of scientists, engineers and computer programmers who hope to escape to the stars. Even some of her own chosen technicians have other plans--or have thrown in with those who can't create an Earth worth living on, but seem intent on making sure nobody can escape it, either. Escaping to the stars sounds good in concept. What Maria isn't prepared for, though, is that other civilizations already lay claim to the planets and space resources in 55 Cancri--and indeed, everywhere in space. Maria's ship was designed for escape, not for conflict. Yet she and the others face dangers in space at least as great as those they fled from on Earth. Author Kenneth E. Ingle (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of novels by Ingle) offers a convincing view of sub-light speed space travel, the kinds of people who will be needed to make this possible, and the political and personal problems they will encounter as they prepare for a voyage to the unknown. The group's encounters with alien civilizations is pure space opera excitement. Best of all, Ingle manages to combine these two aspects into an integrated whole. Four Stars Reviewed 4/09/09 FIRST CONTACT is no longer in print.
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