furicle's review against another edition
1.0
Lame.
My standards for an action/adventure type of book like these are pretty low, and this one managed to sink lower. Completely implausible in way too many places to keep you in the story at all. A cast of cardboard cliché characters round it out.
Only the criminal's get-away plan was at all novel.
Guess I should have clued in when the reviews on the back were 'advance praise' - even their reactions likely would have been different if they'd been subjected to the full experience.
My standards for an action/adventure type of book like these are pretty low, and this one managed to sink lower. Completely implausible in way too many places to keep you in the story at all. A cast of cardboard cliché characters round it out.
Only the criminal's get-away plan was at all novel.
Guess I should have clued in when the reviews on the back were 'advance praise' - even their reactions likely would have been different if they'd been subjected to the full experience.
tomasthanes's review
4.0
A good, quick read as long as you didn't think too much about the story.
Strengths: the authors did their research about the Kennedy Space Center in Florida during the Shuttle program. Lots of details about the Launch Control Center (LCC), the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), and the Fixed Service Structure and control arms all seemed consistent.
Weaknesses: when they got to Mr. Phillips escaping in a MH-60 and using Stinger missiles, I quickly got confused.
Strengths: the authors did their research about the Kennedy Space Center in Florida during the Shuttle program. Lots of details about the Launch Control Center (LCC), the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), and the Fixed Service Structure and control arms all seemed consistent.
Weaknesses: when they got to Mr. Phillips escaping in a MH-60 and using Stinger missiles, I quickly got confused.
Spoiler
While, Nicole, Senator Boorman, and Mr. Phillips entered through the big cabin doors, Mr. Phillips shot the FBI agent posing as the pilot from inside of the helicopter and pushed him out of one of the front doors somehow opening it. Nicole took his place and Mr. Phillips sat in the other front seat. It made it sound as if the doors were open/removed but I suspect that this only referred to the main cabin doors, not the doors next to the pilot and co-pilot. And then Mr. Phillips is manipulating a 5' long Stinger missile launcher from that front seat. Also, you have the exhaust from the launch motor in the enclosed space at the front of the cabin. I could not contain all of that dissonance in my imagination.
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