Review of Exodus
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Michele Wales
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- Latest Review: Exodus by Jean Hackensmith
Review of Exodus
[Following is a volunteer review of "Exodus" by Jean Hackensmith.]
Exodus is a story of survival, hope, technological advancement and moral dilemmas.
It has a chronological countdown that stays true to the apocalyptic science fiction theme. The science is described in a way that is easy to understand and not too far-fetched, while the oncoming apocalypse is shown and experienced through real-life environmental disasters.
A planet-killing neutron star is heading toward Earth. Those in the know, and the focus of this book, are a team of astrophysicists, an American president, and military personnel working in a top-secret underground facility in Arizona. Their aim? To continue the human race by building spacecrafts for healthy genetically diverse humans selected from across the globe.
The idea that you can’t save everyone, but you can save a select few if you keep it secret, has been a mandate for the past 30 years as selected specialists, soldiers, and world leaders work together to fast-track technology to build 10 spaceships that will each take selected human evacuees into space in search of a new home.
Now they have 5 years before Earth is destroyed. 5 years where the neutron star will increasingly wreak havoc on the planet before ripping it apart.
The time for secrecy is over.
Garrett Long, an astrophysicist, has just learnt the truth from Becky, the last American president, and long-time family friend. He has also learnt his father had known the truth for 30 years and had chosen to keep his family in the dark. Now Garrett must finish what his father started and complete his own work on a theoretical warp drive that will be housed in an antimatter containment system built by his father.
With time running out and the need to genetically test every human on the planet, the President addresses the nation to tell the truth about the neutron star’s trajectory toward Earth, its destructive force both before and after it hits, and the government’s plan to save a portion of humanity by sending them into space. Knowing this secret sends humanity into chaos, and as conditions become almost unliveable across the planet, desperate people do desperate things to save themselves and their families. Hard choices must be made, both inside and outside the facility.
Like many science fiction books, the story is mostly plot-driven, carried along by external circumstances (the approaching neutron star) and changes to the world around them (caused by increasing natural disasters). The overall conflict in this book is Characters vs. Nature.
Saying that, there is some character-driven action in the story – responses to hard choices made and struggles with living in close confines within the facility – but most of it comes in the second half of the book. Maybe that’s why it took me past the halfway mark before I felt any connection to the main characters (hence the drop of 1 rating).
I found Garrett, in particular, to be very childish in the early parts of the book. He is a grown man, an astrophysicist, who rolls his eyes, says ‘whatever’ a lot, and at times is insensitive to others’ feelings. Thankfully he matures as time goes on.
My favourite character is Garrett’s brother, Jeff. He provided some light-hearted humour; and who doesn’t need that when faced with the apocalypse?
Another character I enjoyed was Becky. She had to make some pretty hard decisions. As a president, she was stuck between protecting her country and protecting the facility.
With plot twists that surprised me and a pace that never slowed down, Exodus kept me engaged and curious all the way to the end.
If you love science fiction and apocalyptic fiction that is thought-provoking and set in the real world, I highly recommend you read this book.
******
Exodus
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Exodus is a story of survival, hope, technological advancement and moral dilemmas.
It has a chronological countdown that stays true to the apocalyptic science fiction theme. The science is described in a way that is easy to understand and not too far-fetched, while the oncoming apocalypse is shown and experienced through real-life environmental disasters.
A planet-killing neutron star is heading toward Earth. Those in the know, and the focus of this book, are a team of astrophysicists, an American president, and military personnel working in a top-secret underground facility in Arizona. Their aim? To continue the human race by building spacecrafts for healthy genetically diverse humans selected from across the globe.
The idea that you can’t save everyone, but you can save a select few if you keep it secret, has been a mandate for the past 30 years as selected specialists, soldiers, and world leaders work together to fast-track technology to build 10 spaceships that will each take selected human evacuees into space in search of a new home.
Now they have 5 years before Earth is destroyed. 5 years where the neutron star will increasingly wreak havoc on the planet before ripping it apart.
The time for secrecy is over.
Garrett Long, an astrophysicist, has just learnt the truth from Becky, the last American president, and long-time family friend. He has also learnt his father had known the truth for 30 years and had chosen to keep his family in the dark. Now Garrett must finish what his father started and complete his own work on a theoretical warp drive that will be housed in an antimatter containment system built by his father.
With time running out and the need to genetically test every human on the planet, the President addresses the nation to tell the truth about the neutron star’s trajectory toward Earth, its destructive force both before and after it hits, and the government’s plan to save a portion of humanity by sending them into space. Knowing this secret sends humanity into chaos, and as conditions become almost unliveable across the planet, desperate people do desperate things to save themselves and their families. Hard choices must be made, both inside and outside the facility.
Like many science fiction books, the story is mostly plot-driven, carried along by external circumstances (the approaching neutron star) and changes to the world around them (caused by increasing natural disasters). The overall conflict in this book is Characters vs. Nature.
Saying that, there is some character-driven action in the story – responses to hard choices made and struggles with living in close confines within the facility – but most of it comes in the second half of the book. Maybe that’s why it took me past the halfway mark before I felt any connection to the main characters (hence the drop of 1 rating).
I found Garrett, in particular, to be very childish in the early parts of the book. He is a grown man, an astrophysicist, who rolls his eyes, says ‘whatever’ a lot, and at times is insensitive to others’ feelings. Thankfully he matures as time goes on.
My favourite character is Garrett’s brother, Jeff. He provided some light-hearted humour; and who doesn’t need that when faced with the apocalypse?
Another character I enjoyed was Becky. She had to make some pretty hard decisions. As a president, she was stuck between protecting her country and protecting the facility.
With plot twists that surprised me and a pace that never slowed down, Exodus kept me engaged and curious all the way to the end.
If you love science fiction and apocalyptic fiction that is thought-provoking and set in the real world, I highly recommend you read this book.
******
Exodus
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Exodus by Jean Hackensmith
