Review of Endeavor’s Run
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Review of Endeavor’s Run
[Following is a volunteer review of "Endeavor's Run" by Tobin Marks.]
The year is 3097. Interstellar Fleet Command receives a partial message from the legendary deep space colony ship Magellan II launched right before the nuclear war touched off in 2100. In the message, the Magellan found a planet, dubbed Aqueous, that could support their colony. A sentient dragon race populates one of the planet’s two landmasses. But there’s something curious about Aqueous: the dragons couldn’t possibly have built the advanced shield that hovers over the land. The message cuts off mid-word giving no indication of the fate of the Magellan. When IFC sends the ship Monarch to look for the legendary colony ship, it too is never heard from again.
In Endeavor’s Run, Tobin Marks tells the story of the Endeavor’s mission to rescue the Monarch and to find the lost human colony. The story alternates between the Endeavor and its crew, the human colonists, and the inhabitants of the mysterious planet Aqueous.
I like the way Marks blends science fiction with fantasy elements: the dragons, swordplay, prophecy. The plot is interesting and moves along, throwing a curve every now and then to keep the reader interested and engaged. The chapters are fairly short and keep me focused. Since the story moves often to different locations and sets of characters, the chapter headings are helpful in keeping me oriented. Best of all, I like the characters. From Anya and her cousin Moroz’s struggles to protect their colony to the Endeavor’s young pilots Alex and Basil as they try to complete their mission, Marks has created characters I care about and whose stories keep me turning pages to the end of the book.
My main problem with this book is that the viewpoint shifts so much in the beginning of the story. It is confusing. Marks tells the history leading up to Endeavor’s run through different characters in different locations and at different times during a thousand-year period. Some characters appear and disappear never to be heard from again. Some characters appear early, disappear, and reappear later as major characters. So whose story am I supposed to follow? As an example Alex, one of the major characters, appears in Chapter 2 but I don’t find out he is actually a major character until he shows up again in Chapter 8. Also, the profanity gets to be a little annoying after a while and I wish there hadn’t been so much of it.
The book could use more editing. I found more than ten typos and they are distracting, but not enough to keep me from enjoying the story.
This book is for adult science fiction/ fantasy fans. It is science fiction with some fantasy elements (swordplay, dragons, castles, prophecies, and some astral projection) thrown in. Profanity occurs on a pretty regular basis with the odd crude joke thrown in every now and then. When violence happens, there’s usually blood all over the place. People sensitive to profanity and gore might want to give it a pass.
I rate this at 4 out of 5 stars due to the typos which distracted from the story. Overall, I love the characters. The plot is interesting and well-paced. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the Hope Prophecy trilogy.
******
Endeavor's Run
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The year is 3097. Interstellar Fleet Command receives a partial message from the legendary deep space colony ship Magellan II launched right before the nuclear war touched off in 2100. In the message, the Magellan found a planet, dubbed Aqueous, that could support their colony. A sentient dragon race populates one of the planet’s two landmasses. But there’s something curious about Aqueous: the dragons couldn’t possibly have built the advanced shield that hovers over the land. The message cuts off mid-word giving no indication of the fate of the Magellan. When IFC sends the ship Monarch to look for the legendary colony ship, it too is never heard from again.
In Endeavor’s Run, Tobin Marks tells the story of the Endeavor’s mission to rescue the Monarch and to find the lost human colony. The story alternates between the Endeavor and its crew, the human colonists, and the inhabitants of the mysterious planet Aqueous.
I like the way Marks blends science fiction with fantasy elements: the dragons, swordplay, prophecy. The plot is interesting and moves along, throwing a curve every now and then to keep the reader interested and engaged. The chapters are fairly short and keep me focused. Since the story moves often to different locations and sets of characters, the chapter headings are helpful in keeping me oriented. Best of all, I like the characters. From Anya and her cousin Moroz’s struggles to protect their colony to the Endeavor’s young pilots Alex and Basil as they try to complete their mission, Marks has created characters I care about and whose stories keep me turning pages to the end of the book.
My main problem with this book is that the viewpoint shifts so much in the beginning of the story. It is confusing. Marks tells the history leading up to Endeavor’s run through different characters in different locations and at different times during a thousand-year period. Some characters appear and disappear never to be heard from again. Some characters appear early, disappear, and reappear later as major characters. So whose story am I supposed to follow? As an example Alex, one of the major characters, appears in Chapter 2 but I don’t find out he is actually a major character until he shows up again in Chapter 8. Also, the profanity gets to be a little annoying after a while and I wish there hadn’t been so much of it.
The book could use more editing. I found more than ten typos and they are distracting, but not enough to keep me from enjoying the story.
This book is for adult science fiction/ fantasy fans. It is science fiction with some fantasy elements (swordplay, dragons, castles, prophecies, and some astral projection) thrown in. Profanity occurs on a pretty regular basis with the odd crude joke thrown in every now and then. When violence happens, there’s usually blood all over the place. People sensitive to profanity and gore might want to give it a pass.
I rate this at 4 out of 5 stars due to the typos which distracted from the story. Overall, I love the characters. The plot is interesting and well-paced. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the Hope Prophecy trilogy.
******
Endeavor's Run
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Impossible Mock Orange Trial by Thad G. Long
