3 out of 4 stars
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The Bermuda Connection by Robert Rapoza is a science fiction novel and the second Nick Randall book. This book surprised me in many ways. I was not aware that it was the second book in a series when I started reading it. The adventures in the previous book are mentioned, but I did not feel I was missing any information vital to understanding this book. As it turns out, the Bermuda Triangle is not the focus of this story.
The opening chapter of the book sets the stage for the intense adventures to come. Jamie Edmunds experiences yet another alien abduction in her bedroom at night while Nick Randall has the same experience in a dream. The next day, Randall, an archaeologist, narrowly escapes an assassination attempt thanks to the help of a mysterious man. Later, his son John, a researcher at Alpha Genetics, also barely escapes with his life. After some internet sleuthing, Nick locates Jamie in Hamilton, Bermuda. There, they team up with a local underwater archaeologist to recover the Cosmic Rosetta Stone. Nick, his son John, daughter Sam, and Jamie then embark on a wild adventure to locate a secret alien base that takes them to several remote parts of the world. But they are far from the only ones seeking this base and the technology it may have.
I enjoyed the fast pace of this book. I don't read a lot of science fiction but was drawn to this book because the Bermuda Triangle fascinates me. There are many complex twists and turns that kept my interest high. In fact, it was hard to put this book down because I couldn't wait to find out how it ended. I found the description of Jamie's alien abductions eerily similar to accounts I have heard from real people. This gave the book an additional element of plausibility that made it scary but more relatable. I like how the author seems to have drawn inspiration from both history and conspiracy theories in crafting this plot. While I am not a conspiracy theorist, I find many of these theories interesting to consider. This too gave the book a stronger feeling of realism since some of the ideas have existed long before this book was written.
In my opinion, the primary weakness of this book was the quantity of life and death situations the main characters survive. At first, the exciting chase scenes seemed to propel the story onward and keep me on the edge of my seat. Toward the latter part of the book, it began to seem unrealistic that all the main characters had yet again survived, especially when so many other background characters did not. I also felt that Jamie's character was not developed as well as I would have liked. Since she was introduced in the opening of the book and appeared to be a very important character, I was surprised that I still felt like I didn't know her very well at the end.
In spite of these weaknesses, this was a generally well-written book. I found only a few very minor typos that did not in any way detract from the readability of the story. I am giving this book 3 out of 4 stars because it was very good, but I saw room for improvement in the balance of action scenes and character development. I recommend this book to fans of science fiction, adventure, and conspiracy theories.
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Bermuda Connection
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