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The Second Ship (The Rho Agenda #1)
For sixty years, the National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, has been investigating the powerful technologies of a damaged alien ship, an effort dubbed the 'Rho Project.' Now, the American government is ready to share the Rho Project discoveries with the world. But as the world scrambles to adopt the alien technologies, three high schoolers make another shocking dis...more
Kindle Edition, 445 pages
Published
(first published 2006)
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Feb 09, 2013
Virginia
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-2013,
speculative-fiction
Gah. The book was fairly hard for me to get into until the last 30 or so pages. Then I couldn't tear through it fast enough. Alas, the rest is awaiting in two sequels.
One major thing I enjoyed: the incredible intelligence of the two girls and boy. Love computer science and math genius girls!
One major thing I enjoyed: the incredible intelligence of the two girls and boy. Love computer science and math genius girls!
Picked this up for free as part of the Kindle owner's library. It's a quick, easy read. It's a new take on the "spaceship in Roswell, NM" story in which three teenagers find a second ship that seems to have had some quarrel with the one the government's been hiding all these years.
Is it any good? It's really readable, it's fast-paced. But it's got some really tired prose.
And the characters are pretty one-dimensional -- they're either perfect saints...more
Is it any good? It's really readable, it's fast-paced. But it's got some really tired prose.
..[the attacker] was good, but not good enough.
And the characters are pretty one-dimensional -- they're either perfect saints...more
I'm bailing on this. I feel like I'm in Pleasantville - these kids do not act like kids. They don't talk like kids, they don't interact like kids, they are just 1950s paper dolls doing wholesome things. And no matter how good the science supposedly is later in the book, I CANNOT deal with really horrible characterization. You know those kids in school who were so weirdly Mayberry that you actually avoided them because they kind of weirded you out a bit? Yeah. I don't want to spend a book (never...more
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To Readers who adored this book: I apologize for rating this book so low and disliking it.
I'm the wrong audience even though I frequently read teen and YA books. I'm a retired old lady, so don't mind me. Move along.
As for the rest of the readers who attempted this book and who also rated it low, this is why I disliked it:
This is the most boring book I've picked up since college 20 years ago. I haven't experience writing so blankly functional since I was learning to read. The jokes that had Jenn...more
I'm the wrong audience even though I frequently read teen and YA books. I'm a retired old lady, so don't mind me. Move along.
As for the rest of the readers who attempted this book and who also rated it low, this is why I disliked it:
This is the most boring book I've picked up since college 20 years ago. I haven't experience writing so blankly functional since I was learning to read. The jokes that had Jenn...more
1 like · like · see review
The concept was good - in that some an alien space did indeed crash to Earth however it did so after a space battle in which its opponent also was shot done. Both ships had opposing ideologies and purposes for our planet and the second ship is found by teenagers. The book is effectively there interaction with this alien ship and the battle between opposing factions. The characters, while mostly are believable, they tend to be somewhat stereotyped with very clear good vs evil aspects leading the...more
If you like GOOD science fiction you will like this series. The character development was outstanding. You knew who they were, what they cared about and just enough twists in their characters to be believable. The story was well defined and escalated at the appropriate pace to keep you engaged and wondering - where is he taking me next? The plot line for the trilogy was well thought and progressed from one book to the next as it should. If I hadn't bought all three at once and just read the firs...more
A slightly clumsy, but ultimately interesting SciFi entry. There were several times when I was screaming to myself, "Where is this author's editor, and why was this not edited????" when the text showed weird phrases being used repeatedly or when there was a really long, awkward metaphor going on that should have been pared down or cut out entirely.
Also, there was way too much "Nerd vs. Jock" stuff going on, which shows the age of the author and how he doesn't understand that there has been a pa...more
Also, there was way too much "Nerd vs. Jock" stuff going on, which shows the age of the author and how he doesn't understand that there has been a pa...more
Putting forth a recommendation for Second Ship by Richard Phillips. It is the first book of the Rho Agenda and it rocks. I am still trying to decide who's writing it most reminds me of and I am going to having go with a mix of Robert Hienlien, Dean Koontz, and Tom Clancy. It is a mix of hard science fiction, YA, spy-action, and intrigue. It is set in Northern New Mexico which is a part of the world I am familiar with, having lived there a few years. Richard Phillips has written the area well, ev...more
Book Recommendation
The Second Ship by Richard Phillips
If you find out that a scientist working on top secret project is going to use it for destruction, would you tell the authorities? Getting involved in classified material is bad enough. Now try to tell the government that someone is planning something terrible without being noticed. Although it’s not as you would think if you have extra powers. The Second Ship by Richard Phillips is a science fiction mystery adventure that will keep you on t...more
The Second Ship by Richard Phillips
If you find out that a scientist working on top secret project is going to use it for destruction, would you tell the authorities? Getting involved in classified material is bad enough. Now try to tell the government that someone is planning something terrible without being noticed. Although it’s not as you would think if you have extra powers. The Second Ship by Richard Phillips is a science fiction mystery adventure that will keep you on t...more
If you are a science fiction reader, this book is for you! The characters are well developed and the science and math needed to make the alien advanced technology was there. I could actually believe the project and how long it took to "open up" the Rho space ship.
I wished the man who had discovered the Second Ship first had a better explanation of what caused him to become so crazy. Clearly the story evolves in good vs evil and the government has the evil...or do they? It seemed to be it become...more
I wished the man who had discovered the Second Ship first had a better explanation of what caused him to become so crazy. Clearly the story evolves in good vs evil and the government has the evil...or do they? It seemed to be it become...more
A great idea for a novel!
Not only did one alien spacecraft crash on Earth near Roswell, a second ship crashed as well. The second ship came to rest in a cave and set up a camoflauged barrier that has prevented it from being discovered. Until now. Three teenaged friends accidentally discover the ship and discover a way to "link" to the ship through mysterious headbands they find inside. The three friends soon begin to develop strange powers.
Meanwhile, at the first ship, a scientist has finally m...more
Not only did one alien spacecraft crash on Earth near Roswell, a second ship crashed as well. The second ship came to rest in a cave and set up a camoflauged barrier that has prevented it from being discovered. Until now. Three teenaged friends accidentally discover the ship and discover a way to "link" to the ship through mysterious headbands they find inside. The three friends soon begin to develop strange powers.
Meanwhile, at the first ship, a scientist has finally m...more
This book reads like Encyclopedia Brown meets Nancy Drew times two.
The technology is fascinating and well-fleshed out. The concepts are fantastic (though some we have seen before) Where this novel loses so many points is in the actual writing.
Trite and cliché, the book plods along with the feeling that the reader is reading a high-tech novel for teens. They aren't going to get the tech, but the dialogue panders to the lowest common denominator.
I do not think this was the intent, but I also do no...more
The technology is fascinating and well-fleshed out. The concepts are fantastic (though some we have seen before) Where this novel loses so many points is in the actual writing.
Trite and cliché, the book plods along with the feeling that the reader is reading a high-tech novel for teens. They aren't going to get the tech, but the dialogue panders to the lowest common denominator.
I do not think this was the intent, but I also do no...more
1 like · like · see review
We’ve all heard theories about what may or may not have happened at Rosewell, New Mexico in 1948. Some believe the remnants of an alien ship from that incident have been keep secret by the government. What almost no one knows is that after Rosewell, there was another event and another ship. This time though, the government managed to completely contain the rumours.
Sixty years later, three teenagers find and explore the craft. Even today, the alien technology is far beyond our comprehension. In...more
Sixty years later, three teenagers find and explore the craft. Even today, the alien technology is far beyond our comprehension. In...more
While the book did seem to drag at some points and there seemed to be a lot packed into this first book I am totally hooked on the series. Brother and sister, Mark and Jennifer, along with their best friend Heather discover an alien ship and after experimenting with the technology they start to develop all sorts of special abilities. So while at first a lot of what they seem able to do seems unbelievable for teenagers you will quickly get sucked into their adventures as they try to warn the NSA...more
The Second Ship is a bizarre pastiche of "Golden Age"-style science fiction writing (think 1950's b-movie dialog and equally hollow characterizations), pulp-novel action heroes (think Don Pendleton), and semi-modern science (think semi-modern science). It reads like Young Adult fiction until you hit the occasional rape or beheading.
Still, how bad could it be if I got through it and decided to purchase the sequel to see what would happen next? I lost count of the number of times I thought to myse...more
Still, how bad could it be if I got through it and decided to purchase the sequel to see what would happen next? I lost count of the number of times I thought to myse...more
I was happily surprised with this book. Priced under $1.00 for the kindle version I picked it up thinking the premise sounded interesting and knowing if I didn't care for it I would not regret the purchase as much as a more expensive book.
The basic story line is the world has recently found out Aliens exist because the government has come clean about studying a crashed alien ship and now they want to share some of the technology they have developed with the world. Shortly after this happens 3 h...more
The basic story line is the world has recently found out Aliens exist because the government has come clean about studying a crashed alien ship and now they want to share some of the technology they have developed with the world. Shortly after this happens 3 h...more
So my mom discovered this book a couple of weeks ago and kept telling me I had to read it...I checked out the blurb and was thinking I was not really in the mood for this type of book, and kept putting it off...after a few more "have you started it yet's" and finding out it was available as an audio I decided what the hell...$2.99 for the book then I can get the audio for $1.99....and when I finally finished the first book all I was left with was WOW....
First I want to say the narrator for this...more
First I want to say the narrator for this...more
As I read this book I was projecting ratings from 2 stars to 5. I decided on three and I do recommend the book. It being the first of a trilogy that I haven't read (but plan too) I will say it got off to a good start.
What was most negative to me was the quality of writing in the first half of the book. Characters seemed so plastic and the over all feel of the book reminded me of a b rate movie. But it improved as the story developed . This is one of those books that you may want to put down, but...more
Full of mystery and intrigue, this book explores what would have happened if aliens ships (UFOs) had actually crashed on earth, and the government scientists had discovered, explored and exploited the alien technology. I find the treatment of the subject matter quite gratifying - everything is shrouded in secrecy and revealed only in parts; the reader doesn't get a grasp of the full extent of the technology until much later in the book. Throw a few rogue scientists, super-assassins and undercove...more
The Second Ship is a fun read. It is young adult SF faintly reminiscent of the old TV serial "Roswell". In no way am I implying that the author took any of his ideas from said show. I mean only that the book has some base similarities: three teens who are learning to cope with and use their "extrahuman" powers, the covert group working against them, and other setting similarities that simply cannot be avoided, considering the subject matter.
It is a fun, if less than challenging, romp through a y...more
It is a fun, if less than challenging, romp through a y...more
I initially picked this out as it was inexpensive (!), and recommended. And, like a good matinée, it was worth the reduced price.
The book turned into a real page-turner at the end, and for that I really enjoyed the compelling thrill of needing to read what happened next. The plot is interesting and intriguing, and the characters are fairly likable. The author has a fascinating background, so can authentically pontificate on special forces techniques and advanced physics both. For the sci-fi wonk...more
The book turned into a real page-turner at the end, and for that I really enjoyed the compelling thrill of needing to read what happened next. The plot is interesting and intriguing, and the characters are fairly likable. The author has a fascinating background, so can authentically pontificate on special forces techniques and advanced physics both. For the sci-fi wonk...more
Other reviewers describe the plot so I won't go into that here. The protagonists are a group of 3 high school students and much of the story has a definite YA feel. But then there is a scene of rape, several scenes of pretty graphic violence and some allusions to the rape/torture/murder of women. None of this bothered me at all, it just came as a pretty sharp contrast to the YA feel of much of the rest of the book. I found it to be a quick, light, easy read, definitely worth the 99 cents. It was...more
Jul 23, 2010
Betty
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
action,
adventure,
fiction,
political,
sci-fi,
series,
thriller,
suspense,
intrigue,
life-changing,
psychic-ability,
covert,
humor,
alien-ships,
corruption,
conspiracy,
rho-agenda
Exceptional first book in the Rho Agenda series! I was grabbed in the Prologue and wasn't let go. Great reading for young people, sci-fi buffs and UFO fans, amazing yet made plausible, some perhaps even probable, BUT you do not have to be a fan of sci-fi to thoroughly enjoy this book, it covers so many genres. Richard Phillips is an author to be reckoned with, absolutely incredible. He knows exactly what he is saying and knows how to say it.
For those readers who are UFOnauts, it all begins in Gr...more
For those readers who are UFOnauts, it all begins in Gr...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Physics lesson + high school antics + some action = an decent read.
I have a strong physics background so seeing some of that in there made this enjoyable for me. Plus I have a family connection to Los Alamos Labs. Perhaps not for everyone, but the author kept it pretty simple as he explained things.
It is a bit of a conspiracy theory book, but the kids angle makes it enjoyable. Their bumbling around against trained agents with a whole lot of luck is a little unbelievable at times. But it didn't...more
I have a strong physics background so seeing some of that in there made this enjoyable for me. Plus I have a family connection to Los Alamos Labs. Perhaps not for everyone, but the author kept it pretty simple as he explained things.
It is a bit of a conspiracy theory book, but the kids angle makes it enjoyable. Their bumbling around against trained agents with a whole lot of luck is a little unbelievable at times. But it didn't...more
I enjoyed the traditional "hard science fiction" content of this story, with space ships, alien superpowers imparted to humans, and lots of technology and engineering. I liked the storyline, as well. Three teenagers found the second ship and were hiding it from the government while they learned from it.
It was exciting and I did read the whole book.
The teenage characters could have made it a young adult novel, but the addition of the kidnapper/rapist storyline and some language seem to have bumpe...more
It was exciting and I did read the whole book.
The teenage characters could have made it a young adult novel, but the addition of the kidnapper/rapist storyline and some language seem to have bumpe...more
May 07, 2011
Steven
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
sciencefiction,
novels
The Second Ship is an enjoyable space opera. It really could be more as Richard Phillips came up with some interesting ideas. He could have explored them, fleshed them out. Instead he chose only to use them to advance the plot.
This is a coming of age book. At the same time it is almost the birth of a super hero book. I usually enjoy both of those themes. Surprisingly, Phillips does a better job with making his secondary characters be three-dimensional than he does with his primary characters.
The...more
This is a coming of age book. At the same time it is almost the birth of a super hero book. I usually enjoy both of those themes. Surprisingly, Phillips does a better job with making his secondary characters be three-dimensional than he does with his primary characters.
The...more
I use a simple formula for scoring books on a five star method:
-- Is the book free of grammatical errors, typos and editing mistakes?
-- Are the characters well developed and believable?
-- Is the dialogue natural, adding to the story not getting in its way?
-- Is the story/plot compelling - is it a page-turner?
-- Does the story show innovation or cleverness in the happenings of the story?
A “no” answer to any of the first three points will cause me to lay the book aside and move on to the next book...more
-- Is the book free of grammatical errors, typos and editing mistakes?
-- Are the characters well developed and believable?
-- Is the dialogue natural, adding to the story not getting in its way?
-- Is the story/plot compelling - is it a page-turner?
-- Does the story show innovation or cleverness in the happenings of the story?
A “no” answer to any of the first three points will cause me to lay the book aside and move on to the next book...more
If you are a SciFi fan or should I say SyFy, you'll want to read The Second Ship by Richard Phillips. I absolutely loved reading this and can't wait for the second and third books of the series about The Rho Agenda. Phillips writing style has made this a great read for both adults and teens with interesting Physics descriptions and technical information to satisfy the most detailed SyFy fan. The three high schoolers who discover the second ship are changed forever not only by the ship itself, bu...more
This book is definitely a page turner. I like the premise and I like the characters.
My only problem is, as usual, the author's portrayal of people with great intelligence. Why do super geniuses always act soooooo dumb. What? Spend time trying to figure out the computer language? Nooooo. Try to test the range of the headsets? Ridiculous. After all, I've got HIGH SCHOOL things to do, and the long term consequences of truancy are much worse than, oh, let's say, the end of the world.
Two cultural ob...more
My only problem is, as usual, the author's portrayal of people with great intelligence. Why do super geniuses always act soooooo dumb. What? Spend time trying to figure out the computer language? Nooooo. Try to test the range of the headsets? Ridiculous. After all, I've got HIGH SCHOOL things to do, and the long term consequences of truancy are much worse than, oh, let's say, the end of the world.
Two cultural ob...more
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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Richard Phillips is a ex Army Officer, graduate from West Point, and has a Master of Science degree in Physics from the Naval Post Graduate School. He was a researcher at Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos National Laboratories for the U.S. military, before becoming a full-time writer.
More about Richard Phillips...
Richard Phillips is a ex Army Officer, graduate from West Point, and has a Master of Science degree in Physics from the Naval Post Graduate School. He was a researcher at Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos National Laboratories for the U.S. military, before becoming a full-time writer.
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