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Impact

3.64 of 5 stars 3.64 · rating details · 4,210 ratings · 517 reviews

Wyman Ford is tapped for a secret expedition to Cambodia... to locate the source of strangely beautiful gemstones that do not appear to be of this world.

A brilliant meteor lights up the Maine coast... and two young women borrow a boat and set out for a distant island to find the impact crater.

A scientist at the National Propulsion Facility discovers an inexplicable source...more

Hardcover, 364 pages

Published January 5th 2010 by Forge Books (first published 2009)

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Jan 08, 2012 Colleen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: thriller, avoid-at-all-costs

In the cold light of day, I realize now that this book makes absolutely no sense. I was suspecting a bunch of random people as the Chief Villains, since there is obviously someone siccing the assassin on the heroes; however, I couldn't really figure out who, because I couldn't fathom why someone would be trying to stop the complete annihilation of Earth. I was not very surprised though when the reveal happened even though that too stretched my disbelief to the max.

Today, thinking back further o...more

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Jan 16, 2010 Nancy Oakes rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: escape-reading

I have bought and read every single book this author has published, and those that he wrote with Lincoln Child. I have to say that this one was not the best in the bunch ... I was so disappointed. I know, I know, I'm once again swimming against the tide of people who really loved this book, but, well, that's just how it is.

As the story begins, two things are going on. First, A young woman, Abbey Straw, is out with her friend watching the heavens at night and the sky lights up over Maine's coast...more

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Jan 11, 2010 Donna rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: library, thriller

An ex-CIA operative is sent to a mysterious mine, while a young woman hunts for a meteorite and a scientist is discouraged from following up on his murdered mentor's research. Their stories relate in a way that reveals an unprecedented threat to the earth. This is a fast, light read that should appeal to those who like thrillers with some science thrown in.

I really enjoyed the setting descriptions and Ford's investigation, but the characters were thin and some aspects of the pacing seemed off. F...more

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Apr 04, 2013 Ian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: great-sci-fi

Impact is a very well plotted science fiction thriller. It's a true "page-turner" that gathers steam and manages to hold up right through to the end.

The premise is that there has been some kind of anomalous cosmic event that has impacted earth and there might be an ongoing conspiracy of some kind to keep knowledge of the "event" from reaching the people of the world.

The characters are well drawn if a little cliched and I think the author invests a little too much energy in long action scenes es...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Andrew Mercer rated it 5 of 5 stars

The biggest reason I enjoyed this book was the author's ability to suck you into the story. Impact consists of a fast-moving intense plot that follows multiple characters yet still keeps you connected. The author uses several elements of science fiction but his writing style makes the book flow without ever having to pause to question the few missing details. From the moment you open the book you are instantly caught up in an adventurous and thrilling story that elevates Impact to the next leve...more

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Dec 30, 2012 Iceman rated it 3 of 5 stars

Douglas Preston é um conhecido autor norte-americano, cujos livros têm atingido um enorme sucesso ao ponto de vários deles terem-se tornado best-sellers. Misturando thriller com ciência, este seu novo título, “Impacto”, faz jus à fama alcançada e traz à baila um tema tão em voga nos nossos dias: o fim do mundo que está próximo.

Costa de Maine, duas jovens estão a observar o céu nocturno quando vêm um meteorito cair numa pequena ilha. Excitadas com tamanha visão, partem em busca do objecto que ca...more Douglas Preston é um conhecido autor norte-americano, cujos livros têm atingido um enorme sucesso ao ponto de vários deles terem-se tornado best-sellers. Misturando thriller com ciência, este seu novo título, “Impacto”, faz jus à fama alcançada e traz à baila um tema tão em voga nos nossos dias: o fim do mundo que está próximo.

Costa de Maine, duas jovens estão a observar o céu nocturno quando vêm um meteorito cair numa pequena ilha. Excitadas com tamanha visão, partem em busca do objecto que caiu algures na ilha.

Noutra parte dos Estados Unidos, o ex-agente da CIA, Wyman Ford, é contratado para se deslocar, com todo o secretismo, a uma mina no Camboja de onde eram originárias umas estranhas pedras cheias de radioactividade.

No National Propulsion Facility um professor é despedido. Com ele leva um disco externo contendo um enorme segredo que irá colocar em causa a segurança do planeta e, quiçá, condená-lo à sua extinção.

Três histórias paralelas que se vão interligando até se unirem num propósito: Um segredo oriundo do espaço com origem extraterrestre.

Gostei do livro mas é um livro que entretém apenas.

A história, como facto científico, pouco tem de verosímil. O acontecimento inicial, pese embora seja interessante, torna-se algo sensaborão quando percebemos o que de facto sucedeu. Mas adiante. Tratando-se de um romance thriller/suspense, é por esse prisma que deve ser lido e apreciado.

E nessa vertente, de facto entretém e faz-nos passar momentos agradáveis. Até digo mais, é um livro que se for adaptado ao cinema, me fará ver o filme, pois tem acção, suspense e efeitos visuais excepcionais.

Com capítulos curtos, ao estilo dos thrillers, a história passa-se num curto espaço de tempo, num ritmo alucinante com os habituais bons-que-procuram-salvar-o-mundo contra os maus-que-procuram-lixar-aqueles-que-querem-salvar-o-mundo, numa autêntica corrida contra o tempo onde não faltam, para além dos clichés anteriormente subentendidos, as incoerências e pontas soltas.

Mas e passe a ironia, trata-se de um livro que se lê com agrado e que não aborrece. Ou seja, lê-se muito bem e como se trata de uma história com um ritmo elevado, depressa damos por nós no seu epílogo e com um gosto de missão cumprida.(less)

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Nov 19, 2012 Matt Schiariti rated it 3 of 5 stars

I look forward to every new offering from Preston and Child, whether it be their solo efforts or (and these are some of my favorite books) their combined efforts. I'll say that Impact didn't grab me quite like I expected it to.

What we have here are three concentric stories enveloped in a bigger story.

A series of strange and exotic gemstones never before seen suddenly start to show up and garner the interest of the CIA. Why? The stones have never been seen before. Oh, and they're quite deadly fro...more I look forward to every new offering from Preston and Child, whether it be their solo efforts or (and these are some of my favorite books) their combined efforts. I'll say that Impact didn't grab me quite like I expected it to.

What we have here are three concentric stories enveloped in a bigger story.

A series of strange and exotic gemstones never before seen suddenly start to show up and garner the interest of the CIA. Why? The stones have never been seen before. Oh, and they're quite deadly from a radioactivity standpoint. Wyman Ford is contacted by his old CIA higher ups in order to head to cambodia and take pictures of the mine.

At the same time the gems start showing up in Cambodia, a waitress/Princeton University dropout in Maine (Abbey) is using her telescope to gaze at the stars when she captures a picture of a meteoroid that struck the earth at just that time and landed off the coast of Maine. She's the only one who has any idea of the general area in which it fell. What's her idea? Find it and sell it on ebay!

Moving across the coast to California and the National Propulsion Facility at Cal Tech. A Mars mapping mission was set in motion nearly a year ago. Its mission to take high resolution pictures of the surface of Mars as well as using ground penetrating radar to see below the surface. An employee of NPF and professor at Cal Tech finds some strange gamma ray emissions from the surface of mars during his usual work. He finds the anomaly dangerous and brings it to his superiors. This being impossible, his superiors call him crazy, discredit him and have him fired. Shortly after he's found in his home, mysteriously murdered by a homeless person, but not before he forwards his research to one Mark Corso, senior technician on the Mars mapping project. Mark's curiousity gets the better of him and he delves into the stolen data only to find a shocking discovery.

The book's premise is interesting and it really heads places I wasn't expecting. There are a couple reasons why I didn't rate it higher though.

The book is separated into parts. The first part more or less tells each of these three stories independently, before they all start to meld together into the same, and main, plot line. I just found these buildups and back stories to be a bit involved. Not so much Mark's part in the story, but Abbey's particularly. Her 'hunt for the meteor' saga is a little drawn out and alot of it could have been left out with no detriment to the book. I have to say that I really wasn't all that engaged during the first part of the book and nearly put it down for a while.

I also found that Abbey, seemingly a genius despite being a Princeton dropout, seems to know TOO much at just the right times. It was a bit of a stretch to beleive. That being said, she was still an interesting character. I just found her constantly bailing everyone out at the right time was a bit much.

The second part of the book is where the three stories meld and the story really takes off. That's when I started to like it more. But I found the ending to be a little abrupt, albeit interesting. It seemed as if there was alot of build up to get to the final climax and then it was pretty much cleared up in several chapters which in this book, are short and rapid fire. I will say that the VERY ending was pretty clever when you stop to think about how it all worked out in.

In the end, definitely a solid read for Preston fans. It just has some slow going in the beginning and a supporting character that just seems to know too much at times to be believable. (less)

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Mar 26, 2012 Josh rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: thriller, aliens, conspiracy

Preston is often compared to Michael Crichton and there is indeed a strong resemblance, but Impact does not strike me as a Crichton novel. It has all the elements but it is missing something.

First of all, much of the novel is unnecessary. Preston's attempt to achieve a dense plot made it feel like I was just wading through muck to get to the end. Preston adds complications just so they can be overcome, like cheap speed bump plotting devices designed to add tension but little else. Randall Worth...more Preston is often compared to Michael Crichton and there is indeed a strong resemblance, but Impact does not strike me as a Crichton novel. It has all the elements but it is missing something.

First of all, much of the novel is unnecessary. Preston's attempt to achieve a dense plot made it feel like I was just wading through muck to get to the end. Preston adds complications just so they can be overcome, like cheap speed bump plotting devices designed to add tension but little else. Randall Worth's character for example is completely unnecessary. Ultimately, Worth has no serious effect on the story's outcome. The same goes for Wyman Ford's romp in Cambodia. The setting is beautifully rendered but what was it all for? To find the crater? Crichton would have flown us in on a helicopter to find the crater, skipping the unnecessary melodrama involving the Khmer Rouge. Ford's ultimate decision while at the site, and his escape from the Khmer Rouge, are both stupid and absurd. No CIA agent would make such a dumb decision and escape with his life.

While the science in Impact was interesting, there wasn't enough of it. The novel only barely held my interest as we ran from an assassin, trapsed around in Cambodia, and spent chapter after chapter on choppy seas reading descriptions of every damn wave. I wanted to read about the machine and aliens, not the conspiracy and the car chases. When Preston finally got around to the science, it was hurried and unsatisfying, as if he couldn't wait to get back to the spy stuff. Worst of all, the final unveiling of the villain was so absurd that it almost had me laughing. Really? All of that trouble was caused by that guy? And for such a dumb, unrealistic reason? I have seen more believable villains on Scooby Doo.

Overall, Impact just didn't do it for me. It was too much spy fiction and too little creativity or intellect. I think Preston should stick to collaborating with Lincoln Child and, please Douglas, after Riptide, The Ice Limit and now Impact, I have had enough stormy seascapes for a lifetime.(less)

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Oct 03, 2011 Hylary Locsin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Originally posted on my blog: http://libraryladyhylary.blogspot.com !

Ex-CIA agent Wyman Ford is asked by the government to undertake a mission to the jungles of Cambodia to discover the truth about a mine that seems to be producing radioactive gem stones. Twenty-year-old college dropout Abby Straw and her friend Jackie look for a mysterious meteorite that struck an island off the coast of their small hometown in Maine. Scientist Mark Corso receives a classified hard drive stolen from the Nation...more

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Feb 24, 2011 Matt Bradley rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. My God, this book was a chore to finish. The first half of the book seemed interesting, but only because I thought it was contributing to a greater storyline that would all come together in the end. But instead you end up with a handful of bland, predictable, poorly constructed characters weakly connected by events that are not important at all to the story.
A strange meteor impact spawns curiosity by amateur astronomers and CIA alike. Meanwhile, a survey of Mars is turning out some unusual gamma...more My God, this book was a chore to finish. The first half of the book seemed interesting, but only because I thought it was contributing to a greater storyline that would all come together in the end. But instead you end up with a handful of bland, predictable, poorly constructed characters weakly connected by events that are not important at all to the story.
A strange meteor impact spawns curiosity by amateur astronomers and CIA alike. Meanwhile, a survey of Mars is turning out some unusual gamma ray patterns. Turns out that the “meteor” was an exotic form of matter fired at Earth by an ancient, highly-advanced weapon located on one of the moons of Mars. The plot revolves around scientists discovering the truth behind these strange astronomical events, a government conspiracy to hide the information, and a surprisingly small amount of time about how to protect a very vulnerable planet.
Characters: Like I said, they’re all boring, predictable, and flat. Preston makes a weak attempt at giving them complex personalities, but ends up contradicting himself on multiple levels. The most annoying case was with the main character, Abbey. On one page, she’s an amateur astronomer well versed on everything from gamma rays to planetary orbits. Only a few pages later, she’ll bemoan not studying in class because she can’t remember basic information about Mars.
Plot: Mediocre at best. It could have been a good B-Grade science fiction novel, but it spends way too much time telling about things that have nothing to do with Earth’s impending doom. Towards the end of the book, I actually skipped two entire chapters because it was nothing but the main characters struggling to sail in a storm. Which reminds me, do all Preston novels have this much sailing in it? I couldn’t help but feel that he just read a “Sailing for Dummies” book, and he couldn’t wait to show off his nautical vocabulary.
Overall: The book tries to be too much at once. Science fiction, action, espionage, political thriller. Unfortunately, each element is so watered down that it succeeds as none of them. Whatever genre you’re looking for, I’d recommend skipping this one.(less)

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Jan 02, 2011 Mal Warwick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Start out on the coast of Maine with a brilliant 20-year-old Princeton dropout and her less-brilliant friend puzzling over a meteor shower, cut to CalTech where office politics and other shenanigans are in full flower at the National Propulsion Facility, add one former CIA agent dispatched to the backwoods of Cambodia by the President's National Science Advisor, mix in a tweedy contract killer, and pretty soon you're caught up in a pulse-pounding tale that will drag you irresistibly toward an as...more

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Oct 28, 2010 Chibineko rated it 3 of 5 stars

A word of warning to new readers- if you haven't read Douglas Preston's other books in the Wyman Ford series then you will be missing out on a little. `Impact' works well as a standalone, but to get the full story on Ford you'll have to read all of the books preceding this one. In fact, I recommend that you read the previous books first. This isn't a bad story, but it's not Preston's strongest work to date.

This book find Wyman Ford being called in to investigate radioactive gems that have been s...more A word of warning to new readers- if you haven't read Douglas Preston's other books in the Wyman Ford series then you will be missing out on a little. `Impact' works well as a standalone, but to get the full story on Ford you'll have to read all of the books preceding this one. In fact, I recommend that you read the previous books first. This isn't a bad story, but it's not Preston's strongest work to date.

This book find Wyman Ford being called in to investigate radioactive gems that have been showing up in Asia & somehow ended up on the neck of a politician's wife. Meanwhile, an intelligent college dropout goes searching with her father's boat for a fallen meteorite, only to discover that not only is there more to it than she'd thought but that she's also being followed. But that's not all- behind these two individuals there's also a third person- a researcher for NPF who has discovered something that's related to both of these seemingly unconnected events... something that could threaten life as everyone knows it.

I have to admit that I was a teensy bit disappointed that there was absolutely no mention of the previous events in Blasphemy. While I can see where it wouldn't be a huge mention, the previous book made it seem like the religious movement at the end of the previous book was quite popular & highly publicized- so why no mention in this one?

I do like the characters in this book for the most part, although at times I got a little frustrated with how much the book jumps around. One point we have Abbey, the next Ford & then the NPF researcher Corso. While this allowed for dramatic suspense at times, it just didn't link together as well as I would have liked it to. It also didn't give me a good sense of either of the new characters, especially Abbey, which is a shame considering how important she's supposed to be in this book. The plotline is decent, but again- the jumping around kind of got on my nerves.

I guess the bottom line is that fans of Preston's work will love this, but I can't help but think that some new readers may not be as enthralled with this as they might be with some of Preston's earlier works or any of the stuff he's written with Child. This isn't a book to ignore, but it is something that some may want to wait until paperback for. (less)

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Jun 14, 2010 Elaine rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was wonderful. It has a unique twist on the popular end of the world scenario.

The format reminded me of James Rollins books in that the story progressed from separate viewpoints. Each chapter takes place in different parts of the world with different characters. Eventually, it all comes together.

This is the first book I have read by Douglas Preston, but it definitely won't be the last. I love reading apocalyptic stories and Impactcertainly is that.

The story has plots within plots. The...more

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Mar 29, 2010 Kerry Nietz rated it 4 of 5 stars

When a friend offered to loan me this book, I had my doubts about taking it. Don’t get me wrong, I was an early fan of Preston’s works with Lincoln Child—Riptide and The Ice Limit being two of my favorites. I’ve been a lot more lukewarm with the duo’s works as separate authors, though. Preston’s last book, Blasphemy, I couldn’t finish. The Christian characters portrayed were so Hollywood stereotypical (meaning all were hypocrites, violent or ignorant) that I thought Preston had to be joking when...more When a friend offered to loan me this book, I had my doubts about taking it. Don’t get me wrong, I was an early fan of Preston’s works with Lincoln Child—Riptide and The Ice Limit being two of my favorites. I’ve been a lot more lukewarm with the duo’s works as separate authors, though. Preston’s last book, Blasphemy, I couldn’t finish. The Christian characters portrayed were so Hollywood stereotypical (meaning all were hypocrites, violent or ignorant) that I thought Preston had to be joking when he wrote them. I was like “seriously…have you ever met a Christian in your life…?”

Regardless, I decided to give Impact a look. This time I almost didn’t get through the first chapter. Being a bit of an amateur astronomer, I couldn’t believe that one of the main characters—who is supposedly star literate—is observing the Andromeda Galaxy in the Orion Constellation. In reality, the Andromeda Galaxy is nowhere near the Orion Constellation. They’re not even in the same part of the sky! Was this going to be another book filled with faulty research? Again, I contemplated putting the book away.

Thankfully, I pressed on. After that first chapter the science got a lot better. It was accurate, and even in the times where the author speculates, was at least plausible. Really made me wonder what happened with that first chapter….

From a reader’s perspective, though, the book is great. It moves quickly and has a really fun, fun plot. The two main characters are very likable (Wyman Ford having appeared in other of Preston’s works) and the villains were the kind you can truly despise. There’s a good variety of locations, some nice twists and a fair conclusion. I think the only complaint I might have with the plot is that there are a few too many nautical dilemmas for my taste. But that’s purely a preference thing—some people might love all those.

Overall Impact restored my faith in Douglas Preston as an author. Really enjoyed it, and look forward to what he has planned next. Well done.

(One final note, this book is sprinkled with R-rated language. More so than in previous Preston books, I think. I don’t know if I’d call it gratuitous, but enough that those who notice such things would notice. )
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Mar 17, 2010 Barbara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Douglas Preston is one of my favorite authors, but this is a lesser effort from him. He neatly juggles three storylines all involving a meteorite impact in Maine; in one of them, two women (Abbey Straw and her best friend Jackie) head to several small islands off the coast to try and find the meteorite to sell on eBay. In another storyline, his hero Wyman Ford (last seen in "Blasphemy") is sent to discover the source of radioactive gemstones and finds a mine in Cambodia run by the Khmer Rouge. T...more

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Mar 11, 2010 Debbie rated it 3 of 5 stars

I rated this one as 3.5 stars.

I am in general a fan of the Preston/Lincoln books and was interested to see how this solo book would be. I loved the premise and the story itself was a fun read. Some parts were hard to believe like Abbey having attended just 1 or 2 years of college level astronomy classes and being able to do a lot of what she did. Still if you ignore those types of things and just go with the flow this makes an enjoyable read. Abbey is a mouthy young girl who while not the most l...more

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Feb 10, 2010 T. Edmund rated it 1 of 5 stars

Impact follows a collection of different characters as their lives are irreparably changed by the impact of what appears to be a meteor/meteorite/metoriod??

I apologize for the spoilers throughout this review, however, this is the sort of book that you need to give everything away to explain just how poorly constructed the story is.

First of all the characters.

In part one of the story we have three protagonists: Abbey a young black woman just out of teenagedom, who smokes weed, makes smart-ass j...more

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Feb 07, 2010 Brooke rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: thriller, 2010

Coming off of Blasphemy, Preston's newest solo novel is a bit of a disappointment. It's the 3rd book featuring ex-CIA agent Wyman Ford (and the 4th in a series if you count the link between The Codex and Tyrannosaur Canyon), which suggests that there should be some continuity from book to book, right?

Well, Blasphemy ended with a startling bang, and I'd expect the next book in this series to mention it. But Preston didn't even give it a nod, which seemed like a wasted opportunity. After all, what...more

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Jan 18, 2010 Rhonda rated it 3 of 5 stars

first let me say that i love LOVE preston and his writing partner lincoln child. i have read everything both has written and wait with baited breath for each new novel. this one was just ok for me. i guess it was pretty good, but i felt it had a slow start. i did finally get into it and read it fast. i liked some of the action scenes, but i couldn't help but wonder how this 20 year old girl, who, while reportedly intelligent, knew so much about astronomy. ok - so she went to princeton- but didn'...more

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Jan 13, 2010 Mihir rated it 4 of 5 stars

Impact begins by exposing the reader to several different threads all of them seemingly different and unrelated to each other.

The first thread leads readers on to Mark Costco, a scientist working at the NPF. He receives a disc of data from his mentor. The information contained on the disc leads him to question his seniors and investigate the meaning of the data.

The second thread opens up in Maine and shows us a small fishing town wherein Abby Sinclair, a college dropout with an arcane interest...more
Impact begins by exposing the reader to several different threads all of them seemingly different and unrelated to each other.

The first thread leads readers on to Mark Costco, a scientist working at the NPF. He receives a disc of data from his mentor. The information contained on the disc leads him to question his seniors and investigate the meaning of the data.

The second thread opens up in Maine and shows us a small fishing town wherein Abby Sinclair, a college dropout with an arcane interest in astronomy, manages to see a comet while taking pictures one evening. By seeing this comet it prompts a search for the crater that puts her and her friends in jeopardy.

The third and last thread gives us Wyman Ford, who is asked to undertake the mission to Cambodia to investigate the source of the gemstones. He reluctantly agrees and goes forth to the country wherein his marriage came to a halt.

The readers then get to see these three characters take their individual paths as they try to achieve their objectives and understand what is really going on. Wyman finds himself in a region which has remade hell on earth, while Abbey finds herself in a race of sorts to find the remains of the comet. Meanwhile, Mark has to deal with his higher-ups, who view his efforts as wasted time, and try to redirect him onto tasks of their own choosing.

Douglas Preston takes great care to develop each story thread individually, and then make them come together around the middle of the book. The ultimate gel which links all these seemingly unrelated threats together is the heart of the story, and has to do with some extraterrestrial origins.

The writing and dialogue are all very polished. As are the chapters which come very close to a century. Unlike Preston's last book which was his take on evangelicals and the fanatics they can arise. In this book, Preston shows us how science, while developing as a powerful force, is still in its infantile stages when compared to the mysteries of the Universe.

The end while a bit simplistic is somewhat unexpected. A few discerning readers might also spot some congruences with the ending in one of Lincoln Child's previous solo thrillers. Few readers might also take umbrage that certain characters and situations in the book act a bit out of fashion. However, keep in mind that this is a fiction book and while it's laced with science, which is very real, it does attempt a tiny detour from reality in some aspects. Enjoy it for what it is, an engaging thriller from one of the smartest writers around, and your reading experience will be a good one!

Impact is another winner from Douglas Preston's imagination. His solo books are finally reaching the lofty standards set up by his other co-authored thrillers.

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Jan 17, 2011 Daniel rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was my first book by Douglas Preston. Fast paced with good writing, the book maintained my interest. I found it entertaining, but my ratings of various components of the story varied all over the map. I understand from other reviews that this is not Preston's best work. I plan to get one of his better books and read it.

I found this story to be an action story that happens to have a science fiction element. I rated the action high but the science fiction low. Overall, I rated the book a thr...more

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Mar 14, 2010 Jennifer rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

A college dropout watches a meteor streak across the Maine sky and wants to know where it hit. A young scientist goes through a hard drive stolen by his murdered mentor and finds anomalies in gamma ray data from the outer solar system. An ex-CIA operative-turned-monastery-guest-turned-independent-who-knows-what investigates the sudden appearance of radioactive gemstones called "honeys" in Cambodia.

This book reminded me of a train. It took a while to get going, ran well when the wheels were clic...more

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Mar 31, 2011 Denise rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: thrillers, fiction

I like this novel because there is always something happening. I found myself constantly picking up my e-reader and getting lost in the novel without really realizing that this is what I was doing. I enjoy stories that are fast-paced and that keep me turning pages to figure out what's coming next.

However, I think the epilogue was a little too convenient--it tidied things up too readily, but perhaps the author chose to do this because he didn't intend to write a sequel to this story, and maybe h...more

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Jan 24, 2011 Earl rated it 1 of 5 stars

I knew going into "Impact" that this book was going to be a crapshoot. I have enjoyed almost everything that Douglas Preston as written with Lincoln Child, but only "Codex" has worked for me when he has written on his own. However, I once again took the plunge, buying this book before I was scheduled to sit around the courthouse, waiting to be called for jury duty. The book passed the time, but that was about all that I can say positive about it.

"Impact" starts out with three different plot t...more I knew going into "Impact" that this book was going to be a crapshoot. I have enjoyed almost everything that Douglas Preston as written with Lincoln Child, but only "Codex" has worked for me when he has written on his own. However, I once again took the plunge, buying this book before I was scheduled to sit around the courthouse, waiting to be called for jury duty. The book passed the time, but that was about all that I can say positive about it.

"Impact" starts out with three different plot threads that get pulled together rather quickly. The synopsis on the back of the book implies that these threads will continue throughout the book, but they don't. By the halfway point, there is only one narrative thread, by far the least interesting of the three. The others seem to be filler at best, or ways to get information to the reader that the main characters don't have at the worst.

The plot centers around what seems to be two simultaneous meteor strikes, one off the coast of Maine, and one in Cambodia. A former CIA operative goes off to Cambodia, searching for the source of radioactive gemstones while a female college dropout goes searching for the meteorite in Maine, hoping to find and sell it. Mix in a researcher who has discovered a gamma ray emission from Mars, and you have the makings of a decent little potboiler. Unfortunately, none of the characters have any personality, and there is not just one, but two boats piloted by the Maine characters that get sunk. I would think that an author would be able to avoid repeating themselves that blatantly, but... there you go.

The ending of the book is another sore spot. The "gotcha" at the end is kept secret from the public at large, but it makes no sense to keep it secret. Those who know the real end result of the events of the book gain nothing by keeping them secret, and actually risk harming the world tremendously by keeping their mouths shut. Not to mention that for one of the characters in on the secret, it is completely out of character. Just 50 pages earlier, he was sending DVDs and hard drives off to the press so something much more damaging couldn't be kept quiet. The holes in the narrative logic are maddening.

To conclude, "Impact" is quite annoying, and I'd recommend that readers avoid it. There's little to recommend it, and much to avoid. Stay away.(less)

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May 07, 2011 Geo rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: brain-candy, reviewed

So, I need to preface this with a statement about why I read. Reading is like watching a movie. The intent, generally, is to escape. Find an alternate reality, preferably one that isn't too close to the current reality, to exist inside for a little while to distract from the reality I'm trying to escape. The net effect of that is that the principle criteria for determining whether a book is going to pass muster with me is whether or not it is able to keep me engaged, forget where I am and let th...more So, I need to preface this with a statement about why I read. Reading is like watching a movie. The intent, generally, is to escape. Find an alternate reality, preferably one that isn't too close to the current reality, to exist inside for a little while to distract from the reality I'm trying to escape. The net effect of that is that the principle criteria for determining whether a book is going to pass muster with me is whether or not it is able to keep me engaged, forget where I am and let the world it is describing creep in enough to allow me to "let go" and just drift along in its warm embrace.

The essence of that statement is that, even mediocre writing, combined with my own ability to allow myself to be transported, will allow me to enjoy what would otherwise be rather droll and not enjoyable. Thus, I have come up with a qualifier to use for books that don't really engage my logical brain much, but simply transport me, and let me float along, without necessarily really making me think much, or test my knowledge, or make me learn, or ... well, challenge me. I call those books "Brain Candy".

This book is brain candy. Everything else I say has to be taken with that premise understood first. The writing is ok, no big words or structures that made me think. It seems to have been well edited, and there wasn't really anything that interrupted the flow of the story.

The characters were fairly canned, with a couple strong female roles, which I always appreciate. The science and technology aspects of the book were... well, ok, so that part I really couldn't suspend disbelief all that well. But by the time those elements came in, I was already engaged, and just sort of floated past the parts that really couldn't pass close scientific examination.

Having read the backflap intro, I was thinking "oh cool, another brain candy meteor story". I like meteors. My current writing effort involves one. Maybe I just thought "this will be research" or something. Who knows, but it ended up (spoiler alert) not being meteors. They were FAKE meteors. I won't dwell on it, so I don't really spoil anything. Suffice to say I was duped.

The flow was decent, the ending rushed. Overall... meh. But yeah, brain candy. It didn't take too much of my time, and now I'm moving on.(less)

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Jan 08, 2012 Tonya rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi, thriller

So many have already written wonderful reviews expressing both the good and bad of this novel & with this in mind I will only say a few fleeting words.

It could have been better, it could have been worse, Wyman Ford as a character is not fleshed out in this one, he's really just a token so the book could be marketed as a 'Wyman Ford book' and that is OK. (view spoiler) The o...more

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Dec 26, 2011 Rusty rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Impact is a thriller by Douglas Preston, whom I did not know before picking this up. I didn't really do any research, but I presume it's the same person of the Lee and Preston fame. Actually, that may have been on the book's back jacket.

At around 400 plus pages long, I felt like I was being tricked into thinking it was a longer novel than it really was. The text was huge on the page, and chapter stops were only separated by a page and a half. So I would end up reading a chapter every minute or...more Impact is a thriller by Douglas Preston, whom I did not know before picking this up. I didn't really do any research, but I presume it's the same person of the Lee and Preston fame. Actually, that may have been on the book's back jacket.

At around 400 plus pages long, I felt like I was being tricked into thinking it was a longer novel than it really was. The text was huge on the page, and chapter stops were only separated by a page and a half. So I would end up reading a chapter every minute or two. I know it sounds stupid, but I swear it makes me feel like I'm flying through the book as I read. Which in turn makes me more likely to read more, since I'm making such good time.

Anyway, this was a pretty standard thriller, I think, I'm not entirely well versed in the genre, so I'm not real sure how it stands up to others. But the reason I picked this up, the reason I read it, was because it does have a science fiction element to it. That was my hook.

It was the story of Abbey and Ford, two people who's lives cross when she spots an meteor strike off the coast of Maine and she steals her father's fishing boat to hunt down the meteorite. Ford, on the other hand, is a former CIA operative that is sent to Cambodia to investigate the flood of radioactive gemstones that have hit the world market. While there he discovers that the stones are being mined from something that is difficult to described as natural.

This is a pretty entertaining read, I had a bit of a hard time following some of the logic at times, not to mention I was a bit skeptical of the authenticity of the speculative elements, and this might be the first professionally published novel I've ever read where I rolled my eyes at some of the dialog. It does get pretty cheesy.

So, I'm grading this on a curve, if this was an indie book by an unknown author I would probably rated it much higher, but it isn't. This is the work of a well-loved author with a ton of publications to his name. I think he could have told this same story much better if he really wished to.(less)

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Mar 19, 2010 Jed Lamprey rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Decent book about the race to determine what the ancient alien machine on a moon of Mars is for, and what it is doing to the Earth and Moon. It was good up until the very end, and then several major plot holes showed up and really broke the story, at least for me. For example, (Spoilers below)

1. The heroine realizes that the shots coming from the artifact are essentially "warning shots" like old naval engagements where the shot was to say to the other ship, "heave to & prepare to be boarded"...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Scott rated it 4 of 5 stars

Wasn't sure whether I should give this one four or five stars. I don't know if "it was amazing", but "I really liked it" so I gave it four. That isn't considered to be a slight at all, I hope. Douglas Preston is a workmanlike writer who knows how to construct a plot, make interesting, believable characters and build suspense to a satisfying climax. I've only read two of his thrillers, though I've read many of his books with Lincoln Child, and they are all flawlessly executed, if sort of formulai...more

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Mar 23, 2012 Lowed rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of the author

The two stars was for the really good start that kept me going on until the dead of the night. It just took me a while to write a review because I was so mad at the ending, and I felt so cheated in trying to make myself believe that he [the author] would be able to pull this through without a problem.

If you have read my review of his book Blasphemy, you could say I had a great time down to the last page. Though I felt that the ending was still mediocre it was, however, well compensated what wit...more

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About Douglas Preston

Douglas Preston was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1956, and grew up in the deadly boring suburb of Wellesley. Following a distinguished career at a private nursery school--he was almost immediately expelled--he attended public schools and the Cambridge School of Weston. Notable events in his early life included the loss of a fingertip at the age of three to a bicycle; the loss of his two fr...more Douglas Preston was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1956, and grew up in the deadly boring suburb of Wellesley. Following a distinguished career at a private nursery school--he was almost immediately expelled--he attended public schools and the Cambridge School of Weston. Notable events in his early life included the loss of a fingertip at the age of three to a bicycle; the loss of his two front teeth to his brother Richard's fist; and various broken bones, also incurred in dust-ups with Richard. (Richard went on to write The Hot Zone and The Cobra Event, which tells you all you need to know about what it was like to grow up with him as a brother.)

As they grew up, Doug, Richard, and their little brother David roamed the quiet suburbs of Wellesley, terrorizing the natives with home-made rockets and incendiary devices mail-ordered from the backs of comic books or concocted from chemistry sets. With a friend they once attempted to fly a rocket into Wellesley Square; the rocket malfunctioned and nearly killed a man mowing his lawn. They were local celebrities, often appearing in the "Police Notes" section of The Wellesley Townsman. It is a miracle they survived childhood intact.

After unaccountably being rejected by Stanford University (a pox on it), Preston attended Pomona College in Claremont, California, where he studied mathematics, biology, physics, anthropology, chemistry, geology, and astronomy before settling down to English literature. After graduating, Preston began his career at the American Museum of Natural History in New York as an editor, writer, and eventually manager of publications. (Preston also taught writing at Princeton University and was managing editor of Curator.) His eight-year stint at the Museum resulted in the non-fiction book, Dinosaurs in the Attic, edited by a rising young star at St. Martin's Press, a polymath by the name of Lincoln Child. During this period, Preston gave Child a midnight tour of the museum, and in the darkened Hall of Late Dinosaurs, under a looming T. Rex, Child turned to Preston and said: "This would make the perfect setting for a thriller!" That thriller would, of course, be Relic.

In 1986, Douglas Preston piled everything he owned into the back of a Subaru and moved from New York City to Santa Fe to write full time, following the advice of S. J. Perelman that "the dubious privilege of a freelance writer is he's given the freedom to starve anywhere." After the requisite period of penury, Preston achieved a small success with the publication of Cities of Gold, a non-fiction book about Coronado's search for the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola. To research the book, Preston and a friend retraced on horseback 1,000 miles of Coronado's route across Arizona and New Mexico, packing their supplies and sleeping under the stars--nearly killing themselves in the process. Since then he has published several more non-fiction books on the history of the American Southwest, Talking to the Ground and The Royal Road, as well as a novel entitled Jennie. In the early 1990s Preston and Child teamed up to write suspense novels; Relic was the first, followed by several others, including Riptide and Thunderhead. Relic was released as a motion picture by Paramount in 1997. Other films are under development at Hollywood studios. Preston and Child live 500 miles apart and write their books together via telephone, fax, and the Internet.

Preston and his brother Richard are currently producing a television miniseries for ABC and Mandalay Entertainment, to be aired in the spring of 2000, if all goes well, which in Hollywood is rarely the case.

Preston continues a magazine writing career by contributing regularly to The New Yorker magazine. He has also written for National Geographic, Natural History, Smithsonisan, Harper's,and Travel & Leisure,among others.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/dougla...(less)

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Books by Douglas Preston

The Cabinet of Curiosities (Pendergast, #3)

Brimstone (Pendergast, #5; Diogenes, #1)

The Book of the Dead (Pendergast, #7; Diogenes, #3)

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