Philip Chen's Blog: The Eclectic, page 2

Catching Up On All My Reviews

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Dated March 4, 2011)

Reviews of Falling Star that were not also posted on my Amazon US Product Page (28 Reviews). In the spirit of candor, I have listed all the reviews that I received to the above date. By my count Falling Star has received 20 - Five Star, 13 - Four Star, 1 - Three Star, 1 - Two and One Half Star, 1 - Two Star, and 1-One Star reviews for a total of 37 Reviews overall. The 37 reviews do not include the very strong recommendation from book critic Alan Caruba, charter member of the prestigious National Book Critics Circle, who concluded his commentary by saying, "If you read just one novel in 2011, make it Falling Star."

Reviews appearing on Nook and Sony have been listed on other sites, below.

**** SMASHWORDS at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/... ****

Barry on February 27, 2011, - 5/5 Stars

This is a great thriller from start to finish. It certainly leaves lots of scope for a follow up to clear up the unanswered questions.
Very well written, however I agree with one of the other reviewers that there is sometimes slightly too much detail. But it is the Authors great descriptions that put the meat on the stories bones.
I'll be hoping for a sequel.

Steve Anderson on January 28, 2011, - 4/5 Stars

Originally posted at https://www.fuzzysteve.co.uk/2011/01/19/review-falling-star/

This review is given, as a thank you for a free copy. I got it through the member giveaway program on Library Thing

Falling Star - Philip Chen.

Starting in 1967, this novel runs up to 1993. I suspect it may be the first in a series, but it's pretty much self contained.

At times, the author gets, I feel, a little hung up on specific details, but that's a very minor complaint. It's just sometimes, less is more. Assault rifle, rather than using Colt AR-15 repeatedly.

But getting back to the story, this is a thriller, with a sci-fi overlay. In a sequel, the sci-fi might become more overt, but for now, it's really a McGuffin. The thing that drives the story, but doesn't actually take part.

Fun story. The characters are defined, but with room for future growth, and with growth that shows up in story. As it's over twenty-six years, it has plenty of room for it.

Available as an ebook, from Amazon, and Smashwords. probably some others too. While it has some flaws, they're minor. I'd say, buy it and read it, if you like thrillers.

J A Cavell on January 26, 2011, - 4/5 Stars

Philip Chen's first novel, Falling Star, is a winner. He has successfully combined several often disparate aspects of telling a good story that runs from 1967 to 1993! The characters are believable. The scenes are painted accurately, almost cinema-graphically. The story is believable, pulls the reader along and it is easy to read. It involves espionage, technology, mysticism and mystery woven well together. I could stop here and my critique would be complete. My only serious complaint (aside from the e-book format) was the somewhat abrupt ending that left a few strings dangling perhaps hinting at a sequel. That would be nice.

However, I must add that I read Falling Star as an e-book. As a rule, I don't like e-books. I like reading ink on paper. Nonetheless, Chen quickly won this reader over. There are many details in the story that are very familiar or tangentially familiar to me personally. They added the air of authenticity to his story in a way few can. Mr. Chen obviously drew on his personal experience as an engineer, oceanographer, researcher, trial lawyer and investment banker.

**** AMAZON UK @ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Falling-Star-... ****

Sea Wars, 20 February 2011, - 5/5 Stars
By momz (Chester, Cheshire)

A detailed and graphic novel which finds it's story-base in many different secret and not so secret political groups. Falling Star (The Watchers) is based mainly within the Naval community. The story is woven with truth, half-truths and possible alien activity. Whilst some people have found the book to be too technical, I found the author to be knowledgeable in his writings making it easier for me to understand the jargon and situations which arise.

Philip Chen has come up with a first novel to be proud of and I, for one, look forward to a possible(?) sequel. Well done Philip!

Could have been better, 17 February 2011, - 2/5 Stars
By metier

So many favourable reviews, but I'm afraid I can't agree with them.
I like Science fiction, and books with a bit of adventure and action.

Maybe I am missing something, but I prefer books that start with a situation and then progress to a culmination. I like a storyline to flow. I don't this book achieved that.

The story starts quite well with alien objects being found deep at sea off the east coast of the USA, but then doesn't appear to be going anywhere. There's no sense of the central characters workng their way to an explaination.
I think it would have been better had it been much shorter.

IMO it was a 250 page story that had been stretched to 345 pages by adding a lot of unnecessary detail. A style that doesn't appeal to me at all.

Excellent writing ... didn't quite do 'it' for me though, 1 January 2011, - 4/5 Stars
By M. Thompson "Mike Thompson" (London)

While I agree with the previous three five star reviews about the quality of the writing, and without giving anything away, I have to say that I found the two main threads difficult to put together at the end of the book. So I felt rather unsatisfied having invested my time reading the book.

**** LIBRARYTHING at http://librarything.com ****

VickieMonsell on January 16, 2011, - 5/5 Stars

Mr. Chen has a delightful mastery of the written word. Chen brings the reader through historic events, twisting the facts ever so slightly to include his interesting perspective. Anyone who paid attention to their liberal arts education will love to reminisce in this tale. Chen uses his creative imagination to elaborate on a historical clandestine government conspiracy of extraterrestrial comings and goings. In the end, where Chen really picks up the pace, would have been a good place to start this narrative. Simply put, this story leaves the reader inquisitive about the Falling Star . Keep writing Mr. Chen, this yarn is not finished…I hope.

drmellow on January 15, 2011, - 4/5 Stars

I won a copy of this eBook from a Kindle blog and dove right in as soon as I downloaded it. The story starts out good, and picks up from there. By the time I was halfway through, it was hard to put down. I just wanted to keep turning the pages. It's a thriller, with a bit of a sci-fi bent. The story skillfully combines cold-war military espionage, underwater navel research, and UFOs. Several mysterious, probably extra-terrestrial, objects are discovered at the bottom of the ocean. The US government establishes a program to monitor these objects. After several decades of observation, the objects begin to generate activity. Throughout the book, we watch the main character, Mike, and his involvement with the objects, from their discovery to the (almost) present day. Along the way, Mike and other government agents have to deal with unknown cold-war era threats.

I really enjoyed how well this was written, both in terms of plot and character development. On the surface, several of the characters appear somewhat stereotypical, but I think their portrayal was appropriate and reasonable. Several times, the author touches on the subject of racism. He refrains from being preachy, however, and each treatment of racism is essential to either move the plot or develop a character. I was really impressed by that touch. I don't know much about underwater exploration, but it's obvious that the author does. His description of the underwater scenes were technical and vivid enough, without being burdensome, to clearly portray the action that takes place. He puts me right in the submersible with the characters. It was lots of fun to read.

The story told is a great stand-alone tale. It wraps itself up neatly, but also leaves a few small loose ends, which provide an obvious opportunity for a sequel, or even a series. I hope the author releases a sequel. When he does, I'll be first in line to get a copy.

cdnshopaholic on January 16, 2011, 3/5 Stars

I got this as part of the member review program. I am torn on this one. It had lots of action and a good plot, but I got distracted by too many (IMO) unimportant details and it seemed like the book finished with no resolution. I may just not have been in the right frame of mind for this type of book, so will have to give it another read at a later date.

jltott on February 8, 2011, 2-1/2 /5 Stars

Received from member giveaway.
Really enjoyed this, although I agree with some of the other comments in particular the almost obsessive need to describe somethings in far too much detail, mainly weapons.

The story line was great (although it rang bells and I have yet to look into what it reminded me of), in general it was well told and I liked the characters, perhaps more could have been made of the central ones.

All in all a good read, linked together over the years very well and I hope there will be more. Next time though, please put in more substance and less unnecessary detail.
Thank you for the book.

**** GOODREADS at http://goodreads.com ****

Neil Bendle on January 20, 2011, 5/5 Stars

This is a great fun read. The spy/science fiction story cracks along at a fast pace making it a really enjoyable adventure.
I know Phil so seeing parallels to places he has lived makes it even more exciting.

[Disclosure: While Neil Bendle is a serious reviewer and graduate business school professor, he is also the father of my two beautiful granddaughters and husband of my lovely daughter. If I didn't include his review in this list, people would wonder why.]

Great New Reviews

In particular, one reader, S. Painter, nailed what I was trying to do with Falling Star

Falling Star was an incredible journey, from the 1960's to the 1990's. I loved how Mr. Chen was able to bring such a wealth of science and history together into a fictional story. Mr. Chen was able to keep the current story moving at a fast pace, while slowly bringing in new and intersting characters like Mike, Martha and so many others. The interwoven storyline with scientific and historical facts kept blending perfectly into a thriller that was hard for me to remember wasn't real. It was impossible not to be caught up in the emotions of the characters, whether at the bottom of the ocean near the Sentinel, the top of the dessert mountain waiting for the sunrise, or rushing from city to city trying to uncover the mole. The story never lagged, the science never bored, the history never wavered. Mr. Chen kept every piece of the story flowing seamlessly and the resulting work was rich with suspense. I found myself holding my breath in anticipation of what would happen next. Every part of Falling Star was believable, well written, and suspenseful. I hope to see the story pick up in a sequel - I cannot imagine leaving Mike, Martha, and the many others without knowing what happens next. Bravo Mr. Chen. Well done!

Falling Star shows Up at Local Bookstore

Words, an independent book retailer in my town of Maplewood, New Jersey, started carrying Falling Star on its shelves today. A journey of a million books starts with one sale.

Senate votes 65 to 31 to repeal DADT

The United States Senate today finally understood that the willingness and ability of a person to lay down his or her life to defend our democracy should be the only standard by which we should judge that person's capacity to be a member of our armed forces. All other reasons such as race, creed, religion, national origin, and now sexual preference are irrelevant.

I am proud of our great country for finally recognizing this simple fact.

Falling Star is Featured in a Book Giveaway Today

Falling Star is featured today in Helen Smith's blog today. Five eCopies of the book will be given away. Get your fee copy there.

Alan Caruba Just Reviewed Falling Star

Alan Caruba, a Charter Member of the National Book Critics Circle had this to say about Falling Star on his blog:

It is rare when a novelist makes his debut with as powerful a novel as Philip Chen’s Falling Star ($15.25, available from Amazon.com, softcover and on Kindle). It begins in 1967 and concludes in the Oval Office in 1993. In between Chen introduces you to an array of characters, all of whom have unique talents, some of whom are U.S. Navy officers, some with the FBI, all devoted to the protection of their nation. They are a handful of people who know about mysterious entities far beneath the surface of the waters surrounding the U.S. Others are members of a rogue KGB unit, moles who lived among us, but whose mission ended when the former Soviet Union collapsed. This novel stands out for the way you are introduced not just to the characters, but the physical reality in which they live, the sights and even the smells. Slowly and then with increasing intensity, the mysteries are unraveled, the enemies identified, as life and death often hangs in the balance. Drawing on his own life as an ocean research engineer, attorney and banker, Chen brings an authenticity to the novel that provides a heart-pounding reality that forces you to ask “What if?” What if Earth was under observation by those from another planet that is circling a dying sun? What if they intended to colonize it? What if the year for this was 2013? If you read just one novel in 2011, make it Falling Star.

I was floored.

Falling Star was reviewed by Syria Says

[image error] Storyline:

Philip Chen has Star in his pocket with his novel Falling Star. I thoroughly and pleasantly surprised by the storyline after I began reading because I had assumed (wrongly) from the name that this was another ‘Deep Impact’ style disaster novel. Not at all!

Falling Star is a techno-thriller of the awesome kind. Mr. Chen’s knowledge of things nautical and things espionage and things so secret that they don’t even know about themselves is quite remarkable. In fact, by the time I finished the book, I was completely convinced that Mr. Chen is actually Mike Liu and that the book is not a fictional novel at all, but something that actually happened. It is very realistic and completely believable in my humble opinion. Of course, I love a good conspiracy theory and Mr. Chen’s novel did nothing to dispel my suspicions that more goes on in the so-called ‘dark ops’ than any of us have ever dreamed.

While I was caught up in the initial mystery and wondering what in the world a Native American might have to do with mysterious dark objects found at the bottom of the sea around the world, Mr. Chen pulled me into the hi-tech world of deep-sea exploration and navigational problems and vehicles and then flung me into the realization that the cold war continues in spite of appearances. I was busy concocted all sorts of scenarios concerning the disturbing presence of the obviously extra-terrestrial objects in the ocean when suddenly, the truth of the matter was revealed to be nothing like I imagined. Falling Star leaves the reader with many unsettling thoughts about our future as a global entity, wondering what the future might have in store for us.

Grammar/Spelling:

There were a few typos and formatting problems, but nothing that detracted greatly from the story. The formatting problem seemed to be confined to the paragraph indents which were not consistent.

Character Development:

The character Johnny Thapala was the most enigmatic at first, but by the end of the book, his significance became significant.

The ‘bad guys’ were truly bad in most cases, trained killers just waiting for the signal to go into full throttle. Through Mr. Chen’s descriptions of their thoughts and deeds, I felt no sympathy for them.

The ladies were very surprising and I had to smile when they proved the old adage that ‘looks can be deceiving’. I didn’t like their names, however, as they seemed a bit old fashioned in my opinion, but that has little to do with the story. Probably just a generational thing on my part.

Mike Liu, the main character, had enough back-story and depth to lend credence to his existence. He was powerful, but not all-knowing and indestructible and he was just a little bit unwilling. I thought his attitude was quite acceptable as a man who had already put in his time and was only doing what he had to do out of a sense of responsibility and duty. He was intelligent, but not nerdy, nor was he the typical ‘James Bond’ sort of guy.

There were a number of secondary and tertiary characters that left me feeling confused at times and I had to go back and try to figure out who they were and where they came from. In such an all-encompassing story, a great many people were necessary to make it work.

Writing Style:

Mr. Chen’s writing style is quite professional in nature. He gives vivid descriptions of shootouts, interrogations and murder that make me look at strangers even more warily on the bus. There is great deal of technical information between the covers that should keep all the techno-thriller fans happy and I learned a great deal about the rigors of undersea operations.

The only real complaint I have is that the dialog seems a bit stilted in some places and too much technical data is included that I don’t believe would be included in a normal conversation between friends or co-workers although the information was very useful to the reader.

Last, but not least, being a girl, I would have liked a bit more romance in there somewhere, but again, it would not have been only ornamental and not necessary for the plot development.

Continuity:

Mr. Chen interspersed the novel with dates and times so that there was very little doubt as to timeline in the story and I saw no problems with trucks starting out as white and turning green during a gun battle.

Overall Rating:

Overall, I give the book a 4+. Well written, well planned and painstakingly edited. Full of details and technical information that made my head spin. A little work on a more comfortable dialog and (maybe just a little romance?) it would have made my fiver list.

Violence, adult language, adult situations. Also available in Paperback.

I was just interviewed by Stacey Cochran

For his show: BookChatter along with fellow author Terri Reid. See the interview here

Interview on Blogtalk Radio

I was just interviewed by Basil Sands for his weekly blogtalk radio show about Falling Star. You can hear the interview here.

I'm Glad That I Did Not Know

about the Amazon Movers & Shakers List on November 11, 2010, the day that Falling Star was listed on Daily Cheap Reads. If I had, I very likely would have suffered full cardiac arrest.