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Pink Water
Alternate cover edition can be found here.
Unknown to all but a brave few, invading aliens have been defeated and sent home with a bloody nose. Unknown to everyone, the revengeful aliens left two booby traps.
When triggered, one trap will melt the polar ice caps, causing the sea level to rise seventy meters. The other trap has already removed the only people who can save the earth, whisking them away in a wormhole. The wormhole goes wrong, leaving Trevor, Russell, and an icebreaker with its motley crew trapped inside.
Lost in space and time, Trevor and Russell must return with the antidote and attempt to navigate back through the collapsing wormhole.
Their treacherous journey fails. On the verge of death, unexpected help materialises. The price? Everything they own and a profound change of attitude.
Unknown to all but a brave few, invading aliens have been defeated and sent home with a bloody nose. Unknown to everyone, the revengeful aliens left two booby traps.
When triggered, one trap will melt the polar ice caps, causing the sea level to rise seventy meters. The other trap has already removed the only people who can save the earth, whisking them away in a wormhole. The wormhole goes wrong, leaving Trevor, Russell, and an icebreaker with its motley crew trapped inside.
Lost in space and time, Trevor and Russell must return with the antidote and attempt to navigate back through the collapsing wormhole.
Their treacherous journey fails. On the verge of death, unexpected help materialises. The price? Everything they own and a profound change of attitude.
175 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2013
3 people want to read
About the author
James Field
27 books139 followersHello, fellow book lovers,
I’m James Field — reader, writer, and lifelong lover of stories.
I write soft science fiction and fantasy, usually with a touch of humour, and I’m always more interested in ideas, people, and curiosity than in strict genre boundaries. I also share a free short story collection, What on Earth, with readers who choose to join my newsletter.
Born and bred in England, I spent much of my working life in automation engineering before life took an unexpected — and very welcome — turn north. I married a Norwegian lass and have lived for the past thirty-five years in Norway, much of that time in the Arctic regions, whose landscapes and light have quietly worked their way into my imagination.
Now that I’m a pensioner, I finally have the time to read widely and write steadily. Alongside science fiction and fantasy, I’m increasingly drawn to books that explore the human condition — philosophical, spiritual, and occasionally uncomfortable ones included.
One author who has always fascinated me is Roald Dahl — his adult stories are mischievous, imaginative, and far darker than he’s often given credit for. That mixture of playfulness and edge has stayed with me.
On Goodreads, I’m here first and foremost as a reader. I enjoy thoughtful discussion, honest reviews, and the slow discovery of books I’d never have found on my own. If that sounds like your sort of thing, I’m glad we’ve crossed paths.
Warm wishes,
James
I’m James Field — reader, writer, and lifelong lover of stories.
I write soft science fiction and fantasy, usually with a touch of humour, and I’m always more interested in ideas, people, and curiosity than in strict genre boundaries. I also share a free short story collection, What on Earth, with readers who choose to join my newsletter.
Born and bred in England, I spent much of my working life in automation engineering before life took an unexpected — and very welcome — turn north. I married a Norwegian lass and have lived for the past thirty-five years in Norway, much of that time in the Arctic regions, whose landscapes and light have quietly worked their way into my imagination.
Now that I’m a pensioner, I finally have the time to read widely and write steadily. Alongside science fiction and fantasy, I’m increasingly drawn to books that explore the human condition — philosophical, spiritual, and occasionally uncomfortable ones included.
One author who has always fascinated me is Roald Dahl — his adult stories are mischievous, imaginative, and far darker than he’s often given credit for. That mixture of playfulness and edge has stayed with me.
On Goodreads, I’m here first and foremost as a reader. I enjoy thoughtful discussion, honest reviews, and the slow discovery of books I’d never have found on my own. If that sounds like your sort of thing, I’m glad we’ve crossed paths.
Warm wishes,
James
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 15, 2013
This is the second installment of The Cloud Brothers series. I suggest reading Gathering Clouds... first because I believe I would have enjoyed Pink Water more had I already been acquainted with the Cloud Brothers, their parents, and the insect aliens.
Pink Water is a YA Science Fiction story, and is appropriate for the younger range of that genre except for one scene with strong language. The lessons of peaceful socialization, empathy, and anger management would work well in the younger age range.
One thing that struck me about the writing was that a good 85% or more of the text seemed to be dialogue. Descriptive prose was sparse and mostly used to change scenes. The dialogue was close to life rather than fictionalized, which added redundancy and characterized verbal tics that seemed a bit overused.
The plot was clear and brought to completion. It suffered from mid-novel drag, but pulled off a large action scene at the end. For avid readers of science fiction, no new ground was covered, but for those exploring the genre, the swim in Pink Water should be fun.
I received a free copy in exchange for a non-reciprocal, honest review.
February 17, 2013
The Cloud brothers return!
Picking up right where they left off, though a bit more famous as a consequence of their exploits in the previous novel, are brothers Trevor and Russell Cloud, as well as helper-bot AidMe and the ubiquitous and fascinating Everything Machine, the Cloud.
I won't spill the beans about the plot, which you can read in the book summary, or too much about the writing itself, which you can read about in my review of the first work, Gathering Clouds. I will tell you, however, why Pink Water is a wholly good read.
Part of the goodness of Pink Water, though not the primary goodness, is its thriftness. Clocking in at 175 epages, the story is lickety split fast. Imagine yourself making the Scooby-doo skeddadle noise as you read through it. As a story targeted at Young Adults or Older Adults with no time on their hands (i.e., me), this is pretty much the perfect length. Time enough to squeeze in before one sees-something-shiny/goes-back-to-work. There isn't much down time in this story, partly because of its brevity there isn't time for it. The plot zooms.
The stakes are no less high in this work than they were in the last, either. Frankly, at the height of the climax in the first work, I didn't see any way for Trevor and Russell to recover from their incident in deep space. Fortunately for them, author Field and the Cloud brothers have more imagination, intellect, and vigor than I do. Nothing has changed in the sequel--once again the boys find themselves lost in uncharted space--and that's a good thing.
At the conclusion of my first review, I made a wish for the adventures of the Cloud brothers to continue, and the author wasted little time granting that wish. As a consequence, it is my belief that Field is either some form of magical wish-granting entity or a writer of some skill and thrift. While I hope it's the former, I would still be pleased if it's the latter. It's a win-win either way.
MORE!
Picking up right where they left off, though a bit more famous as a consequence of their exploits in the previous novel, are brothers Trevor and Russell Cloud, as well as helper-bot AidMe and the ubiquitous and fascinating Everything Machine, the Cloud.
I won't spill the beans about the plot, which you can read in the book summary, or too much about the writing itself, which you can read about in my review of the first work, Gathering Clouds. I will tell you, however, why Pink Water is a wholly good read.
Part of the goodness of Pink Water, though not the primary goodness, is its thriftness. Clocking in at 175 epages, the story is lickety split fast. Imagine yourself making the Scooby-doo skeddadle noise as you read through it. As a story targeted at Young Adults or Older Adults with no time on their hands (i.e., me), this is pretty much the perfect length. Time enough to squeeze in before one sees-something-shiny/goes-back-to-work. There isn't much down time in this story, partly because of its brevity there isn't time for it. The plot zooms.
The stakes are no less high in this work than they were in the last, either. Frankly, at the height of the climax in the first work, I didn't see any way for Trevor and Russell to recover from their incident in deep space. Fortunately for them, author Field and the Cloud brothers have more imagination, intellect, and vigor than I do. Nothing has changed in the sequel--once again the boys find themselves lost in uncharted space--and that's a good thing.
At the conclusion of my first review, I made a wish for the adventures of the Cloud brothers to continue, and the author wasted little time granting that wish. As a consequence, it is my belief that Field is either some form of magical wish-granting entity or a writer of some skill and thrift. While I hope it's the former, I would still be pleased if it's the latter. It's a win-win either way.
MORE!
September 8, 2014
Pink Water is an intriguing second episode in the Cloud Brothers saga. As the second book in the series, I’d liken it to The Empire Strikes Back in mood, style and maturity. It’s a dark, character driven interlude between two epic space engagements with the dreaded Mantis. Don’t think for a moment the Mantis are having a book off though, they’ve simply learnt to be more ruthless and cunning in this episode, and our hero Cloud Brothers are tested to their limits.
Pink Water takes a more serious and sombre look at humanity, love, hate and the difficult road to personal enlightenment – a predicament faced by every character trapped in the Mantis’ mischievous time warp trap – the trap itself preventing Earth from being healed, post the events of the first novel, Gathering Clouds....
Have no fear though, there’s plenty of James Field’s trademark humour throughout, with laugh out loud lines like: The captain waddled down to the waters edge as happy as a pensioner after a good bowel movement.
New characters are introduced, the parents of Trevor and Russell, damaged souls Leroy and Timmy, and a host of others. Holding together an ensemble cast so that each character remains memorable and distinct is difficult in a mid-length novel, but James Field does it with ease. And without adding spoilers, Pink Water has the most original, and entertaining interpretation of a biblical character I have read in a very long time.
A terrific read, the series just gets better and better.
Pink Water takes a more serious and sombre look at humanity, love, hate and the difficult road to personal enlightenment – a predicament faced by every character trapped in the Mantis’ mischievous time warp trap – the trap itself preventing Earth from being healed, post the events of the first novel, Gathering Clouds....
Have no fear though, there’s plenty of James Field’s trademark humour throughout, with laugh out loud lines like: The captain waddled down to the waters edge as happy as a pensioner after a good bowel movement.
New characters are introduced, the parents of Trevor and Russell, damaged souls Leroy and Timmy, and a host of others. Holding together an ensemble cast so that each character remains memorable and distinct is difficult in a mid-length novel, but James Field does it with ease. And without adding spoilers, Pink Water has the most original, and entertaining interpretation of a biblical character I have read in a very long time.
A terrific read, the series just gets better and better.
February 16, 2013
Like with the first book in the series, this was a well written and enjoyable read, which I would recommend to anyone who enjoys reading science fiction novels.
The plot is rivetting, and the characters are well rounded. Plus, the author has spread enough scientific knowledge throughout the book to make it obvious you're reading a sci-fi novel, but without bombarding you with so much information that it distracts from the story; a balance which can be tricky to achieve.
The plot is rivetting, and the characters are well rounded. Plus, the author has spread enough scientific knowledge throughout the book to make it obvious you're reading a sci-fi novel, but without bombarding you with so much information that it distracts from the story; a balance which can be tricky to achieve.
May 25, 2013
Trevor and Russell continue to battle the alien insects. once more they need to save the earth. Fun read and leaves room for further adventures of the Cloud brothers, hopefully.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews