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Impact

(Wyman Ford #3)

Douglas Preston (Goodreads Author)

3.79 · Rating details · 10,201 ratings · 886 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

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Hardcover, 364 pages

Published January 5th 2010 by Forge Books

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Jun 16, 2012 Arah-Lynda rated it really liked it

Shelves: i-said

Score! !

Two young women witness a brilliant meteor that lights up the sky and then falls to earth just off the Maine coast………….

Be warned, for such a small book, this one hosts a big, big story, so you best tinkle, if need be, gather your tea and biscuits, get comfy, strap in. You’re going to be here a while.

This is my first Douglas Preston novel and I gotta tell you, he picked me up and threw me head first into the thick of this story and then, quite simply, pumped up the volume.

A fast paced, ...more

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Feb 14, 2012 K.D. Absolutely rated it it was ok

Shelves: mystery, thriller, populist, sci-fi, guy-lit

I appreciate the efforts that Douglas Preston put in this book. I know it is hard to write. With the many books already in the market and the new books coming out every month, is there anything else that has not be been written about? I know that the plot’s limit can be as wide as the scope of the imagination of the writer, but there should still be, some sense in the story. Do you agree? Otherwise, if we patronize those books with outlandish, silly and impossible to happen plots those writers w I appreciate the efforts that Douglas Preston put in this book. I know it is hard to write. With the many books already in the market and the new books coming out every month, is there anything else that has not be been written about? I know that the plot’s limit can be as wide as the scope of the imagination of the writer, but there should still be, some sense in the story. Do you agree? Otherwise, if we patronize those books with outlandish, silly and impossible to happen plots those writers will start to believe that some readers are indeed gullible and can be fooled to believe anything.

Case in point is this sci-fi, mystery-thriller book. It’s about a meteorite that hits the earth. It falls somewhere in Maine, USA. So, the characters go there to look at the crater. That is a normal behavior when you see a meteorite falling. Fine. Up to this point, it’s believable. It’s normal. But the book will not sell. So, the editor tells Preston to revise the book. So, he goes on: the meteorite has the size of an orange that you can buy in the supermarket but it creates a crater that has a diameter of 5 feet. And, hold your breath, the crater in Maine is actually an entry point because it has an exit point! And of course it is located in the other side of the world: in Cambodia! And so some of the characters go there too to find what’s in there. At this point, it is no longer believable. The meteorite behaves like a bullet and earth with its non-impregnable core all of the sudden behaving like a human body. It is already unbelievable. It is just not normal. But Preston even went a bit too far: the meteorite comes from Mars because there is a weapon of mass destruction there! WMD of aliens in Mars!!!

This is now my problem with many current science fiction books. Well, their fans can believe anything they want and fool themselves into hoping that those far-fetch scenarios can happen in the future and say “I told you so!”. When they read this review, they say, K.D. is too old to believe on these things and they start to consider un-friending me for not being as cool as them. For example, they believe that fish can be put in the ears of a man so they can speak and understand different languages. Or when they play games about planet wars in their laptops or desktops, the game could actually be a simulation and what they see on the screen is actually happening there in the galaxy far, far away.

But in fairness to Preston and this book, the plot has something new in it. It’s a good combination of sci-fi and mystery-thriller genres. Preston concocted it so well, you will not recognize it right away. It also has some heart in the story by having a father and daughter tandem trying to evade the human beings who are in cahoots with the Mars aliens. The father calling out for his daughter made my heart beat faster while reading the book. For a while, I was able to empathize with the father by imagining me and my daughter in that kind of situation: Kurung! says the flying meteorite striking the truck where the father is riding and trying to find his daughter. Abbbby! Abbbby! ABBBBY! says the panicky tearful father in increasing crescendo.

But so sorry, Mr. Preston. That’s the only part – a split second part – where I thought your book was worth reading. But I am not giving you a one star rating. I checked your profile here at GR and I was impressed. You are into anthropology and you must have some basis in your thought that earth can be invaded by aliens. Why not? Many articles and studies have been done about it so the curiosity must have some basis somewhere.

Maybe I am just too fixated with my daily life that I better look up at the sky one of these nights and see if there are really other creatures lurking out there.
...more

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Mar 12, 2019 Tessa H rated it really liked it

Impact is a genius book with countless storylines all existing at the same time. However, there is a common theme; that something not from this world has struck the planet. Wyman, a man who travels to Cambodia to locate and study jewels that are "otherwordly" soon realizes something is clearly different about these jewels. At the same time this is happening, a young woman named Abbey searches for a meteorite near her town in Maine. These two events/storylines and the mysterious murder of a Mars ...more

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Mar 18, 2010 Colleen rated it it was ok

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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Jun 09, 2018 Jamie rated it really liked it

Shelves: assassination, drama, secret-weapons, strange-goings-on, mysterious-relics, cutting-edge-science, science-fiction, scientists, private-investigator, conspiracy-thriller

I have read six Douglas Preston novels before and they never fail to entertain. Impact is an adventure that makes you think and succeeds at captivating the imagination of the reader. Abbey and Wyman Ford are the heroes of the tale with each playing their unique roles & using both a physical and intellectual prowess. Ford journeys to Cambodia to investigate a downed meteoroid that places a friend and himself in real danger, while Abbey stays closer to home pursued by a meth-induced treasure hunte ...more

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Mar 29, 2010 Kerry Nietz rated it really liked it

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 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. )
...more

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Sep 13, 2016 Andy rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: unfinished, crime-conspiracy, sci-fi

DNF at pg 132........ run of the mill thriller with cardboard characters. Not for me at all is this, gave it a go in the hope that summit unusual would leap out...... not happening..

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Feb 10, 2010 Thomas Edmund rated it did not like it

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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Jan 02, 2011 Mal Warwick rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mysteries-thrillers

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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Feb 04, 2011 Michael rated it it was amazing

This book caught me from the 1st few pages and held my interest throughout as few others have. This is the best Preston book so far and the comparisons to Michael Crichton though lofty are vell deserved. The characters come alive and are believable. The story carefully crafted and very clever. Kudos to Mr. Preston. Reading this was a joy. I had trouble putting it down and many household duties were put on hold. Finding the next read that measures up won't be easy.

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Oct 09, 2014 Cheryl rated it really liked it

A fast-paced action-adventure novel. It's not high Literature, but it's tons of fun to read if you're in the mood for an exciting, quick read. I will be reading more by this author, because I really like his style.

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Feb 06, 2010 Brooke rated it liked it

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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Mar 26, 2012 Josh rated it it was ok

Shelves: thriller, conspiracy, aliens

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 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. ...more

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Jan 03, 2017 Stefan Svartling rated it it was amazing

This was a fantastic read! It has all the ingredients I need! it's actually the best book I've read 2016 (yes I know it's 2017 now but I started it in 2016). I love these kinds of books. I don't want to reveal anything, but to me it's more of a sci-fi than the usual thriller from this author.

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May 28, 2019 Paul Weiss rated it liked it

Shelves: suspense-thriller, science-fiction

ET ... call home??

Wyman Ford, a former CIA agent turned freelance investigator, first introduced to Preston's fans in TYRANNOSAUR CANYON and BLASPHEMY, returns to complete a solo undercover mission to locate a secret Cambodian mine hidden deep in the north Vietnamese jungles. The mine is turning out some very unusual gemstones that happen to be highly radioactive. But, as you might expect with any thriller penned by the likes of Douglas Preston, nothing is quite as straightforward as it seems at ET ... call home??

Wyman Ford, a former CIA agent turned freelance investigator, first introduced to Preston's fans in TYRANNOSAUR CANYON and BLASPHEMY, returns to complete a solo undercover mission to locate a secret Cambodian mine hidden deep in the north Vietnamese jungles. The mine is turning out some very unusual gemstones that happen to be highly radioactive. But, as you might expect with any thriller penned by the likes of Douglas Preston, nothing is quite as straightforward as it seems at first glance. It isn't long before Ford finds his path crosses with a young girl who's attempting to locate the impact site of a small asteroid that recently lit up the night skies of Maine as it screamed into the earth's atmosphere.

At this point the credibility meter is pushed way up into the red zone and right off the scale when we discover that the asteroid isn't an asteroid and the Cambodian mine isn't a mine. The asteroid was actually a mini-black hole shot from an alien weapon based on Mars and the Cambodian mine was (are you ready for this?), the exit wound caused when this mini-black hole blasts its way straight through the earth. The Mars group at the National Propulsion Facility, the CIA, the White House and the American military (God Bless 'Em!) are doing their best to cover up the entire event but Wyman Ford is having none of that.

For those of you that might think these are spoilers, I'll simply say that I beg to differ. You can't spoil what any alert sci-fi reader can figure out for themselves inside of a very few pages. The plot is quick moving with lots of suspense, lots of cliff hangers and lots of twists and turns but, ultimately, it's pretty predictable stuff until the very ending. Now that is where the whole strength of this novel lies! Like BLASPHEMY which is actually a philosophical essay on the existence or the nature of god, IMPACT is more by way of an attempt to provoke thought on the world's reaction to extra-terrestrial intelligence and contact. What do we do if we meet them? What do we say when we meet them? Will we ever be capable of actually communicating with an alien extra-terrestrial species? What will THEY be trying to say when they contact us? What will their intentions be?

As a long time Trekkie with an undergraduate degree in mathematics and physics, I'm in Stephen Hawking's camp. I believe they're out there and I do believe that, at some point, contact is an inevitability. So I think some advance thought as to our response is both appropriate and important. As a thriller, IMPACT is great fun albeit mindless and predictable. But it attempts to place important questions into the public's consciousness and I thoroughly enjoyed the process.

Highly recommended.

Paul Weiss
...more

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Feb 28, 2017 itchy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: electronic

wtf?
almost expected tsoukalos and his crazy do to show up for the punchline

p292: bracing himself, his legs apart and the glock desert eagle in both hands, he aimed at abbey's head and squeezed the trigger.
you're kidding, right?
after outfitting axlp a custom les baer, this one's outright glaring;
thinking of siccing imi on you

p356: the winds howled, lightning flashed, and the thunder mingled with the crashing of surf on the shore to create an continuous roar of sound.

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Feb 24, 2011 Matt Bradley rated it it was ok

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 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. ...more

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May 12, 2020 Peter rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction-thriller, fiction-science

It's Douglas Preston time again. Preston's oeuvre is mystery thrillers involving the unusual, the odd and the curious. In this spirit, Impact (2010)—the third in the Wyman Ford series—involves a meteor, NASA, some hot and radioactive stones, geopolitical intrigue, and lobster fishing in Maine.

The Beginning

Impact opens with Abbey Straw, a most unusual young woman living with her lobsterman father on one on Maine's many remote islands near Penobscot Bay. Abbey is different because she's very brig ...more

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Jul 21, 2012 Dagny rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: preston-child

This book is a wild ride in more ways than one. It started out that I only liked about 1/3 of the first 150 pages because I hated most of the characters. One star. But then the story was finally set up and got going and after the next hundred pages, I couldn't put it down. Could have been four stars except there was too much improbability in the ending. Not the science fiction part, I can set aside disbelief for that, but the characters. It's an exciting and fun read if you can get past the prel ...more

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Jan 29, 2010 Mitchel Broussard rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi, thriller-suspense

I loved this one. Brilliant, exciting, surprising, funny, thrilling, scary, apocalyptic, and so much more. The simple story of 3 very random and different people from 3 very different places all being connected to a strange meteor that crashed into Earth.

Mainly told from the three character's perspectives, it starts out with Abbey: an African-American small town waitress that dropped out of Princeton because she focused too much on Astronomy and Physics classes and not on her intended med-school I loved this one. Brilliant, exciting, surprising, funny, thrilling, scary, apocalyptic, and so much more. The simple story of 3 very random and different people from 3 very different places all being connected to a strange meteor that crashed into Earth.

Mainly told from the three character's perspectives, it starts out with Abbey: an African-American small town waitress that dropped out of Princeton because she focused too much on Astronomy and Physics classes and not on her intended med-school plan. She and her friend, Jackie, witness the fall and crash of a large meteor onto a local island off the coast of Maine, and go scouting for the crater.

Wyman Ford, ex CIA, now working for the President's head science adviser, gets a super secret mission to Cambodia - to find and record the location of yet another meteor crash. The crashes seem to be leaving behind rare, yet dangerously radioactive, gemstones that are selling for top dollar on the black market. On finding the site, he discovers a Middle Eastern war tyrant has taken hold of the crash site and is forcing women, men and children to mine the gemstones, slowly and surely killing them.

Mark Corso is working for the National Propulsion Facility in southern California. His job is to go through the thousands of data that is retrieved from a satellite that orbits Mars. He receives a classified hard drive from his late boss, who was decapitated allegedly by a homeless man in a home robbery, with pictures of a strange device on Mars' moon Deimos. He soon discovers that the meteor's trajectory suggests an origination from Mars, specifically Deimos. And that it was not a meteor at all, but something far more dangerous. He quickly figures out that his boss was murdered by a shady government agency that wants to keep these world-altering secrets under wraps. And they're willing to stop at nothing to keep it that way.

All of these stories meet up, characters joining forces in the most unlikely of ways. And, as i always do, i give major props to Mr. Preston for not being afraid to kill off main characters. You never really know if even the most important of characters will survive, or, for that matter, the entire human race.

And speaking of the matter of our extinction, the story and its implications were really eye opening to me. I don't want to give away spoilers, because the events in the book are of the "cover the next paragraph because i don't wanna know what happens!" kind. The resolution is satisfying, not anti-climactic (which i was afraid it would be because the REALLY crazy stuff starts with about 10 pages left).

Well paced, great characters to connect with and root far, terrifying villains (human and non human) to be afraid of, and a plot that, honestly, seems like it could happen any day now. Oh and it actually had an ORIGINAL idea of Earth's destruction. There are no silly alien metal robot contraptions and cliched "take me to your leader!"s here. You really only get 5 words from the non human race. And in this book's case less, is truly and honestly, more. ...more

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Oct 28, 2010 Shalor T. rated it liked it

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 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. ...more

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Jan 18, 2011 Earl rated it did not like it

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 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. ...more

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Oct 15, 2016 Jaksen rated it really liked it

Another Douglas Preston book I thoroughly enjoyed. I read this during the warm-during-the-day, bitterly-cold-at-night days we experience on Cape Cod in October. (No, my little house isn't heated!) So anyhow, on my sunny porch, in my fav. old lady rocker, I read this book with an utter and absolute silence all around me...

It's a story of incredible things happening, with equally incredible repercussions. Wyman Ford, the MC, is asked to discover the location of a mine in Cambodia which is producin ...more

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Jan 08, 2010 Donna rated it it was ok

Shelves: thriller, library

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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Oct 22, 2011 Tonia rated it it was amazing

I absolutely loved this book. I'm a big fan of Preston & Child collaborations, and usually when they write on their own, it just doesn't quite touch the caliber of their combined efforts. Okay, Impact isn't quite as good as a Preston & Child work, but it's still very good. I found it exciting and enthralling. If you're looking for a "guilty pleasure" read that's thrilling and touches on astronomy, you'll enjoy this one like I did.

What I particularly enjoyed about the early collaborative works wa ...more

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Mar 08, 2011 Keith rated it liked it

Two very unlikely characters partner up after discovering that the impact from a dramatic meteor strike is much more than appears on the surface---an intended pun that requires reading the novel to appreciate---and become involved in a tale of espionage, murder and death-defying adventure. If you can buy the premise, which of course is totally plausible for any science fiction fan and accept the plot, which gets stretched a little thin a few times, then you’ll really enjoy this novel. It moves a ...more

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Feb 24, 2011 DWGibb rated it liked it

Si Fi thriller that held my attention despite occasional moments when my suspended disbelief crashed. Begins with a meteorite smashing into an island off the Maine coast, some very suspicious Mars exploration, and the destruction of a number of fishing boats by a young amateur female astronomer. From there, the Universe is the limit.

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Jul 29, 2015 Marty Fried rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book had a lot of suspense and excitement up to the end. I enjoyed it and look forward to more in the Wyman Ford series. I won't waste time reviewing the book, as there are many reviews that are better than I would write - I'm a much better reader than writer.

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May 15, 2010 Natalie rated it it was ok

Shelves: truckstopcrackerbarrelbooks, fiction-uncategorized

Starts with a big fat doobie and a radioactive gem and gets worse from there.

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Feb 01, 2013 Tim rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy-favorites, favorites

Creative, exciting and well written. Recommended for all. 10 of 10 stars

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About Douglas Preston

Douglas Preston

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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 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... ...more