The Safety Factor - The Use of Power (Volume 1) in Goodreads Authors/Readers

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Apr 02, 2009 Maria rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Maria, a young girl, runs away from home to escape the abuse she has suffered at the hands of her father. She decides to stow away on a ship. She has no idea where the ship is going, but doesn't care; anywhere would be better than her present life.
On the ship, Maria meets two women who become her friends. One of the women, Lady Farrell (an aristocratic woman, as her title suggests) is on her way to marry a Count in Italy. The other woman is Ellen, The lady's long-time companion. Both women are h Maria, a young girl, runs away from home to escape the abuse she has suffered at the hands of her father. She decides to stow away on a ship. She has no idea where the ship is going, but doesn't care; anywhere would be better than her present life.
On the ship, Maria meets two women who become her friends. One of the women, Lady Farrell (an aristocratic woman, as her title suggests) is on her way to marry a Count in Italy. The other woman is Ellen, The lady's long-time companion. Both women are highly educated and Maria learns a great deal from them along the way.
When pirates attack the ship, the women manage to escape together, on a long-boat. They are left to battle for survival against all odds. The women are eventually rescued but their rescuers appear to be from a different world. What will become of them? You will have to read the book to find out!
This is a fantasy adventure set way back in the 16th/17th Century and then also sometime in the future. There is a great deal of scientific, astronomical and mathematical theory contained in the book which will appeal to anyone with an interest in such matters. I found that most of the technical content was well-written and fitted in with the story and I was able to follow it even though I have limited knowledge in these areas and, therefore, cannot comment on the accuracy of the information in the book. The author did a good job of explaining what The Safety Factor (the book's title) actually means.
The author has a talent for drawing the reader into the story and for neatly progressing the action. I found it a thoroughly enjoyable read with many exciting twists and turns.
I did have a couple of problems with the story, however. Sometimes I found that the author (who is obviously very knowledgeable about mathematics, astronomy and science) tended to labour the points when the characters were having discussions about technical matters. I often felt that the characters were lecturing on certain subjects and this was distracting. Some of the information was necessary for the progression of the story, but I felt that some of it could have been condensed.

The book deals with many fundamental questions about the Universe and our existence and will definitely make you think more about why we are here and what we are here for.
This is the first book in a trilogy. I am looking forward to reading the next installment. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Nov 29, 2009 Maria rated it really liked it

Maria, a young girl, runs away from home to escape the abuse she has suffered at the hands of her father. She decides to stow away on a ship. She has no idea where the ship is going, but doesn't care; anywhere would be better than her present life.
On the ship, Maria meets two women who become her friends. One of the women, Lady Farrell (an aristocratic woman, as her title suggests) is on her way to marry a Count in Italy. The other woman is Ellen, The lady's long-time companion. Both women are h Maria, a young girl, runs away from home to escape the abuse she has suffered at the hands of her father. She decides to stow away on a ship. She has no idea where the ship is going, but doesn't care; anywhere would be better than her present life.
On the ship, Maria meets two women who become her friends. One of the women, Lady Farrell (an aristocratic woman, as her title suggests) is on her way to marry a Count in Italy. The other woman is Ellen, The lady's long-time companion. Both women are highly educated and Maria learns a great deal from them along the way.
When pirates attack the ship, the women manage to escape together, on a long-boat. They are left to battle for survival against all odds. The women are eventually rescued but their rescuers appear to be from a different world. What will become of them? You will have to read the book to find out!
This is a fantasy adventure set way back in the 16th/17th Century and then also sometime in the future. There is a great deal of scientific, astronomical and mathematical theory contained in the book which will appeal to anyone with an interest in such matters. I found that most of the technical content was well-written and fitted in with the story and I was able to follow it even though I have limited knowledge in these areas and, therefore, cannot comment on the accuracy of the information in the book. The author did a good job of explaining what The Safety Factor (the book's title) actually means.
The author has a talent for drawing the reader into the story and for neatly progressing the action. I found it a thoroughly enjoyable read with many exciting twists and turns.
I did have a couple of problems with the story, however. Sometimes I found that the author (who is obviously very knowledgeable about mathematics, astronomy and science) tended to labour the points when the characters were having discussions about technical matters. I often felt that the characters were lecturing on certain subjects and this was distracting. Some of the information was necessary for the progression of the story, but I felt that some of it could have been condensed.

The book deals with many fundamental questions about the Universe and our existence and will definitely make you think more about why we are here and what we are here for.
This is the first book in a trilogy. I am looking forward to reading the next installment. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

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