Rating: 
Summary: The aliens are coming! The aliens are coming!
Review: This second novel in the Area 51 series is another action-packed, suspenseful read. The story begins where the first novel ended. The familiar characters thought their problems would be over once they brought down Majic-12 and succeeded in averting disaster in the form of an alien attack; in fact, their problems have just begun. The "guardian" discovered under Easter Island has sent out a message into space, and very soon scientists detect a reply message coming from--ta da, the Cydonia region of Mars. This story starts a little slow, hampered somewhat by the need for the author to refresh the memories of those having read the first book. The message from Mars says the aliens are coming to earth with peaceful intentions, but Mike Turcotte, Lisa Duncan, Professor Nabinger, and Kelly Reynolds must determine if that is true. New alien sites are being discovered, with the two most important being in an ancient Chinese mountain tomb and in Africa's Great Rift Valley. Our heroes rush all over the planet, gaining access to the two main alien sites by way of some thrilling commando-raid actions. They get some assistance from an entirely new secret group called STAAR, a group even Majic-12 knew nothing about. Racing to get more information, our heroes must determine whether or not the aliens on their way from Mars are indeed the friendly ancient astronauts who helped save the earth thousands of years earlier or if they are members of the rebel group that mutinied against the ancient mission and remain intent on destroying our planet. With this book, the standard type of government conspiracy ideas give way to novel new suggestions and possibilities. The reader joins the characters in trying to figure out who everyone is, who they are working for, and whether or not their intentions are peaceful. The addition of a new ultra-secret group beyond Majic-12 is complicated by the fact that the members appear and act differently than normal human beings. Some readers may not like the final few chapters because the reader is being constantly thrown back and forth between different events, but I felt this did much to add to the suspense of the concluding pages. I most enjoyed the description of covert forces activities; I have no way of knowing how true to life the author's descriptions are, but they do engross the reader in their details (especially when the inevitable major problems pop up to endanger the missions). After a slow start, the author really puts his hooks into you by the halfway point, making this a book you don't want to put down. It doesn't really matter that the whole future of earth is in the hands of a special forces officer, archaeologist, and political appointee of a President who is rarely heard from in the story, or that a lowly reporter has basic carte blanche access to the heart of the ultra-secret Area 51 headquarters. The author knows how to tell a story, and he continually injects mystery and suspense into a story that could easily have become stale in the hands of a lesser writer. Two books into the series, the story continues to grow even more interesting and enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: Aliens, conspiracies, strange doings, oh my
Review: This series is really good. Got hooked on the first one, loved this one and look forward to getting the next. This author throws in everything ever done about this subject and makes it work! Check it out.
Rating: 
Summary: I think the author owes it to their reader
Review: to give them a better ending than "To Be Continued".
The science is (very) shakey. The drama a bit too cliche. Entertaining reading none the less, provided expectations are set correctly.
But the ending, please, something better than "Go Buy My Next Book"?
Rating:
Summary: Fast-moving, exciting and alien fiction
Review: When you're out searching for a new writer in SF it isn't always easy to find someone who can write SF like Robert Doherty. His Area 51 - novels is beyond many other writers' products. His books are really exciting, and I look forward to "the Mission" - I wish it already was here, then I hadn't have to wait. It may take forever!
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