Rating: 
Summary: What a ride!
Review: Charges forward from the first page. More political thriller than sci-fi, this first novel hurtles to a fascinating conclusion. Tigerman's style is cinematic, full of cross-cutting and tight, well-crafted scenes. A terrific first effort! Where's the next one?
Rating: 
Summary: HOW COULD EVERYBODY MISS ALL THOSE MISTAKES?
Review: Doesn't anybody take geography anymore, where you learn that at the South Pole, January and February are SUMMER, as in 20+ hours of sunlight?
So why is it Antarctic winter in Chapters 9 & 12?
Doesn't anybody notice that the Moon always keeps the same face Earthwards?
So why is the Earth rising at the start of Chapter 19?
(Hint: the Earthrise of the 1968 Apollo VIII Christmas-Eve video was while orbiting AROUND the Moon, NOT ON IT.
Doesn't anybody know that all lasers run on photons, so that there are no non-photon lasers? Look up 'pleonasm' and see its perfect fit to that silliest of terms 'photon laser'. I'm suspecting that Gary Tigerman is pulling an Alan Sokol on us (qv).
Doesn't anybody know that a beam with Orion's power would explode the air in front of it better than a nuke? (Hint: atmospheric electrical breakdown flux-limit is 30 MW/square meter, barely half the flux at the surface of the Sun.)
The USSR's nuclear-powered laser concepts were meant to generate ONE PULSE, not a continuous beam.
The most amazing thing is that such gaffes ever got into print (and these are merely the worst of many). Whatever happened to quality control?
On page 71, the Big Scare begins as a viral infection on line 2, becomes 'bacteria' in the next paragraph, then a virus again a few lines later. Avon must not have proof-readers.
All this and gratuitous profanity too, and only the crudest, mind you.
[Gee, I'm always so impressed with the toughness of the foul-mouthed, but personally I just can't get up the immense courage required for such advanced verbal creativity and poetic improvisation.]
I'm still wading through this half-baked mess, looking for yet more such staggering mistakes. And people pay money for this!
Rating: 
Summary: Nicely Grounded in Reality
Review: Ever since the government became interested in the exploration and exploitation of space, there have been concerns about how to handle what might be found. Little-known and/or questionable legislation has been passed and black budgets have been funded.
When a cable science show receives a photo showing the Cydonia region of Mars (the Face and the Pyramid). Coding makes the picture look like it originated from a lost NASA Mars probe. What does it mean? Meanwhile the new President is being pressured to give the go ahead for the Orion Project that will initiate a space-based laser defense system that actually works. Why is he being pressured?
Both of the events lead characters to delve into just what is going on. From the 1958 Brookings report co written by Margaret Mead that recommends hiding all evidence of alien intelligence, to the NASA director's ability to quarantine anyone supposedly exposed to dangerous substances, to modern black budget projects and the new leaser defense system. Ultimately the two quests come together and the truth is discovered.
Like others, I was curious about some of the goings on in the book that seemed unrelated to the main story. Were they included just to show that not everything is Orion related? Or were they included as teaser threads to lead into sequels? Could this be like Robert Doherty's Area 51 series that began with a novel of suspense and coverups that was followed aby books dealing with what was uncovered in the first? We'll wait and see.
My main problem with the book was one of identity. There is so much factual and verifiable information in this book that the fantastic seems more plausible. Many historic and public figures are mentioned. But the crew of the final Apollo mission is completely changed. I think the story could have been accomplished without changing these identities by only making a few changes to the plot. Having met members of the mission I felt particularly strongly about this. Others probably won't.
This was quite a well researched and plotted book and hope the author will follow it up with others. Fans of books like Area 51 or The DaVinci Code will probably enjoy the way history is uncovered and revealed.
Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate White-Knuckle Thriller
Review: Gary Tigerman's debut science fiction novel, THE ORION PROTOCOL, is so good it should come with hot buttered popcorn.THE ORION PROTOCOL is everything a science fiction novel should be and thensome. Tigerman's main characters, former Apollo astronauts Commander Jake Deaver and Colonel Augie Blake, nearly 30 years after NASA's final voyage to the Moon in 1973, have kept silent about their findings until journalist Angela Browning receives a mysterious computer disk from an anonymous source. The disk reveals images of Mars believed to be taken from the Mars Observer, an actual spacecraft sent to explore the surface of the Red Planet in 1992. While NASA reported that the spacecraft, manned by scientists at Kennedy Space Center, was lost due to an explosion, Tigerman's book sheds new light on the possibility of a conspiracy by the U.S. government concerning the real story behind the lost orbital. This fascinating novel isn't just about unrevealed findings on the Moon or top secret images taken from Mars; it is also the unveiling of Project Orion, a supposed space defense system posing as an innocuous satellite. The book speaks volumes to conspiracy theorists in terms of America's efforts from the start of NASA to do whatever it takes to shed from the public the possibility of extraterrestrial life forms inhabiting other planets, namely the Moon or Mars. As far back as the Eisenhower administration in 1958, at the dawn of NASA, the Brookings Report, a blue-ribbon study approved by Congress and authored by Margaret Meade, stated that any type of extraterrestrial intelligence could impose chaos to the American public. At the end of the novel, Tigerman includes a note from the author about his subsequent factual findings during his research that keeps the conspiracy wheels churning. Furthermore, THE ORION PROTOCOL touches on the subject of a free press in America and how the press has to fight like dogs to get the truth from the federal government as portrayed by Browning's character. The author, a screenwriter living in Los Angeles, also does a remarkable job with the dialogue --- particularly near the novel's gripping and powerful end --- making this tale the ultimate white-knuckle thriller. --- Reviewed by David Exum
Rating:
Summary: Cool new conspiracy thriller --- politics meets SciFi
Review: Gary Tigerman's first novel zips along, pulling you right with it. His punchy style combines Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code" with a little Ross MacDonald. It's loads of fun to watch as he expertly peels back the layers of this fascinating, topical onion of a story. More political than SciFi, but enough of each that those of us who enjoy both genres have plenty to keep us turning those pages. Great book. You'll have a blast.
Rating:
Summary: Cool new conspiracy thriller --- politics meets SciFi
Review: Gary Tigerman's first novel zips along, pulling you right with it. His punchy style combines Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code" with a little Ross MacDonald. It's loads of fun to watch as he expertly peels back the layers of this fascinating, topical onion of a story. More political than SciFi, but enough of each that those of us who enjoy both genres have plenty to keep us turning those pages. Great book. You'll have a blast.
Rating:
Summary: Will leave you wondering...
Review: Gary Tigerman's ORION PROTOCOL will leave you wondering what
is fact and what is fiction. Why did we stop going to
the moon? Is there evidence hidden from us? If you liked
The DaVinci Code, you will like this book. It is the first in
a planned trilogy and I am anxiously awaiting the next book.
Rating:
Summary: Will leave you wondering...
Review: Gary Tigerman's ORION PROTOCOL will leave you wondering what
is fact and what is fiction. Why did we stop going to
the moon? Is there evidence hidden from us? If you liked
The DaVinci Code, you will like this book. It is the first in
a planned trilogy and I am anxiously awaiting the next book.
Rating:
Summary: Move Over da Vinci code
Review: I heard about this thriller on a TV show in November.
When I got it, I couldn't put it down.
Tigerman is definitely politically savvy, funny, and no pushover to conspiracy theorists.
You'll definitely be wondering 'How much of this is true,' and at the back you'll find out plenty!
Rating: 
Summary: not up to its potential
Review: I liked the concept of this book but the plot failed to develop as one would expect for a thriller. The characters are interesting but poorly developed and one dimensional. The book was too short for all the characters involved and the plot suffered from lack of develpment. It could have been great, but ended up mediocre.
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