Rating: 
Summary: Abandon In Place
Review: Some say that authors are taking the Science out of Science Fiction. Some say this is happening because Fantasy is "in", and SF is "out". They say this is happening because of Harry Potter, and The Lord Of The Rings--but also because the people of Earth were told that science and scientists promised us such a great future and that future was not delivered. Science--real laboratory-based, empirical, "let's make the world a better place for everyone on the planet" science, never happened.So we get SF stories--lengthened into novels--like Abandon In Place, by Jerry Oltion, where a few mentions of quantum foam, and a cover-painting showing a lunar lander touching down on the moon, make the thing look like a hard-science novel. But it's not. It's perilously close to wish-fulfillment exercises like The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything, by John D. MacDonald, or Time And Again, by Jack Finney. And those are fantasy novels. The exhilirating effect of reading Oltion's hard-SF ghost-story--his just-imagine, gung-ho, dreamy look at how psychic powers might perhaps refuel humankind's desire for space exploration, with gifted individuals conjuring up moon-worthy spacecraft that can be ridden through the eternal vacuum as long as they don't fade away--is the same as a wish-fulfillment masterpiece like Grimwood's Replay. Is there SF here, though? Well, I'll trust that the technical details regarding NASA's Apollo space program are well-researched and right. But the crux of the book--the author's passion for concocting this bizarre story--is very science-fictional. Oltion--using metaphor, if not outright mysticism, if not outright gobbledygook--is just pointing out that we will make it to the moon, again, and beyond, if we as a species want it bad enough. This concern has been blowing through SF for ages, as I see it; I flash back to Ray Bradbury's intro to Perry Rhodan #18, where he pleads with readers to remain enthusiastic about manned space flight. As a novel--not an award-winning novella--Abandon In Place does roam in too many directions. Power-mad dictators who learn psi powers, not to dream up rockets, but to tyrannize the world; an ultra-liberal Pope who advises our main characters--Rick and Tessa, astronauts turned minor deities with vast mental powers fueled by public opinion--on matters of faith and world politics; King Arthur conjured from the aether as a new/old symbol of hope; the world's entire population learning how to tap the paranormal after the example has been set; a glimpse of the afterlife and the strange essences that inhabit it; oh, and car chases, daring escapes, and some spy games. Wow. Take a breath. It is definitely too much...but it's worth the experience. Not a perfect book, because it is as unwieldy as it is compelling. Fascinating and frustrating. Better than some of its predecessors, like McQuay's The Nexus, but outclassed by Stranger In A Strange Land (there are numerous references to Heinlein's works, in Oltion's book). Well worth reading if you don't mind an SF experience that may not be one at all, while it addresses a fundamental concern of the genre.
Rating: 
Summary: Starts great, limps to finish line
Review: This book is based off a short story that was rewritten as a novella and then finally a novel. It seems obvious to me where the original idea ended and the extra stuff was added to make this novel length. It's this extra atuff that makes this book so bad though. The premise is great- a mysterious Apollo rocket launches itself monthly from Florida soon after Neil Armostrong dies. The main characters of the story investigate this and I am finding myself enjoying this book very much. I am thinking, "Heh-heh, I have found myself a new author!" But then the sci-fi ends and we are treated to 200 pages of crap about psychic phenomenon. I should have seen it coming- the first 100 pages were too good; I wondered "What will happen now, all the good stuff happened?". Because of those great early pages, I forced myself to finish the book and was very unimpressed with the results. I would steer clear of this book, there's a lot better out there.
Rating:
Summary: Starts great, limps to finish line
Review: This book is based off a short story that was rewritten as a novella and then finally a novel. It seems obvious to me where the original idea ended and the extra stuff was added to make this novel length. It's this extra atuff that makes this book so bad though. The premise is great- a mysterious Apollo rocket launches itself monthly from Florida soon after Neil Armostrong dies. The main characters of the story investigate this and I am finding myself enjoying this book very much. I am thinking, "Heh-heh, I have found myself a new author!" But then the sci-fi ends and we are treated to 200 pages of crap about psychic phenomenon. I should have seen it coming- the first 100 pages were too good; I wondered "What will happen now, all the good stuff happened?". Because of those great early pages, I forced myself to finish the book and was very unimpressed with the results. I would steer clear of this book, there's a lot better out there.
Rating:
Summary: don't stop
Review: Those reviewers who complaing about the second part of the book need to remember that reality is what you make of it ;) Yes, it is true that you can clearly tell where the original short story ends. But this doesn't mean that the rest of the story is bad only that it's a _different_ story. In first part the core idea remains unexplained but we get an exiting and thrilling ride from its application. In the second part Oltion explores the core idea itself. Basically it is an intelligent approach to psychic phenomenon. Oltion asks the reader to assume that it exists and proceeds to explore what could be the rules governing it, what could be the logic behind it and what whould be the consequences if a large number of people understood these principles and tried to apply them. Don't stop reading the book at the changing point between the too parts. You'll be glad that you continued when you reach the end.
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