Link

Rating:
Summary: Crichton meets Indiana Jones and Mulder.
Review: I absolutely loved this novel. Link is fast paced, action packed and filled to the brim with interesting bits of history. Who knew that learning about ancient civilizations could be so much fun.

While digging deep in the desert Samantha uncovers something incredible. Something that could rock the way we view humanity's origins. With the help of her colleague Ricardo she brings her old flame, Jack back to help with the dig. The situation becomes heated when Jack and Samantha's current flame, Dorn go head to head.

The dig leads them to the jungles of South America and to another ancient relic that might uncover something so fantastic and devastating that the world may never be the same.

Link is simply an excuse to let your imagination run wild. Walt Becker also based his plot on many tales of old, research and respected figures findings in the world of astronomy, archaeology, math and history. Link is eye and mind opening for those who are willing to look beyond it's premise as a thriller and see it for the amazing amount of research involved in the writing of it.

This book is a good read for those who enjoy thrillers, archaeology and ancient civilizations, outer space, Indiana Jones or the X-Files. Link kept me on the edge of my seat and I could not put it down. I can't wait to read more of Becker's work.

Rating:
Summary: A Thumbs Up for Link
Review: If a great book contains heart-beating action, violence, love, interesting characters and a bit of the unknown then "Link" by Walt Becker is a great book. Link is one of the best books I have read in awhile. This book makes you start thinking and the action never stops. There are several climaxes that lead up to a final climax and the end only leaves you wanting to read it over again.

The whole point of this book is to answer the question: where did we come from if there has been no clear evolutionary link between Homo erectus and Homo sapiens? This is a question that the author Walt Becker seems to have been asking for awhile. But he has come up with a theory that we, modern humans, come from extraterrestrials as well as Homo erectus. Although this theory may seem far-fetched he weaves it into a story with facts from existing old documents and myths that by the end you are sure that it is true.

The main characters he weaves this theory into is Samantha Colby who is a paleoanthropologist- the study of and search for the keys to human history. And Jack Austin who was Samantha's ex-boyfriend/fiancé who has out of the world theories that had caused him to fall towards the bottom of the scientific food chain. But Jack's theory about "the source" of where modern humans came from are soon going to come true when Samantha finds a fossilized skeleton of something she had never seen before- an extraterrestrial and a mysterious isosceles triangular object that has Egyptian like hieroglyphs all over it.

This object is made entirely of an element not found on Earth and on the bottom within the triangle is made of 100% beryllium, which is found in the African country of Mali where they are. This object sends them on a wild chase to the ancient ruins of Tiahuanaco in Bolivia South America where they find the truth, action, violence and love. They find the truth through finding a compound in the ground made by the aliens. In this compound they found incredible technology that could change the world as we see it now, mummified aliens and the answers to long unanswered questions such as how prehistoric people were able to build the great pyramids of Egypt out of stones that weigh several tons. Even with the technology we have today we can't move them in one piece. This story's ending leaves you satisfied but wanting more.

This is the only book that Walt Becker has written and I very much hope that he write more books. This book is unlike the rest of those books who are about scientists because the scientists in Link actually believe that there is a God. And by going over the book again I found a quote that is in the very beginning but you won't get how it relates to the book until the end:

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days-

and also afterward-

when the sons of God went to the daughters of men

and had children by them.

They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

-Genesis 6:4

I would highly recommend this book to anyone but especially to those who are sci-fi lovers and the ones who like to think of the origins of humans in a new way.

Rating:
Summary: Movie, Please... :-)
Review: Let's see... what do I have to add? I actually read this about four years ago and its effect on my outlook on life is still apparent. Although a work of fiction there is a tremendous amount of historical, geological, and archeological fact lain as groundwork. Character development is somewhat lacking but it doesn't detract from the reader's enjoyment of the storyline (character dev. isn't what this book is about anyway...).

If you're looking for "depth", though, read "Forbidden Archeology" by by Michael A. Cremo and Richard L. Thompson - one of the many works cited in the bibliography. None-the-less, I would encourage you to do your own research on the specific and verifiable references in the story. There is a reason that you do not hear much about this subject matter - because much of it cannot be explained such as the megaliths in Lebanon that cannot be moved much less lifted and megaliths and smaller stone incorporating laser precision cutting in Bolivia or the Dogon's seemingly impossible astronomical knowledge that dates back well over 5000 years OR... - I could go on and on and I don't want to give everything away! :-)

This is a fast-paced Indiana Jones/Lara Croft meets "The X-Files" thriller that will grab your attention from the first couple of pages until the last and have you salivating for more - I found it very difficult to put it down and cursed Becker for not including several hunderd more pages! There are some books that you wish they'd make movies of and this one was one of those for me. Yes, some may call this "shallow fun" but if I'd written a story in the 15th century (for example) about how we'd set foot on the moon I would have been beheaded or burnt at the stake for blasphemy (THOSE shallow morons...)!!! Hope you enjoy this quick read as much as I did!

Rating:
Summary: An entertaining romp that would make Speilberg smile.
Review: "Link" is the type of book that you can sit down to for an hour of two and really dive into. It's an extremely fast read that will appeal to Crichton and Indiana Jones-type fans. Not too deep, it's an well-researched debut novel by Walt Becker with a large number of cited resources in the back of the book.

Becker has created some memorable lead characters, Jack and Samantha, who stumble on to what could be the most important discovery in the history of the world. The "link" that they discover in the jungles of Mali may not just change Darwin's Theory of Evolution, but the future of mankind, as well.

Without giving away important plot details, let me suffice to say that the intrepid aforementioned scientists end up battling not only a greedy entrepreneur for their discovery, but the US Govenment as well. There's a sufficient amount of action and romance to appeal to a wide range of readers. "Link" is entertaining without becoming cheesy, yet fantastic enough to keep the reader guessing what might be coming around the next bend.

It's pure escapism and good for a few hours of enjoyment.

RECOMMENDED

Rating:
Summary: shallow fun
Review: This book has obviously been well researched and perhaps if some of the same enthusiasm had been spent on character development,it could have been a truly great read. Instead it's merely adequate,putting forth fascinating ideas proposed by one dimentional stereotypes with all the depth of a soap dish. Last hundred pages or so(about a quarter of the book)is quick flashy action,which kinda undermines the greater purpose of the story IMO.
Despite all that,it's a quick fast paced entertaining enough read,a book equivalent of a hollywood action movie,one that tries to base itself on plausible facts,but wonders off stupendously,like say Armaggedon.
If you like the subject matter of this book,I highly reccomend far superior Neanderthal by John Dalton and Waiting by Frank Robinson.

Rating:
Summary: Where did We Come From?
Review: Paleoanthropologist Samantha Colby and her team have discovered a skeleton of humanoid but not human origin in West Africa. In addition, they found an artifact composed of metal not found on Earth. Samantha asks her former lover, renegade scientist Jack Austin, to assist her in solving the mystery. Austin has long proposed the interaction of extraterrestrials with early man, but he has been the laughing stock of the scientific community. As they unravel the mystery, their journey takes them from Central Africa to the Andes and what they discover might kill the laughter in the throats of Jack's detractors.

Becker has combined fact with fiction to give us an excellent adventure novel which just might make us all wonder where we really came from and this book gets four stars from me.

Reviewed by Vesta Irene

Rating:
Summary: "COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER"
Review: The novel starts with a lot of promise.....and somewhere ....it falters..... but i will definetly read Walt Beckers other books too.
A lot of research has been done and we are definetly forced to think about many things... i would literally take a pause and ask myself "yes, how come?".
The political angel is justified but some how doesnt gell with the flow of the book.Whatever happens to Veronica? I though she would have a larger role to play... but it was a cameo..
Anyways read it if you want to amaze yourself and also to gain some knowledge about our ansectors.... you will be amazed if this is really the truth........
A read which you might like and recommend to your friends.

Rating:
Summary: Truly awful
Review: Wooden characters, action and violence seems to be thrown in just to meet a formula rather than for any good reason, and the most predictable romance imaginable. But the worst thing is the pretense of scientific truth. To have presumable scientists swallow their fellow characters' pronouncements as if hearing awesome discoveries, fully proved, is ludicrous. Like everyone else wanting to believe this nonsense about alien visitors in prehistoric times, Becker is selective in the facts he presents and the links between them, ignoring all the facts that don't support his premise. He might as well have thrown in a little spontaneous human combustion on the side. (And for all I know, he did. I usually finish books I start, even the bad ones, but I just couldn't stick with this until the end.)

Rating:
Summary: Should Not be Missed!
Review: This book takes the book "Chariots of the Gods?" to a new level and uses a fictionalized plot to explain most of the mysteries of that book. There is a lot of information presented here which makes us question if the theories of evolution and the creation of life are correct. In a archeological dig, some artifacts are discovered of such immense importance that a former archeologist turned college professor (Jack) walks out of the middle of his class to board a helicopter that will take him on a wild adventure. Jack rushes to the site in Mali and examines what looks to be artifacts of an "alien" race.

One of the artifacts has strange powers and gives Jack enough information to know that all the secrets it possesses can be found in an ancient temple's ruins in Bolivia. The only problem, he needs to be there at the next equinox which is just days away. Jack and the other scientists race to the site. When they get there they discover the secrets to man's creation along with a power source that can be man's salvation or can lead to man's destruction.

A corrupt businessman (Dorn) who deals in arms sales to foreign nations is funding Jack's venture using a drug cartel for transportation and equipment. One can easily guess Dorn's motives right away and they are nowhere near benevolent. Knowing that we can also guess up front that Dorn will stop at nothing to have the secrets of the ancient ruins for his own personal gain.

The book moves at a fairly rapid pace with the scientists, the drug cartel, Dorn, and the CIA all competing for the secrets. It is definitely worth a read though not as good a book as Robin Cook's "Abduction," which takes a different slant on explaining man's origins.

One thing definitely missing from this book is an appendix to explain what is actual fact and what is not. Throughout the book the Jack talks about ruins that have features (such as one with aluminum between the stones) that could never have been produced in ancient times with the available technology. Jack also refers to several biblical and other religious texts for other unexplained mysteries. I was not sure any of these are actually in the quoted sources as I had never heard of them before reading this book.

Rating:
Summary: Very Enjoyable Story
Review: I'm really surprised that it doesnt have 'New York Times Bestseller' printed on it. Good length, fun story. I would have like to have read what happened to the main characters after the end of the story. Reading LINK made me want to thank Walt Becker for a wonderful story. I'm going to look for some other works by him