Rating: 
Summary: Read it in one sitting
Review: A great read. The subject matter was researched and it was written to keep your attention.
Rating: 
Summary: sci-fi that could be real
Review: This book made me rethink all my previous notions about life on other planets. It was so real and action packed, I was constantly turning the page to see what would happen next. I didn't necessarily like the ending, but it did open it up for a sequel **hopefully**.
Rating:
Summary: What an imagination
Review: I thought this was first rate, very well written and considering the scope of the imagination that went into it well worth the read. I loaned it to some Christian friends and they even liked it!!! Can't wait for another Becker book!
Rating: 
Summary: Bad writing, bad science
Review: I looked forward to reading this book, thinking I would be along for a well written scientific adventure sweetened with interesting theories. I was sorely disappointed. Mr. Beck's writing style is hackneyed and predictable. He ends every scene with a mini-cliffhanger, lacking the art of following any action for more than a page or two. The characters are paper cutout there solely as pawns in the story. The story itself is painfully predictable, and offers nothing that hasn't been said dozens of times before. His characters jump from one disaster to another, none of which is surprising, and the reader is never in suspense as to whether the main characters live or not, because they always do. The plot is dull and events are not well set up or explained. To make this worse, the science is terrible. Mr. Beck is not a scientist, yet he fills the mouths of scientist in his book with his ridiculous theories.
Rating:
Summary: LOVED THIS ONE! GREAT ENTERTAINMENT!
Review: LINK was a great, quick read. The characters of Jack and Samantha were both well-developed and interesting and their relationship was involving, and not as cliche as other adventure books.The writing was outstanding. Kudos to Mr. Becker for a great first piece of fiction. As I read many of the reviews, it seems some people have problems with a couple of factoids from the book, but perhaps they should relax and read LINK for what it is-- not dogma-- not philosophy-- but light, entertaining fiction reading. Well done! I continue to recommend it to all my friends and family-- and they have enjoyed it as much as I have. If one is the ..., insecure personality type that loves to go after authors or try to critique books or other creative endeavors because they don't have an ounce of creative talent themselves-- then this novel might not be for you. It takes a liberal look at many established theories of science, though it never seems preachy. But if you can handle a little thought-provoking and an overall enjoyable read, then pick up LINK now. I tend to most agree with the reviewer that disagreed with some of the science presented but still recommended the book. It is better than most of the commercial fiction out there.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting read
Review: Just finished LINK. What a great book! Could not put it down..Can't wait for the movie! Will buy the next book by Becker. Keep up the good work!
Rating:
Summary: Oh, man, I felt really disappointed...
Review: Gosh, this was an incredibly bad book. The poor thing must have hit my wall at least three times -- and for all that I still couldn't finish the horrid thing. It started off flowing nicely enough, then it got bad. Really bad. You notice that Becker doesn't really have a grasp of character creation, he just heard someone say that every character must be three dimensional so he includes three facts about every character that has a speaking line. The hero: he's a scientist, he's a rebel and he still loves the the heroine. Yuch! After I counted out the facts for the cartel girl and the CIA agents, I started throwing the book at the wall because the inaccuracies started adding up at that point. Then, the most horrible idea gets spewed at me -- the aliens died of an earth bacteria! Good god, what kind of aliens travel lightyears to explore and catches a cold and die? Damn you Walt! That's four hours and 8 dollars that I'll never get back. But the major insult was the "logical leap" the you took from aliens to creationalism. All in all, a rather unpleasant reading experience.
Rating:
Summary: Don't bother
Review: A friend of mine recommended this book because she wanted my opinion on the science. What science? This author has no respect for the actual science he purports to have researched (for a whole 18 months, no less!). The paleoanthropological search of humanity's origins is actually such as fascinating story, but you won't find it here. With fiction allegedly based on science there's no excuse for the basic science to be dead wrong--especially with this author's afterword. Carbon dating volcanic flows? Civilizations springing up from nothing? I recommend Becker take a few basic archaeology and/or anthropology classes--or read some of the basic literature--before he tries again with this topic.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun, but flawed
Review: If you spend time on UFO sites on the Web or if you read books positing iconoclastic hypotheses about ancient civilizations by authors such as Graham Hancock, Zacharia Sitchen, Erich von Daniken and others of that ilk, then this is the novel for you. If you are a stickler about the science in science fiction being accurate, then this book will probably offend your sensibilities, since whatever Walt Becker studied at UCLA and USC, it clearly was not anatomy or physics. The most glaring knee-slapper in the book is where the hero slashes the "aorta" of one of the baddies, which, curiously, is located in his throat (your aorta and mine are located in our chests, as in directly connected to our hearts). The discussion of thermodynamics and nukes is likewise clearly uninformed, which is a distracting flaw in an author who appears to aspire to Michael Crichton's mantle by the mixing of science and fiction. The problem is, as noted in many of the other reader reviews, much of the science is dead wrong and much of what is passed off as science is the sort of New Age babble on which many authors make a good living. And some of the good science is misrepresented, following the lead of the New Age babble authors referenced above. Having said all of that, the novel is not as bad as the worst reviews on here would lead you to believe. Sure, the characters are one-dimensional. Sure, the action is basically Indiana Jones meets Michael Crichton meets Erich von Daniken. And, sure, Becker could have used a few more characters on the good guy team so that the Sancho Panza-like scientist sidekick of his protagonist did not have to be a polymath (this guy was so expert in so many different disciplines at the age of 30, he must not have had time to sleep). But, hey, it was still interesting and entertaining for what it was: a flawed first novel by a guy who hopes to get rich the way Crichton did. I read it and enjoyed it even though bothered by the superficial writing, shallow characters and predictable action. The ideas were interestingly presented and were a familiar echo of the X-files. It is not great literature and would be an inexcusable fifth novel, but, hey, this guy not only got published but got reprinted in paperback. Do I wish he'd written a better book to support his theme of alien "improvement" of humankind? Sure, but it's still entertaining. One final note: many of the criticisms leveled at this book could be made with equal force as to Crichton, Tom Clancy and John Grisham, just to name a few. Anyone who read Airframe or any of Clancy's or Grisham's later novels knows what I'm talking about. These guys also broke faith with their fans by offering up shallow characters, predictable, formulaic rehashes of well-worn plots and unlikely premises. Why? For the same reason Becker did: to make money. I recommended this book to others and still do. It's fun, which is more than I can say for some of the recent offerings from those established, prosperous authors. To those who were vituperative in their reviews, I say, "Lighten up!"
Rating:
Summary: LINK - Answers to Man's Questions
Review: Have you ever wondered why so many things about man's history do not add up? Well, maybe Walt Becker can begin to explain that for you in LINK. I found this book to be an "eye-opener." The author does an ingenious job of combining a fast-paced and thrilling plot with enormous amounts of scientific research to create a "paradigm shifting" novel. The book itself is blockbuster movie material - intriguing science, action, romance, and espionage; but beneath the surface this book could very well be a "door opener" to understanding the coming of age for mankind. From a seemingly pale anthropological find in Mali, to enormous discoveries in Bolivia, LINK will keep you on the edge of your seat with its suspense - but more importantly, it will make you think (and who knows, maybe the scientific community too)that when it comes to our history as human beings - LINK just might be that "road less travelled."
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