Rating: 
Summary: A Great Series... dont be put off by negative reviews..
Review: As we all know science fiction is a difficult genre to write in. And just because you read science fiction does not mean that it is the same science fiction another fan may read. We all have our own tastes, but in my opinion, this is another fine book by Jeffery Carver. This series is interesting, has great characters, an interesting universe, and I could not put it down. The second book is better than the first, but the entire series is good. There is a fourth book on the way. I suggest you try the first and second book sin the series, you will be hooked!
Rating:
Summary: A Great Series... dont be put off by negative reviews..
Review: As we all know science fiction is a difficult genre to write in. And just because you read science fiction does not mean that it is the same science fiction another fan may read. We all have our own tastes, but in my opinion, this is another fine book by Jeffery Carver. This series is interesting, has great characters, an interesting universe, and I could not put it down. The second book is better than the first, but the entire series is good. There is a fourth book on the way. I suggest you try the first and second book sin the series, you will be hooked!
Rating: 
Summary: Below the level of professional speculative fiction.
Review: Easily the worst experience I've had this year (written July 99). I believe this was published as an attempt to market a digital game - the story line simply features the characters escaping from dangers in one world after another. And how about that 'Bandicut' name ? The 'characters' are too shallow even to qualify as stereotypes - Bandicut the protagonist attempts to assert his depth every 50 pages by getting a lump in his throat remembering his girlfriend. 'Charlie' the alien is a cutsie invisible friend who 'dies' at the end of every level of play - I mean, scene - only to reappear whenever it is convenient. The villian this time, 'the boojum' ( how charming !) comes and goes at random, is never plausibly explained ( what is it ? why does it ... ? ) and exists mainly to jump from behind doors in the dark.The covers tout the mastery of 'hard science' evidenced by this book, but simply repeating concepts one has read in Popular Science does not evidence mastery - nor does it make for interesting reading. I hold nothing against Mr. Carver - I wish him well ! But this particular effort is not worth reading, much less buying.
Rating:
Summary: Below the level of professional speculative fiction.
Review: Easily the worst experience I've had this year (written July 99). I believe this was published as an attempt to market a digital game - the story line simply features the characters escaping from dangers in one world after another. And how about that 'Bandicut' name ? The 'characters' are too shallow even to qualify as stereotypes - Bandicut the protagonist attempts to assert his depth every 50 pages by getting a lump in his throat remembering his girlfriend. 'Charlie' the alien is a cutsie invisible friend who 'dies' at the end of every level of play - I mean, scene - only to reappear whenever it is convenient. The villian this time, 'the boojum' ( how charming !) comes and goes at random, is never plausibly explained ( what is it ? why does it ... ? ) and exists mainly to jump from behind doors in the dark. The covers tout the mastery of 'hard science' evidenced by this book, but simply repeating concepts one has read in Popular Science does not evidence mastery - nor does it make for interesting reading. I hold nothing against Mr. Carver - I wish him well ! But this particular effort is not worth reading, much less buying.
Rating: 
Summary: Strange Attractors
Review: I beg to disagree. I found the entire series of three books so far to be readable, descriptive, and thoroughly enjoyable. I have introduced this series to lots of my friends and all have clamored for the next in the series. His use of descriptive language is so strong that I feel like I am entering this outer space world. I will agree that I do not regularly read sci fi, but I did enjoy this.
Rating:
Summary: Strange Attractors
Review: I beg to disagree. I found the entire series of three books so far to be readable, descriptive, and thoroughly enjoyable. I have introduced this series to lots of my friends and all have clamored for the next in the series. His use of descriptive language is so strong that I feel like I am entering this outer space world. I will agree that I do not regularly read sci fi, but I did enjoy this.
Rating:
Summary: Possibly the best and most imaginative books in the series
Review: John Bandicut and his pals are back in this je'ne sais qoi of a space opera. There are scenes in this book that reminded me of the alien bar scene in Star Wars I(V) and scenes that are unique to the book. Bandicoot is sidetracked (kidnapped?) to an intergalatic arc worldship and all that he has is blind gumption and a quixotic alien entity guiding him named Charlie that lives in his mind. Bandicoot must save this intergalatic arc from the clutches of an evil malevolent force known as the boojum (translation for boogey man). This part reminded me of the excellent Madeleine De'Engle(sp?) story A Wrinkle in Time (another highly entertaining and compelling SF) and tesseracting. Can Bandicut save the shipworld and himself from the clutches of the Boojum? Read this and see!!!
Rating:
Summary: A Step Up
Review: STRANGE ATTRACTORS is the second book in Carver's "Chaos Chronicles" series. I was rather ambivalent after reading the first installment (NEPTUNE CROSSING). There are aspects of it I liked and other aspects I wasn't especially happy with. STRANGE ATTRACTORS, however, was better. I feel it is a solid step up from NEPTUNE... and I enjoyed it considerably more. To be sure, there are still problems. The "boojum" is a rather vague entity, the characters remain underdeveloped, and I'm getting a little weary of the quarx dying and then resurrecting himself with no memory of past events. A couple of times is one thing, but after four or five generations of Charlie it's getting a little old. For space opera, though, this is fairly good stuff. Intriguing new worlds (or, at least, environments) are explored and you never know what will turn up around the next corner. There's a fair amount of action and some interesting aliens. It wasn't deep, but it was fun and it held my interest. If good space opera is what you want, give this series a try.
Rating:
Summary: A Step Up
Review: STRANGE ATTRACTORS is the second book in Carver's "Chaos Chronicles" series. I was rather ambivalent after reading the first installment (NEPTUNE CROSSING). There were aspects of it I liked and other aspects I wasn't especially happy with. STRANGE ATTRACTORS, however, was better. I felt it was a solid step up from NEPTUNE... and I enjoyed it much more. To be sure, there are still problems. The "boojum" is a rather vague entity, the characters remain underdeveloped, and I've gotten a little weary of the quarx dying and then resurrecting itself with no memory of past events. A couple of times is one thing, but after four or five generations of Charlie it's gotten a little old. For space opera, though, this is fairly good stuff. Intriguing new worlds (or, at least, environments) are explored and you never know what will turn up around the next corner. There's a fair amount of action and some interesting aliens. It wasn't deep, but it was fun and it held my interest. If good space opera is what you want, give this one a try.
Rating: 
Summary: THE CHAOS CHRONICLES - a step into the unknown
Review: STRANGE ATTRACTORS is the second volume of an epic-length story known as THE CHAOS CHRONICLES. It will be six volumes in all, of which three so far have been written and published. The emerging science of chaos provides a theme that runs through all of the novels -- as a literal plot element, and as a metaphor for the inner journey of the protagonist, John Bandicut. And sometimes a metaphor for the author's journey, too. The Chaos books marked a change of pace for me: following a number of long novels, I decided to try breaking up my next story into a number of shorter, faster, intertwined and yet self-contained pieces. It's been a adventure for me to write--and, at times, a struggle. But I've felt great satisfaction with the result. John Bandicut's going through some tough and confusing times in these novels, and he doesn't always understand the forces he's up against, much less have the power to control them. And yet...he somehow manages to find his way, often with the help of unexpected friends. (That's how life feels to me at times, too.) The first three books of THE CHAOS CHRONICLES seem to have found favor with lots of my readers; I'm going to do my level best to see that the next three do, too. I hope you enjoy them!
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