Rating: 
Summary: A quick entertaining read
Review: Allen Steele's short story collections are far better than his novels (with the exception of his first three novels "Orbital Decay", "Clarke County, Space" and "Lunar Descent"). Though this novel does not have a deep message or thorough characterization, it is simply worth reading for it's entertainment value. The story moves along very quickly, and I really enjoyed the setting. The monster may be predictable but so what ? relax and enjoy the book for what it is.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: As a scientist who works on seafloor vents and who has been in DSV Alvin, I was intrigued by the premise of this novel. While Allen M. Steele gets the science and engineering astoundingly right--down to little details about the placement of the CD player in the sub--he falls far short on the fiction. All of the characters are one-dimensional and stereotypes. The subplots have no coherency and are not at all related to each other in any meaningful way and completely lack any development. And while I'm all for a little suspension of disbelief, does anyone really think an untrained 17-year-old is going to be allowed in a deep-water habit, let alone aboard nuclear-powered research submarine that is visiting a brand-new vent field just because she has a camcorder? There were no cameras attached to the sub when it was built?The final insult and disappointment was the cameo appearance of the sea serpant that started the novel--Steele should give his readers more credit and realize that they have more brains than that..
Rating:
Summary: underwater suspense
Review: I loved this book. The author ties together a few storylines that he prefectively describes in detail into one huge climax. For example, you feel like you were in the sub as it descended towards the lab underwater. The episode where the whaling ship is dismantled by a computer virus was hilarious. The only problem with the story had to be the build-up of the mysterious creature and the quick departure from the author. But, you like the way the main characters are handled especially the journalist.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun read, altogether pretty hollow
Review: I read this book in one sitting and thought it was great until about the last hundred pages where it seemed that the author tried to wrap things up a little too neatly. The book was pretty good, but the ending was pitiful, I mean the sea monster making a cameo appearance?...please.
Rating: 
Summary: I miss being a kid
Review: I think I know the trouble with science fiction now: I firstenjoyed it -- immensely -- as a wide-eyed kid. The ideas, the alienvistas, the adventure -- all captured my imagination. But clearly in many cases -- I hate to admit -- I was unaware of the plain, even awkward, writing and paper-thin characterizations. Allen Steele. The guy attracts me each time, no doubt tapping into my yearning to find the Sense of Wonder. So I try him and try him, only to find that his characters are tepid stereotypes, and the plotting rather by rote. "Oceanspace" is written to pop-fiction specifications: Utterly lame characters -- the teenager is the worst kind of stereotype, an embarrassing cliche -- and the writing is just, well, documentary and plodding. I finished the book, but I must say I'm disappointed: The plot -- ie: Sense of Wonder -- ain't enough to sustain this jaded old sf kid.
Rating:
Summary: Could have been good - but it wasn't
Review: I was hoping for great things on this one - I'd enjoyed Clarke County Space and Lunar Descent so was hoping for something just as good in a watery setting. At the start you jump right into some action with no messing about followed but some nice hard science, but after that it all goes downhill. When you get to parts of a book and just cringe (the unsucessful seduction scene) you know it's not going well. When I finished it I just wondered what happened to the the 'greatest discovery of all' mentioned on the back cover - in fact, what happened to the entire ending? My advice : read Orson Scott Card novel 'The Abyss' (based on the screenplay of the film) instead. Similar hard SF stuff, but much, much better characterisation and a rewarding ending well worth the wait.
Rating:
Summary: Big book on big whale
Review: Is Harriet Klausner insane or is she a PR flack for some publisher? What's with the hundreds of reviews appearing under her name, each reading like the blurb on a book jacket. Yikes.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging yet far from great.
Review: Just finishing Allen Steele's book Oceanspace, and while it does manage to keep the reader interested with well researched informatation regarding crush depths, and breathing mixtures, and undersea research platforms. It was not a book that i would consider reading a second time. The story is good, and the reader indoctrinated into the world of undersea mining, and experimental naval subs, (um that seemed a little unlikely, but anyway) The book's characters are easy to visualize, but lack the depth to make them really interesting. The teenager in the story is yes one big stereotype, but then so is the reporter who not only snoops around the station freely, and manages to gain acess to a high security sub bay with no problem, but also tries to seduce the story's hero in a clumsy attempt. Oh yeah there is a sea monster in the book but only for about 10 collective pages so don't blink. Had Steele put more time, and effort into the story and the characters. i feel that he could have given the reader a much better, and more in depth story then this little "puddle-jumper" read. Too bad it seemed to have a lot of potential, but then that is just my opinion.
Rating: 
Summary: OceanSpace: Reviewed by Quantum Muse, on the web.
Review: OceanSpace by Allen Steele takes place in the mysterious environment of the deep sea. The crushing ocean depths are as challenging an environment as the moon or deep space. Allen, in the tradition of hard science fiction, gets the details right. But never mind that. Textbooks get the details right. Allen knows how to tell a story, and that's what matters. There is something special about a story that can quote Buckaroo Banzai, recite Tennyson in a helium enhanced Donald Duck voice, and create a new verse to the Drunken Sailor sea chantey. Oh yeah, there's even a sea monster. . . if the photos and sonar readings can be trusted. Allen's characters are intelligent and resourceful people, with enough flaws to make them human. The plot has some surprises but never cheats the reader. The story takes place over seven hectic days, but few readers will take more than a sitting or two to finish it.
Rating:
Summary: Implosion: Book collapses under the wieght of mediocrity
Review: Oceanspace shows signficant promise from it's jacket blurb, through the intro, until the cast is assembled on the underwater research facility, the Tethys. Then, the last three hundred pages are wasted on boring and uni-dimensional characters, a pointless story, and a cliched sea-serpent. While I applaud the technical detail which gives the atmosphere a sense of authenticity, I comdemn everything else. Steele never decides if this book will be a creature-feature, action-thriller, or character drama. He attempts to please all and (of course, the cliches abound even outside the story) pleases no one. This was my first Steele book. It will definitely be my last. Believe me, if Amazon would allow a zero-star rating, this book would earn that mark.
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