Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful science fiction story
Review: Eden 459 is a wonderful science fiction story that truly keeps your attention. Martin, a new intelligent author, created a story about life in outer space with exciting and unexpected twists and adventures. This book truly held my attention and I really hope a sequel is in the near future. You don't need to be a science fiction fan to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful science fiction story
Review: Eden 459 is a wonderful science fiction story that truly keeps your attention. Martin, a new intelligent author, created a story about life in outer space with exciting and unexpected twists and adventures. This book truly held my attention and I really hope a sequel is in the near future. You don't need to be a science fiction fan to read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Some interesting questions
Review: I think there's a new twist to first encounters with alien life forms in this book.Do they want an exchange in knowledge? Culture? Literature? Philosophy? Nope, not interested. They just want nuclear weapons. I think Stab hit onto an uncomfortable truth with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Some interesting questions
Review: I think there's a new twist to first encounters with alien life forms in this book. Do they want an exchange in knowledge? Culture? Literature? Philosophy? Nope, not interested. They just want nuclear weapons. I think Stab hit onto an uncomfortable truth with this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Eden-459
Review: If you like space fiction for novel ideas, Eden-459 is admirable leap into the world of intelligent sci-fi. Fans of space-travel, Armageddon scenarios and alien conspiracy plots will enjoy this tale. Although the story doesn't gel until a third of the way into the book, this is a worthwhile first novel from author Martin J. Stab. Stab, a former Air Force communications specialist and technical course writer, did his homework, researching black holes, space-time relativity, experimental propulsion systems and the potentially devastating effects of an island-sized asteroid impact in the Atlantic Basin. Interwoven threads like the Roswell Incident, mankind's ancestry, several well-publicized UFO sightings and even the mystery of Egypt's Great Pyramids deepen the plot. Stab also breaks new ground: psychological implications of space-born offspring are adeptly raised. He leaves room for tantalizing interpretations, a line Stab could fruitfully pursue in his stated follow-up work. The unique spin on generation ships and the psychological pressures of a one-way space voyage are worth the price of admission alone. And most frighteningly, the chapters highlighting the severe consequences of a Near Earth Object impact seem too real, blockbuster movie heroics aside. Could we save humanity if it came to it? Would we even warn the populace if there was no possible salvation?
Stab spans 3 generations, several light-years, and an Earth-shattering doomsday scenario. A series of interesting climaxes go far to keep the reader involved in the outcome. The anti-climax on Planet Xeron is as ambiguously hopeful as protagonist Ellie Arroway's discovery in Carl Sagan's seminal Contact. What if mankind actually reaches out into the galaxy - and no one is there? Character involvement and depth are minimally addressed in this novel, which may or may not present a problem for some readers. Fans of the Marion-Zimmer Bradley/Robert Heinlein-type sci-fi - i.e., those who want to tag along with their main characters and really get to the know them - will not love this book, while followers of the Asimov-Niven-Clarke style will feel right at home.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended reading for any science fiction buff
Review: Inspired by author Martin J. Stab's personal UFO sightings, Eden-459 is a thoroughly "reader friendly" science fiction yarn about the creation of an international space station, along with a space ship which can carry astronauts on a one-way mission to a new planet. Alien infiltration on Earth, and plots of destruction for the trailblazing mission, lead to murder, murmurs of mutiny, and worse aboard the space faring vessel, -- all the while, a great asteroid is threatening to obliterate the Earth. An exciting adventure that stretches past cosmic limits, Eden-459 is recommended reading for any science fiction buff.
Rating:
Summary: Just the Sci-Fi facts!
Review: Martin J. Stab does have a way with a story, & he writes like a reporter--nothing fancy, just plain information, which comes off sounding quite authentic, if one dimensional. Fantastic stuff, when you think about it, although I have a feeling hardcore Sci-Fi folks will find it a bit simple for their tastes!
Rating:
Summary: Across the Galaxy to Xeron!
Review: Martin Stab has written a carefully researched, plot-driven sci-fi novel with a story that can be compared with films like "The Core", "Mission To Mars", and "Fantastic Voyage". It should also appeal to readers of the novels of Ben Bova, Charles Sheffield, Jack McDevitt, Roger MacBride Allen, and Stephen Baxter. Survivors of the 1947 Roswell, NM crash were taken to live with humans, and then their sons grew up to become astronauts on a one-way voyage to a distant planet named Xeron. The book chronicles the years of the space project in the near future: from its inception with the government agency WASA; to the building of the ship engine called the SINERE; to a sneaky experiment to get an astronaut couple to have a baby on a space station; to the voyage itself which bypasses a 22 mile asteriod heading for Earth, involves the murder of an astronaut and a thwarted mutiny, and an encounter with a black hole. The book's best parts are in the scenes where the author describes how the SINERE works, how the crew members must cope with the reality of never seeing the Earth again, and especially in the details of how a galactic catastrophe effects the Earth. Heading the voyage is the main character Bennett, who is plagued by frightful headaches, yet depends on his crew to make the mission go smoothly. He's a no-nonsense leader and will protect the mission at all costs. Nonetheless, some aspects of the book were questionable. For example, the ship travels at 500,000 mph. At that rate it would reach one light-year in 1,370 years! The reason for the aliens coming to Earth also seemed odd: they wanted nuclear powered weapons, or the knowledge to make them. If aliens have the technology to come across the galaxy to Earth, why would they want something as primitive as nukes? Then there is the ending which might have used another 30 pages, but it looks like the author is setting the reader up for a sequel. These quirks, however, should not upset any reader's enjoyment of the novel. Its ideas are intriguing and worth exploring.
Rating:
Summary: Across the Galaxy to Xeron!
Review: Martin Stab has written a carefully researched, plot-driven sci-fi novel with a story that can be compared with films like "The Core", "Mission To Mars", and "Fantastic Voyage". It should also appeal to readers of the novels of Ben Bova, Charles Sheffield, Jack McDevitt, Roger MacBride Allen, and Stephen Baxter. Survivors of the 1947 Roswell, NM crash were taken to live with humans, and then their sons grew up to become astronauts on a one-way voyage to a distant planet named Xeron. The book chronicles the years of the space project in the near future: from its inception with the government agency WASA; to the building of the ship engine called the SINERE; to a sneaky experiment to get an astronaut couple to have a baby on a space station; to the voyage itself which bypasses a 22 mile asteriod heading for Earth, involves the murder of an astronaut and a thwarted mutiny, and an encounter with a black hole. The book's best parts are in the scenes where the author describes how the SINERE works, how the crew members must cope with the reality of never seeing the Earth again, and especially in the details of how a galactic catastrophe effects the Earth. Heading the voyage is the main character Bennett, who is plagued by frightful headaches, yet depends on his crew to make the mission go smoothly. He's a no-nonsense leader and will protect the mission at all costs. Nonetheless, some aspects of the book were questionable. For example, the ship travels at 500,000 mph. At that rate it would reach one light-year in 1,370 years! The reason for the aliens coming to Earth also seemed odd: they wanted nuclear powered weapons, or the knowledge to make them. If aliens have the technology to come across the galaxy to Earth, why would they want something as primitive as nukes? Then there is the ending which might have used another 30 pages, but it looks like the author is setting the reader up for a sequel. These quirks, however, should not upset any reader's enjoyment of the novel. Its ideas are intriguing and worth exploring.
Rating:
Summary: A refreshing new writer!
Review: Mr. Stab has written a wonderfully entertaining, and engrossing novel. His scientific detail is impeccable, and his story line believable. And all of this from a first novel. I can't wait for his second. Well done Mr. Stab!
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