Rating: 
Summary: The end of the world as we know it
Review: It tells you a lot about this writing team's skill when Charles Pellegrino and George Zebrowski can annihilate 99% of humanity in the opening pages of their THE KILLING STAR, and still keep their readers entranced for a whole novel. In fact, there are few writer's who could pull off such an audacious feat, then proceed to unleash some real emotional thrills and scientific mind benders to contemplate.
Who are these faceless attackers? And why are they so bent on mankind's destruction?
This novel keeps you guessing, and will keep you thinking long after reading it. The whole notion of alien "rules" and racial prejudice in the intergalactic neighborhood is a bit much for the mind to chew. Then add a dash of Pellegrino and Zebrowski's potent brew of scientific extrapolations of life in the not so distant future, fold in a couple of cast of characters that you are afraid to care for (knowing what fate must await them), and garnish liberally with ethical and moral accoutrements [Jurassic Park, step aside. What happens when you use the DNA from Jesus and Buddha to create them anew?]. A most fascinating meal for your mind that leaves you wanting to taste more
Rating: 
Summary: This book will scare the hell out of you
Review: Ok the characters aren't that great. But like other reviewers...you'll never look at the sky the same way. And you won't say "I wonder if we're alone in the universe"....you'll say "God I hope we're alone in the universe!"
Rating: 
Summary: It's Good.
Review: This book is pretty good. Lots of interesting ideas about xenophobic alien races, (kudos by the way for not including the typical "Gray" alien) and a horrific view of what might happen due to our radio broadcasts.The Killing Star could've been better. First, the characters are hardly developed at all. There are some attempts at developing good characters, particularly Justin and Joshua, but they just didn't cut it. It seems that the characters were just thrown in the story, which is a big writing "no-no." This book gets its science right. In fact, most of the book is . . . science. It seems the authors actually have been in space, their knowledge about it is superb. Every little thing from simply moving the ships to anything else has a nice, meaty scientific explanation that will make your brain bleed if you read it too much. If this story spent more time on developing plot and characters instead of science, it'd be even more enjoyable. It's good; but there's definatley better Science Fiction books out there.
Rating:
Summary: It's Good.
Review: This book is pretty good. Lots of interesting ideas about xenophobic alien races, (kudos by the way for not including the typical "Gray" alien) and a horrific view of what might happen due to our radio broadcasts. The Killing Star could've been better. First, the characters are hardly developed at all. There are some attempts at developing good characters, particularly Justin and Joshua, but they just didn't cut it. It seems that the characters were just thrown in the story, which is a big writing "no-no." This book gets its science right. In fact, most of the book is . . . science. It seems the authors actually have been in space, their knowledge about it is superb. Every little thing from simply moving the ships to anything else has a nice, meaty scientific explanation that will make your brain bleed if you read it too much. If this story spent more time on developing plot and characters instead of science, it'd be even more enjoyable. It's good; but there's definatley better Science Fiction books out there.
Rating:
Summary: It's Good.
Review: This book is pretty good. Lots of interesting ideas about xenophobic alien races, (kudos by the way for not including the typical "Gray" alien) and a horrific view of what might happen due to our radio broadcasts. The Killing Star could've been better. First, the characters are hardly developed at all. There are some attempts at developing good characters, particularly Justin and Joshua, but they just didn't cut it. It seems that the characters were just thrown in the story, which is a big writing "no-no." This book gets its science right. In fact, most of the book is . . . science. It seems the authors actually have been in space, their knowledge about it is superb. Every little thing from simply moving the ships to anything else has a nice, meaty scientific explanation that will make your brain bleed if you read it too much. If this story spent more time on developing plot and characters instead of science, it'd be even more enjoyable. It's good; but there's definatley better Science Fiction books out there.
Rating:
Summary: Good hard science fiction
Review: This is an entertaining hard science fiction novel. It shows a different take on trying to contact alien species which we have not considered. Our radio broadcasts reach another alien species who are xenophobes and whose philosophy is let's get them before they get us (and it's nothing personal). It's rather amusing to see the basis of how they came to judge the human race. This book could as easily been twice as long as it was if the authors had cared to develop the characters more. The book follows various groups of survivors and their strategies for avoiding the aliens, some are successful and some are not. There are a lot of interesting scientific concepts presented in the book which make it a good read. If you enjoy the "hard" science fiction of Larry Niven, Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov, I would recommend that you read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Good hard science fiction
Review: This is an entertaining hard science fiction novel. It shows a different take on trying to contact alien species which we have not considered. Our radio broadcasts reach another alien species who are xenophobes and whose philosophy is let's get them before they get us (and it's nothing personal). It's rather amusing to see the basis of how they came to judge the human race. This book could as easily been twice as long as it was if the authors had cared to develop the characters more. The book follows various groups of survivors and their strategies for avoiding the aliens, some are successful and some are not. There are a lot of interesting scientific concepts presented in the book which make it a good read. If you enjoy the "hard" science fiction of Larry Niven, Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov, I would recommend that you read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting concepts, but weak story
Review: What would the United States do if it found out that a primitive group of tribesmen in outer mongolia (or Kosovo) developed nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them? Would we nuke them first? Would we nuke them first if we had no morality or peer pressure, only logic? What if we felt that they thought we would nuke them the first chance we had? Would we not be logically forced to nuke them first?
Rating:
Summary: King of Pop Destroys the World
Review: While looking for some hard science fiction I happened across THE KILLING STAR by Charles Pellagrino and George Zebrowski. This is hard science fiction at it's best. The novel comprises a number of cautionary tales and thumbs its nose at Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov. The book opens with relativistic bombs wiping out almost all life in the solar system. Relativistic bombs are missiles (just chunks of rock, really) that have been accelerated to a significant portion of the speed of light. Carl Sagan has stated that any advanced civilization that does not destroy itself becomes peaceful. THE KILLING STAR claims otherwise. I do not recommend this book to anyone that has paranoid tendencies. It is well written and frightening. So clearly frightening that it reminded me of THE HOT ZONE which is nonfiction. Most of the book follows the few survivors scattered across the solar system and their efforts to survive after the cataclysm. Many interesting scientific studies and theories are brought up muck like in a goor Arthur C. Clarke novel. So why do aliens try and wipe us out? Michael Jackson wrote a song about unity. Hordes of artists sang it. In 1985 every radio station on the planet broadcast it simultaneously. The song was We Are The World and the broadcast was the single "loudest" shout sent by us into space. Think about the song's message and the way it was broadcast. Read this book.
Rating:
Summary: King of Pop Destroys the World
Review: While looking for some hard science fiction I happened across THE KILLING STAR by Charles Pellagrino and George Zebrowski. This is hard science fiction at it's best. The novel comprises a number of cautionary tales and thumbs its nose at Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov. The book opens with relativistic bombs wiping out almost all life in the solar system. Relativistic bombs are missiles (just chunks of rock, really) that have been accelerated to a significant portion of the speed of light. Carl Sagan has stated that any advanced civilization that does not destroy itself becomes peaceful. THE KILLING STAR claims otherwise. I do not recommend this book to anyone that has paranoid tendencies. It is well written and frightening. So clearly frightening that it reminded me of THE HOT ZONE which is nonfiction. Most of the book follows the few survivors scattered across the solar system and their efforts to survive after the cataclysm. Many interesting scientific studies and theories are brought up muck like in a goor Arthur C. Clarke novel. So why do aliens try and wipe us out? Michael Jackson wrote a song about unity. Hordes of artists sang it. In 1985 every radio station on the planet broadcast it simultaneously. The song was We Are The World and the broadcast was the single "loudest" shout sent by us into space. Think about the song's message and the way it was broadcast. Read this book.
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