Rating: 
Summary: This novel was made for film
Review: Like reviewer John Rauth, Jr., reading this novel made me want to write my first review. I agree with what many of the other reviewers have said, both good and bad, about Call From A Distant Shore. In the end, however, it is nice to read a feel good space opera (including hokey foreign accents, deus ex machina, perfect loves, super talents and all) that is hard to lay aside. This novel does its job; it provides a way to escape from everyday life for awhile and let you live in a simpler world. I think that it would make a great movie.
Rating: 
Summary: And where IS the Distant Shore?
Review: Pretty good story - and a neat premise for a tale of first contact. A two individual team from a benevolent alien race, protecting earth from the natural vagaries of an indifferent universe, experiences an unexpected calamity and must reveal its existence and ask earthlings for help or perish. By fortuitous coincidence, earth's first Mars mission happens to be in the neighborhood and might be diverted to the rescue - if the few who have received the telepathic cry for help can convince a skeptical world to do so. Perhaps there is a sequel in the future. The story ends fairly abruptly. It would have been fun to read far more about the alien, its origin, its culture, its technology, the scope of it's knowledge, etc. In short, more about this "distant shore". Additional narrative describing the specifics as to how earthlings could provide aid to such an advanced species, as well as how the global psyche was affected by this momentous landmark in human history, would have been welcome. Unfortunately a lot the story is written in the scatological style indicative of the salacious thought patterns of teenage boys. I'm aware that much real life verbal intercourse is similarly crass, but in the written word, it to me is usually a bit unsettling, annoying - and unnecessary. I found myself frequently skipping through the text (something I rarely do), some of which seemed like mere filler, with little loss of the story line.
Rating:
Summary: And where IS the Distant Shore?
Review: Pretty good story - and a neat premise for a tale of first contact. A two individual team from a benevolent alien race, protecting earth from the natural vagaries of an indifferent universe, experiences an unexpected calamity and must reveal its existence and ask earthlings for help or perish. By fortuitous coincidence, earth's first Mars mission happens to be in the neighborhood and might be diverted to the rescue - if the few who have received the telepathic cry for help can convince a skeptical world to do so. Perhaps there is a sequel in the future. The story ends fairly abruptly. It would have been fun to read far more about the alien, its origin, its culture, its technology, the scope of it's knowledge, etc. In short, more about this "distant shore". Additional narrative describing the specifics as to how earthlings could provide aid to such an advanced species, as well as how the global psyche was affected by this momentous landmark in human history, would have been welcome. Unfortunately a lot the story is written in the scatological style indicative of the salacious thought patterns of teenage boys. I'm aware that much real life verbal intercourse is similarly crass, but in the written word, it to me is usually a bit unsettling, annoying - and unnecessary. I found myself frequently skipping through the text (something I rarely do), some of which seemed like mere filler, with little loss of the story line.
Rating:
Summary: Too slow, and too many hokey foreign accents
Review: The idea was interesting, but the story moved much too slowly. And the foreign accents were annoying and stereotypical. The Spanish-speaking head of the United Nations, for example, constantly interspersed his conversation with references to tacos and enchiladas (oh, brother). His Russian-speaking security agent talked about, what else, vodka and Russian ballet. The author even used these ridiculous cultural references when talking ABOUT the characters. For example, he said the UN chief was about to burst "like a pinata". In my opionion, this is a cheap way to avoid creating real, 3-dimensional characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Answer the Call...
Review: This book was a good read. I enjoyed the characters and their diversity. I was a little bit disappointed with the end, though. Also, I felt that the plot, while enjoyable, was a bit too unbelievable. However, the book is still worth the time to read it.
Rating:
Summary: A fairy - tale for the New Millennium
Review: This novel only pretends to be Science-Fiction. This novel is about the drama of human loneliness and incomprehension ,and the Alien crying from Phobos is the symbol of anguish,alienation and fear of loneliness. There is really no point in enumerating the many lapses of logic (to put it mildly) in the plot: we're talking of politics and the human soul,here.That is not to say that this is not a good book : it is fun and pleasurable reading,and you'll like the characters and the athmosphere.It's a "twilight-zoney" fairy tale,like E.T.
Rating:
Summary: Call for a Distant Shore
Review: This novel starts a bit slow as the author takes great care to introduce us to all the characters. Becoming friends with all concerned makes the plot in the second half that much better. While the book is complete, I was left hoping that there would be a sequel to follow up on a number of topics. It almost seemed like the author suddenly decided the book had to stop which is at odds with the slow build up at the beginning. I will read more by Stephen Burns and recommend the book as a good read. I can't say exactly why but I lost a night's sleep as I could not put the book down.
Rating:
Summary: Call for a Distant Shore
Review: This novel starts a bit slow as the author takes great care to introduce us to all the characters. Becoming friends with all concerned makes the plot in the second half that much better. While the book is complete, I was left hoping that there would be a sequel to follow up on a number of topics. It almost seemed like the author suddenly decided the book had to stop which is at odds with the slow build up at the beginning. I will read more by Stephen Burns and recommend the book as a good read. I can't say exactly why but I lost a night's sleep as I could not put the book down.
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