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The Killing Star

The Killing Star

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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Planet-smashing action
Review: Every once in a while a book comes along that keeps you thinking for days and weeks after you've read it. The Killing Star is one of them, and I found its concept of galactic racial preservation by pre-emptive relativistic bomb strike both immediately obvious and absolutely terrifying. The technical aspects of the story are enough to keep even the most hard-headed hard sci-fi junkie satisfied. All in all, one of the better sci-fi reads of the year

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Totally Paranoic Bull
Review: I don't know what is the saddest thing about this book... If the completely paranoic and "irrationally animal" view of intelligent life, or the reviews I read of it, agreeing with these two subdeveloped writers, showing an equal level of hysteria...I think that a society wich develops such kind of people, with so "animal" logic, should really revaluate it's ways... Although the "scientific" background of the story is very well conceived, and the story itself is well written, I think that the concept showed by the authors is very "sick", and demerits any kind of real evolution of our kind, as such ideas expressed by the authors could be wide spread, and worst of all, taken as "good ones". I will never accept that our race is so "reptilian" yet, behaving like animals protecting itself against anything different... Maybe any other alien civilization should indeed destroy us completely, if we really think in the way the authors of this nightmare book... I hope that we really evolve beyond such paranoic delusions as such expressed by these Pellegrino and Zebrowsky

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This book is great
Review: I have read many books in my short life, and this is one of the best. It chilled me to the bone, I could not put it down. The plot was hard to follow, but by after a time, you stop trying to figure it out, and go with it. It all comes together in the end. The plot is so involved, so beautiful, so great, I broke into a cold sweat while reading. I was shaking when I was finished. This is oneof the best books I have ever read. If you want a realistic picture of what the future may behold, read THE KILLING STAR.Nothing I can say can do this book justice. Read it, and find out.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wow! Maybe SETI is not such a good idea!
Review: I read a lot. Quite frankly, most of what I read is trash. However, "The Killing Star" is one of a select few hard sci-fi novels I really, really, enjoyed. It is the only book I have read this year that I am still discussing with my friends. Get a buddy to read this book with you and the debate can be endless (i.e. a great choice for a sci-fi book club).The basic premise is that the search for extraterrestrial life (SETI) is frought with dangers. With some nicely done analogies and symbolism, the authors equate SETI to the the voyage of the TITANIC going full speed through fields of ice. Basically, the authors opine that any sufficiently advanced alien lifeform has no choice but to destroy any technologically advanced race it comes into contact with, so human beings should not be so eager to contact aliens by sending messages, radio communications, etc., into the deep reaches of unknown space. Why? Read the book. You will not be disapointed.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Gripping hard science fiction
Review: I read this book in one sitting, I could not put it down. It is gripping hard science fiction that takes a hard look at the Fermi Paradox

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Interesting concepts, but weak story
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: 3 stars
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: 3 stars
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: 5 stars
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: 5 stars
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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