Peter Cawdron

I am almost finished sampling the original team Epic's quarterfinalists. This time, it was the turn to read The Art of War. The book starts with a raunchy morning of forbidden love making between a gullible American astronaut named Michael (but everyone calls him Mike) and a reclusive female Chinese astronaut named Li Jing. Both countries are programmed to operate a space mission together in a few months and were doing training exercises in Paris. I initially surmised Li is a spy and her skittishness later on along with using Whatssapp instead of a separate burner cellphone were dead giveaways.

Michael was ok enough, just ridiculously gullible. His descriptions of Shanghai were quite believable, albeit vague. I have visited that city and think his impressions of the city were actually quite toned down when it comes to the massive crowds during rush hour. I didn't care about the chapter where Mike is having a picnic with his girlfriend (was he cheating on her with Li?). That chapter could be skipped without issue. I also felt that chapter didn't make sense since the rest of the story mentions he went directly to Houston after returning from Paris.

Lisa's story is quite entertaining so far. We learn about US navy boats and some basic aspects of officer Navy combat doctrine. Whether the author is military or not, the research was quite extensive and it shows.

Now, here comes the bad. While I do like the story so far and the 2 POV characters, some chapters could either be eliminated (the picnic one) or remove a few pages of excessive filler description and it would not alter the book at all. I think by eliminating 10% of the text, the book would shine a whole lot more. I spotted one present perfect tense error and the book can't seem to agree on whether being written in present or past tense.

So far, we don't see any hints of Sci-Fi, but the story is certainly really setting in motion at this point. While I don't believe the book will reach the finals of the contest because there are other competitors in its group that are far more polished, I will vote yes to let it advance to the Quarterfinals.… (mere)

3zekiel is an interesting read. I found the action slow and laborious but its first-contact methodology was innovative and conceivable. My only regret is that the book’s ending left my reading efforts unrewarded. The main character never does meet the aliens that intergalactically abducted him and his friends, although they were described to him by one of his fellow captives when he awakened from being cryonically frozen. Perhaps, the inevitable first-contact experience will be described in a 3zekiel (First Contact) sequel book.… (mere)