Aquamarine: Amazon.ca: Mel Keegan: Books

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5 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

3.2 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)

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3.0 out of 5 stars Not Mel's Best, Feb 24 2002

By

Maries "Maries" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aquamarine (Paperback)

Having read Fortunes of War, I was really psyched for more Mel Keegan, but Aquamarine was a disappointment. It wasn't horrible - I read it, all of it, and it
wasn't painful, but it wasn't the kind of thing I just couldn't put down, either. Eric, the Aquarian, was the only character with more than two dimensions.
Although most of the novel is written from Russell's point of view, there is an odd place near the end where suddenly Eric is narrating, and it might have been
interesting if only Eric's voice had been just the tiniest bit different from Russell's. Unfortunately the character development just isn't there, so the romance
aspect was weak and I didn't really feel anything for the characters. It was hard to work up any real interest in them or inwhat happened to them, because the intensity of
emotion and the painstaking character development in Fortunes of War just doesn't exist in Aquamarine.

As sci fi, it also misses. The concepts don't "wow" you at any point, and the world seems more or less exactly as it is today except that most of it is under
water. It just doesn't have that post-apocalyptic feel to it. Life and culture don't seem to have been affected much at all, and the feel of the setting is more of a beach resort
than a man-made island suspended in a vast ocean. The fact that the world is under water seems somewhat incidental to the story, and the only thing of
interest is the fact that it has inspired the creation of the Aquarian race. This is perhaps the only original point in the novel; the conflict between Eric as
Russell's lab rat, Eric as Russell's lover, and Eric as a member of a minority race. But even that has not really been exploited to the fullest extent, and it
seemed there should have been a lot more tension between Eric and Russell and the directors of the Aquarian program. Eric's resentment over being treated
like a lab rat is never really expressed in more than dark looks and a bit of sulkiness, and it never really made sense to me that he and Russell just went along
with anything and everthing. It made them unconvincing.

As an adventure story, it has the same weaknesses as Ice, Wind and Fire and Fortunes of War. The plot is often naive, in that there are no real plot twists
and things always seem to go just a little too smoothly. I'm always waiting for something to go wrong, but it almost never happens. People are exactly what
they seem, and you can expect them to behave accordingly at all times.

Having said all that, if you liked Ice, Wind and Fire, you'll probably like this book too. It's a notch below Ice in craftsmanship, but basically the same kind of story. The love scenes (sex scenes) are a bit sparse, but the book is readable
enough if you can ignore the overwhelming number of typos.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Gay Pride meets WaterWorld, Feb 1 2002

By

Stephen J. Voss "sjvoss" (Pearland, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Aquamarine (Paperback)

Aside from the editing problems, with grammatical and spelling errors, this book is an enjoyable read. The protagonists are well-adjusted, happy, friendly but with all the same self-doubts and insecurities we all have. Keegan's writing style is light, descriptive without being verbose, humorous where appropriate. It was a pleasure to find gay characters portrayed as simply an accepted part of their society, taking part in community life like we really do anyway (but can't talk about it at this time.) Even readers who dislike science fiction will be able to appreciate this story - the science is not overwhelming and is worked into the plot in good fashion.

The intense action scenes are fast-paced, the romantic interludes are gentle but passionate, the politic wrangling is low-key. This book made me smile a number of times; I put off any work-related reading for 2 short evenings to reach the end of the story. Worth the while.

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1.0 out of 5 stars quite a disappointment, Oct 29 2001

By

"v-drake" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aquamarine (Paperback)

I am quite disappointed by this book. The author lacks the skills and judgement on how to handle serious issues such as homophobia, racism and environmentalism in a remotely ingenious way. The characters are dull and superficial, serving no greater purposes than mindless plot devices. The pace is slow and the dialogues seem to go in circles. Worst of all, the editor (if there was one) could not even spot the most obvious grammatical and spelling mistakes. You bet I won't buy another book by Mr. Keegan.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Great!
If I could put four and a half stars I would. I just can't bring myself to rate it with five. I love gay romance/thrillers anything really. Read more

Published on Jun 22 2001 by Kassander

4.0 out of 5 stars What Waterworld should have been
First, I must admit that I love the sea and anything to do with the sea, so the idea of a book about the world after global warming has eliminated most of the world's land masses... Read more

Published on Feb 26 2001 by Suzanne Tolbert