Vous voulez voir cette page en français ? Cliquez ici.

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Face on Mars [Paperback]

Harold Allen (Author), Rodney Charles (Editor)
2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

Available from these sellers.


Product Details

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Reviews

5 star
0
4 star
0
3 star
0
2 star
1
1 star
0
2.0 out of 5 stars
1 review
2.0 out of 5 stars
Most helpful customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars Lacking... Jan 25 2004
By D. Hill
Format:Paperback
From the other reviews on this book, you would think it's a serious study on the face. It isn't, it's a novel, set in the year 2040, with the idea of the face on Mars as a backdrop. While the face makes a great plot device (witness the recent movie, Mission to Mars), it isn't used to good effect here. In the author's preface, he states that he seeks to inform as well as entertain, by making a half-hearted attempt to do both, he actually manages to do neither. The book is under two hundred pages, but feels much longer. Characters aren't developed, the plot is neither suspenseful or engaging, and the writer too often makes the novice mistake of too often telling us, rather than showing us, the action. To be fair, Allen obviously has a lot of interest in outer space, but his 'research' comes across as simple opinions, like a learned professor out to teach the rest of us. Some of those opinions are not only outspoken, but even irritating, such as his theory that the Big Bang never happened, without even offering any viable alternative as to what else could have created the universe in the first place. According to the author, the poor Martian civilization in the book didn't even create it's own culture. I won't go on about that, though, because I wouldn't want to ruin the suspense...

This book could have more ably accomplished all it's goals by simply making itself a more entertaining read. People tend to believe the information imparted in the movie JFK because it was presented so skillfully. If the author would have used the typical structure any novelist uses when building up his story, it would have at least been entertaining, as it is this book reads more like a bad science paper.

Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com: 1.8 out of 5 stars  4 reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly self-important! Aug 14 2004
By John Chanaud - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
It seemed to me that Harold W. G. Allen simply needed an excuse to expound his philosophical ideas, and used this as a vehicle. The book is filled with unbelievable characters who have nothing better to do than listen at the feet of this amazingly self-important professor (obviously Harold Allen's mouthpiece) as he lets the reader know what he thinks is wrong with this world and how he could make everything just lovely.

Allen has obviously done zero research into the face on Mars, for he utterly fails to mention the other anomalous features nearby. He also fails to mention why NASA has denied the existence of the face for so many years, and then suddenly mounts an expedition to the Cydonia region with the face as one of its main objectives.

Overall: one of the poorest books I have ever read. If you are interested in the face and want some fiction about it, ignore this piece of nonsense and try to track down Allen Steele's "Labyrinth of Night."
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Very Dissappointed May 11 2001
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
The book was loaded with complicated math formulas & the philosophy sections where just impossible to follow. There were about 50 pages where they actually researched the "face" that was interesting. The ending was a huge let down...
2.0 out of 5 stars Lacking... Jan 25 2004
By D. Hill - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
From the other reviews on this book, you would think it's a serious study on the face. It isn't, it's a novel, set in the year 2040, with the idea of the face on Mars as a backdrop. While the face makes a great plot device (witness the recent movie, Mission to Mars), it isn't used to good effect here. In the author's preface, he states that he seeks to inform as well as entertain, by making a half-hearted attempt to do both, he actually manages to do neither. The book is under two hundred pages, but feels much longer. Characters aren't developed, the plot is neither suspenseful or engaging, and the writer too often makes the novice mistake of too often telling us, rather than showing us, the action. To be fair, Allen obviously has a lot of interest in outer space, but his 'research' comes across as simple opinions, like a learned professor out to teach the rest of us. Some of those opinions are not only outspoken, but even irritating, such as his theory that the Big Bang never happened, without even offering any viable alternative as to what else could have created the universe in the first place. According to the author, the poor Martian civilization in the book didn't even create it's own culture. I won't go on about that, though, because I wouldn't want to ruin the suspense...

This book could have more ably accomplished all it's goals by simply making itself a more entertaining read. People tend to believe the information imparted in the movie JFK because it was presented so skillfully. If the author would have used the typical structure any novelist uses when building up his story, it would have at least been entertaining, as it is this book reads more like a bad science paper.

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

    Your Shopping Cart is empty.

    Give it purpose—fill it with books, DVDs, clothes, electronics, and more.

    If you already have an account, sign in.

    View Cart (0 items)

      Listmania!

      Create a Listmania! list

      Look for similar items by category

      Feedback

      Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?