Review of Forbidden Horizon

[Hannah Hampton]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Forbidden Horizon" by David Crane.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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Forbidden Horizon by David Crane is a science fiction novel about astronauts exploring outer space. It chronicles the triumphs and losses of space crews determined to satiate their thirst for adventure. What the astronauts do not know, however, is that the Xalin have been monitoring their ventures the entire time. The Xalin are an alien race far more intelligent than humanity could have ever prepared for. When they take an interest in human civilization, they plot a carefully-constructed strategy to get closer to humanity. Their plan involves political invasion, advanced technology, and a journey humanity would have never thought was possible.

My favorite thing about this novel was the attention to characterization. Although a handful of astronauts fill out this story, each of them has a unique personality. Their varied interests and quirks made for riveting banter, which allowed them each to shine as individual characters. Additionally, when major events happened throughout the plot, I found myself emotionally invested in each character, rather than simply curious as to how the event would conclude.

The prose was also beautiful. The descriptions of space took my breath away and made the setting of the novel extremely easy to picture and appreciate. When certain scenes took place on Earth, the setting was established quickly and efficiently, so I was never confused as to where a chapter was taking place.

Something that I did not personally enjoy was the ending of this book. I found it to be rather anticlimactic. The passion of many of the main characters seemed to indicate something major occurring in the final pages of this story, but I found the conclusion to fall flat. Crane compensated for this by having characters be aware of the surprising mildness that the ending contained, but I still felt like the plot could have carried a much more exciting and narratively satisfactory conclusion. This book also contained several spelling and grammatical errors that were a bit distracting. However, with another round or two of editing, I believe the text would read much smoother.

Overall, Forbidden Horizon was an entertaining read about astronauts on an adventure to explore outer space. I found it engaging and fun to read, and I would recommend it to lovers of outer space, science, technology, or science fiction as a genre. I am deducting one point for grammar and spelling issues, and another point for the ending. This adds up to a rating of 3 out of 5 stars.

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Forbidden Horizon
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[Hazel Mae Bagarinao]

Who are these astronauts? It's something I want to know of. Besides, the descriptions of aliens and outer space is a plus interest to me. Your review is great!

[Elina Tshabalala]

Astronauts are quite brave. What if in their outer space adventure, they actually do meet aliens? What then?