Review by Gathoni1991 -- Containment Breach
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Gathoni1991
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Review by Gathoni1991 -- Containment Breach
[Following is a volunteer review of "Containment Breach" by Wm. A. Yandell.]
“Control, initiate emergency lockdown. We have a containment breach. Repeat we have a containment breach. We have Creatures on board”. This was the distress call placed on a space ship in outer space, when little monsters attacked the humans on board. But how did these monsters (known as Creatures) come to be? With a scary anatomy, hostility and ability to jump great distances and also slingshot off walls and ceilings, they were a force to reckon with. They resembled miniature dinosaur of sorts, something like a cross between a very scary cricket and a bird; hard exoskeleton, large talons on their feet, a knife-like ridge extending from their nose and running down their backs, two sets of short-clawed arms extruding from their middle and upper body and very large backs legs. There was an imminent threat of annihilation of the human race, if the speed of how they kill was anything to go by.
Walton Smithton, a bioengineering scientist who specialized in life-form building and development, was very paranoid and had nightmares about his senior and mentor, Demetrius Zayack. Zayack had become a target and ultimately had vanished into thin air ever since he became the biggest critic of the government and its plan to form the Word Alliance forces. Before his disappearance, he had a breakthrough in his project, the’ Zayans’. Walton had been able to recreate that, but was keeping it as a secret. One day they are roughed up and forced to be on a special mission in space, as leading scientists, him and other three scientists: Jack Wilson, Marcie Donner and Steve Janson. On reaching there, nothing goes as planned, because an embodiement of mad science known as Bush, had other plans for the scientists. Bush was the Director Security Division in the World Alliance forces, so he had a lot of power and influence. On a race against time, the scientists work round the clock, to save the human race from annihilation. But how do you succeed when the enemy is from within? What made the Creatures hostile and aggressive towards humans, unlike their cousins the Zayans?
Yandell meticulously pens down an intriguing plot in the book Containment Breach. The novel is an amusement park for scientists and science-fiction lovers. With all the elements of science-fiction; mindreading, spaceships and spacestations, bioengineering and a futuristic setting, the reader’s imagination will be stretched far and beyond. The story flows smoothly, and the narrator switches intermittently the style of narration from the first person’s point of view to the third person’s point of view. I loved the vivid descriptions of locations, characters and events. This is why I would love to see the book developed into a film. No doubt, it will be a Box Office hit, even winning awards for ‘Best Picture’. Multilayered with several twists and turns, the plot rolls out revealing key and monumental events that left me at the edge of my seat because of the shocking discoveries. A lot of action in the book, made it really fast paced - there was never a dull moment in the book. Surprisingly, the story is told with a really simple language for such a complex plot. It is for these reasons I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars.
Merits and demerits of science was the central theme of the book. It came out strongly in the main storyline and in the subplots too. It was the initiator and propeller of the plot. This was demonstrated vividly in the two types of bio-engineered animals, the Creatures and the Zayans. Another major theme was betrayal. It was constant throughout the story – it served to give the story depth. The author also shed light on abuse of power and manipulation of masses for personal gain. Thus the reader will be able to appreciate how low a human being can go.
The book had zero mistakes. It was a well thought out and well written story. There is no aspect of the book I disliked. I have to commend the editing done on the book – it was impeccable, deifinitely done professionally. I recommend the book to science-fiction lovers.
******
Containment Breach
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
“Control, initiate emergency lockdown. We have a containment breach. Repeat we have a containment breach. We have Creatures on board”. This was the distress call placed on a space ship in outer space, when little monsters attacked the humans on board. But how did these monsters (known as Creatures) come to be? With a scary anatomy, hostility and ability to jump great distances and also slingshot off walls and ceilings, they were a force to reckon with. They resembled miniature dinosaur of sorts, something like a cross between a very scary cricket and a bird; hard exoskeleton, large talons on their feet, a knife-like ridge extending from their nose and running down their backs, two sets of short-clawed arms extruding from their middle and upper body and very large backs legs. There was an imminent threat of annihilation of the human race, if the speed of how they kill was anything to go by.
Walton Smithton, a bioengineering scientist who specialized in life-form building and development, was very paranoid and had nightmares about his senior and mentor, Demetrius Zayack. Zayack had become a target and ultimately had vanished into thin air ever since he became the biggest critic of the government and its plan to form the Word Alliance forces. Before his disappearance, he had a breakthrough in his project, the’ Zayans’. Walton had been able to recreate that, but was keeping it as a secret. One day they are roughed up and forced to be on a special mission in space, as leading scientists, him and other three scientists: Jack Wilson, Marcie Donner and Steve Janson. On reaching there, nothing goes as planned, because an embodiement of mad science known as Bush, had other plans for the scientists. Bush was the Director Security Division in the World Alliance forces, so he had a lot of power and influence. On a race against time, the scientists work round the clock, to save the human race from annihilation. But how do you succeed when the enemy is from within? What made the Creatures hostile and aggressive towards humans, unlike their cousins the Zayans?
Yandell meticulously pens down an intriguing plot in the book Containment Breach. The novel is an amusement park for scientists and science-fiction lovers. With all the elements of science-fiction; mindreading, spaceships and spacestations, bioengineering and a futuristic setting, the reader’s imagination will be stretched far and beyond. The story flows smoothly, and the narrator switches intermittently the style of narration from the first person’s point of view to the third person’s point of view. I loved the vivid descriptions of locations, characters and events. This is why I would love to see the book developed into a film. No doubt, it will be a Box Office hit, even winning awards for ‘Best Picture’. Multilayered with several twists and turns, the plot rolls out revealing key and monumental events that left me at the edge of my seat because of the shocking discoveries. A lot of action in the book, made it really fast paced - there was never a dull moment in the book. Surprisingly, the story is told with a really simple language for such a complex plot. It is for these reasons I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars.
Merits and demerits of science was the central theme of the book. It came out strongly in the main storyline and in the subplots too. It was the initiator and propeller of the plot. This was demonstrated vividly in the two types of bio-engineered animals, the Creatures and the Zayans. Another major theme was betrayal. It was constant throughout the story – it served to give the story depth. The author also shed light on abuse of power and manipulation of masses for personal gain. Thus the reader will be able to appreciate how low a human being can go.
The book had zero mistakes. It was a well thought out and well written story. There is no aspect of the book I disliked. I have to commend the editing done on the book – it was impeccable, deifinitely done professionally. I recommend the book to science-fiction lovers.
******
Containment Breach
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
