Bengal Station - Eric Brown Book Review

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"Bengal Station"
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Review Summaries

" Five Star, July 2004, 25.95 ISBN 1594142122 Rotating above the Earth is Bengal Station, the jumping point to Earth from the colonies. Jeff Vaughn, a telepath employed by the station to scan people for contraband, is a lonely man. The only person he connects to is Tiger, a young beggar, who lies dying from an overdose of a drug called Rhapsody, a controlled substance imported from one of the colony worlds. A new religion, The Church of the Adoration of the Chosen Ones, originated on one of the colony worlds, the same world that brought in Rhapsody, is actually seeking converts on the station before they go to Earth. Vaughan becomes suspicious when his boss finds excuses for him not to scan ships coming in from Verkerk's world. It seems something irregular, perhaps illegal, is happening on Verkerk's world and it is linked to the drug and the religion. What he discovers when the planet yields its secrets could change the course of humanity unless Vaughan finds a way to stop the aliens who are on a mission of their own. The protagonist is a world-weary man who is semi-suicidal, unable to cope with the darkness he reads in each human's mind. The only reason he does not kill himself is that, in spite of himself, he cares about humanity and does not want the aliens to destroy the human race. Eric Brown's Bengal Station is reminiscent of Star Trek Nine with its space station relationships. Harriet Klausner "
Harriet Klausner, Resident Eric Brown Scholar

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Overall Review

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 50%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 10%

Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Spying & Investigations Yes
What is main char. doing? - unraveling a conspiracy
Inner Struggle Yes
Plotlet: - coping with mental/magical powers
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - government investigator
Age: - 20's-30's
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - an entire race
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a little/some
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
Spaceship setting: - a space station
Takes place in spaceship? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - significantly more dialog than descript

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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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