In The Beginning - Ben W. Gardner Book Review

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Review Summary

When a retired Seal, Mike Angel, discovers an inexpensive new space drive and begins launching satellites from his suburban back yard, the local law takes notice. When he refuses to turn his invention over to the military of the United States, the government takes notice. When he blackmails the American and Russian governments into helping him with a manned expedition to Mars, the world takes notice.

The protagonist who has developed a way to generate and control gravity using a combination of existing technologies. He manages to threaten and cajole the governments of both the United States and the Russian Federation into backing him and providing a crew of international scientists to accompany him and Vesna, his AI computer, on a civilian expedition to Mars.

While on Mars, the group discovers that, not only had the Red Planet been inhabited by intelligent life in the distant past, a pair of “alien” scientists remains there. The identities of the two and their purpose for being there provide a shocker to the Earth.
Walker Bennett, Resident Scholar

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Detailed literary breakdown of In The Beginning

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

Composition of Book
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 40%

Tone of book - very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story Yes
Plotlets: - primitive/present day space voyage
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Eccentric: Yes - eccentric
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - politician/elected ruler
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
Terrain - Planet surface, need spacesuit
Which planet? - Mars
Earth setting: - near future (later in 21st century)
Spaceship setting: - primative (present, near future) human spaceship
Takes place on Earth? Yes
Takes place in spaceship? Yes
Not Earth, in Solar System? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
scientific jargon? (SF only) - a significant amount of technical jargon
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog

Most similar books to In The Beginning
Doctor Omega by Arnould Galopin
Back to the Moon by Homer Hickam, Jr.
Red Thunder by John Varley
Oxygen by John B. Olson and Randall Ingermanson
The Return by Buzz Aldrin and John Barnes

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

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