What if the ship that landed in New Mexico back in 1947 wasn’t the only one to crash that day?
Enter the lives of Heather, Mark and Jennifer … three students at Los Alamos High School who find the second ship and are thrust into a world filled with government cover ups, secretive scientists and alien-tech enhanced religious freaks.
I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Second Ship, the first book of the Richard Phillips’ new series The Rho Agenda. I mean, this book had it all
- Really good writing
- Adventure
- Intrigue
- Danger
- Alien ships
- Simple teenage angst
- Brilliant minds
- Mystery
Oh, and did I mention that it was very well written? Not only was the plot well spun, but the fine detail of the story were lusciously laid out. The characters were well developed and the bad guys were really bad.
Oh, yeah … I meant that to be plural. The three friends … our heroes of the story … aren’t just up against one foe. No, not at all.
Heather McFarland has a crazy homeless guy after her.
There’s an evil scientist twisting the tech from “his” ship to his own ends … without the government knowing about it.
The government has been … and to some degree is continuing to … hide the information they have about the ship.
And there’s a homicidal serial killer on the loose working with the evil scientists (who doesn’t know his henchman is a wacko).
And this all goes down in just the first book! I can’t wait to read the second.
Yes, this book isn’t for everyone. Since the protagonists are teenagers, some readers might not relate and might find the action a bit toned down. I didn’t care. But you might … that’s your bally-wick.
I was pleasantly surprised … with the premise I was not expecting to be so drawn in or to enjoy the experience so much.
The Second Ship is rich in details in part due to the author’s personal experience. Phillips is a nuclear physicist and former Army Ranger officer. He has worked on classified projects for the U.S. government at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and currently works on military simulation software at General Dynamics.
The underlying theme of the book, however, is about how new technologies can have unexpected effects. “Every new technology offers fascinating opportunities,” says Phillips, “but at a potential cost.” The Second Ship explores this theme using alien technology as its metaphor.
Score: 5 out of 5 Palm Trees Possible
Disclaimer: I did receive this book for free for review. However, I receive a lot of books for review and I’ve never pulled my punches. I honestly enjoyed this book and was not paid to say so.