Rating: 
Summary: DON'T GO IN THE WATER!
Review: "Sea Change", the debut novel from oceanographer James Powlik, has a lot going for it. The plot is eerily realistic and frightening, with a "monster" that is so simplistic in its concept that it's devastation is overwhelming. There are plenty of actions scenes, with plenty of bodies piling up. There is a stalwart Dirk Pitt-type hero, Brock Garner; a stalwart female doctor, Ellie Bridges; a nasty opportunist who seizes the devastation as wonderful PR; and your stock of supporting characters, both heroes and villains. The villains get their just desserts, and even some of the heroes don't make out too well. Kids are even wasted.
Powlik does get very technical at times, and he fails to resolve the character of Charles Harmon to satisfaction. There are many, many cliches, and even the way the monster is dealt with is hauntingly familiar. Yet, you can't help root for the heroes and hiss the villains, especially when you consider Seattle(of all places) is the monster's ultimate destination.
Campy, but fun; serious but witty.
Rating:
Summary: This book is exciting and intelligently written.
Review: Powlik has impressive credentials as a biological oceanographer. He has written a book that is not "dumbed down". In fact, it is so full of scientic jargon that there is a glossary in the back. I like the sophisticated scientific plot line. It reminds me a bit of my favorite science fiction book of all time, Crichton's "The Andromeda Strain". The plot is scary and gory. It deals with a deadly organism in the ocean near Vancouver and Washington state that threatens warm blooded mammals, including humans, and that is almost impossible to kill. The plot moves along with a frenetic pace, and the bodies pile up quickly. If gore bothers you, stay away from this one. A romance is thrown in that adds nothing to the story, but the action is tense and hair-raising until the very end. Will the intrepid scientists be able to stop this deadly scourge before it threatens Seattle? Science can be thrilling!
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing like a good biological scare-mongering!
Review: James Powlik is very obviously a biologist of the oceanic kind. It comes through all too well in this book. It's not that it is not a good read...for most people it will probably be a good read. But I got the feeling while reading this book that Powlik had a book or an outline in front of him telling him what was necessary to write a biological thriller. He has to have a current new problem that people don't know enough concerning, he has to insert a little romance here, an aggravating character there, add in lots of mayhem and an awful lot of deaths (especially of the characters we are not supposed to like). And in addition, he added an epilogue that prior to reading it I just knew what it was going to say...this particular bad strain of pfisteria (yes I've read about it in the science journals and a couple of nonfiction books) was going to 'pick' a compliant new host, and in this case, fly off into the sunset to wreck havoc another day. Just a bit too pat...like I said, I think Powlik is a smart man who wants to be a thriller novelist of the Clancy-kind. Ho-hum.As per usual, mankind fooling around with biological entities tends to lead to disasters as well as possible good uses. I applaud Powlik for his desire to educate the public not only about this organism, but also about the fact there are military and private organizations fooling around with things that they probably should not be fooling around with. Anything to make a buck; anything to one-up other countries in biological and chemical weaponry. It's kind of hard to get away from this lately, with the fiasco in Iraq and the inability to find weapons of mass destruction. My major complaint as always does not have to do with plot. It's the characters. They are too many, too cardboard, and too stereotyped. Robin Cook, and Michael Crichton and Richard Preston have all successfully scared the pants of those who enjoy reading these types of book (and I usually do too)...but this one left a bit to be desired. Oh well... Karen Sadler,
Science Education,
University of Pittsburgh
Rating:
Summary: Engaging eco-thriller
Review: Residents of the Pacific Northwest begin to panic as the nearby ocean has turned hotter and deadly. Even some of the coastline has become dangerous to the innocent, as Dr. Ellie Bridges can testify after witnessing the brutal death of a little girl. The media smells a sensational story and descends en masse on the area. The government and the scientific community also migrate into the vicinity of the deadly deaths. Oceanographer Brock Garner claims he has found watery dead zones, but politically he is considered a pariah even among his peers. He joins forces with Ellie in an attempt to learn the truth. What they find is a colony of deadly microbe fish that have merged into a floating tide of poison that transmits through the air as well as the water. The path of the fish makes Seattle a certain target. If you place Jurassic Park floating as a current of the Pacific, readers will have the underlying concept of SEA CHANGE. The story line is fast-paced and menacing with much scientific explanation as to why the danger occurred. Though the lead human characters never fully develop, the audience will feel the rising terror as more people agonizingly die and the colony creeps towards Seattle. James Powlik provides eco-terror fans with an action-packed novel that entertains but warns of dire consequences if society fails to face what's going on around the globe. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Book that kickstarted my reading binge!!
Review: This book is great! Its not dumbed down, but not a boring hard to read book. All around great! I think it would make a good movie. Characters are great, and its all explained with actual fact. A Must Read.
Rating: 
Summary: Complete garbage
Review: I'm not going to waste much time ripping this book - just wanted to warn people away from it. The science in it is either stolen directly out of another book (The Hot Zone), or absolutely laughable. (Sarin is not a biological agent, Mr. Powlik) The characters are paper thin, the dialogue is awkward and pathetic... bah!
Rating:
Summary: Great book! Hard to put down.
Review: This was my first reading of Powlik and I must say that I was impressed. I was drawn into this book by the plot and wonderful characters that Powlik creates. The idea of a biological weapon getting into the wrong hands, or slipping from a research facility takes on more interest in the wake of Sept 11. This book is both thrilling and frightening, because it might be able to happen. Well, maybe not, but it is a fun read that will keep you turning the pages wanting to see what will happen next. All in all I enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read the next Powlik work, Meltdown!
Rating:
Summary: I definitely will get the sequel
Review: For a first novel I found this to be well written and really well researched. The subject is a reality and very scary! Powlik has created in Brock Garner a new and exciting"Dirk Pitt"like hero(although no one can measure up to Pitt). All in all a very readable book.
Rating:
Summary: A Cousteau/ James Bond Thriller
Review: You'll like the adventure,intrigue and suspense of mother nature getting her revenge on the humans that polluted her planet with a Bond-like presentation. All very realistic and most likely to occur in the not so distant future. The characters are very vivid and true to their roles in the story. Sea Change is a great lead in to James Powliks' 2nd novel, "Meltdown". Some of the characters from "Sea Change" continue to pursue a similar adventure, yet different with vivid text that allows you to visualize it all!
Rating:
Summary: Explained a little too much
Review: As a high school advanced Marine Biology student, I was assigned to read a book that involved something about the ocean. Although I did enjoy Dr. Powlik's book, the in-depth explanation of the obvious made it difficult to continue turning the pages. With less than a year's worth of education about the ocean, I felt as if it was assumed that I did not even know that a Jellyfish (Phylum Cnidaria) had stinging cells. I am sure that such information could be helpful to those who know nothing about the ocean, but it spoiled the experience of this book for me. I must say I did gain some information about the ocean, but no more than I could have learned on a field trip to MBARI. I hope that you are not as disappointed as I was.
|
