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    Falling Star
    Falling Star
    Falling Star
    Ebook402 pages5 hours

    Falling Star

    By Philip Chen

    3.5/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Falling Star is about the discovery of mysterious objects buried deep in the ocean and what happens when they wake up and start sending signals to outer space. Mike, pulled back into a clandestine world to help decipher these signals, is attacked by gangs of ordinary Americans bent on killing him. On top of everything else, he learns that a revered friend has died. Will the death of Mike's friend mean that the secret of the objects will remain forever buried in the silt and muck of the ocean bottom? Set in the ocean, on land, and in the air,

    Paul Caruba, charter member of the National Book Critics Circle says the following:

    "It is rare when a novelist makes his debut with as powerful a novel as Philip Chen's Falling Star .... This novel stands out for the way you are introduced not just to the characters, but the physical reality in which they live, the sights and even the smells. Slowly and then with increasing intensity, the mysteries are unraveled, the enemies identified, as life and death often hangs in the balance ... Chen brings an authenticity to the novel that provides a heart-pounding reality that forces you to ask "What if?" What if Earth was under observation by those from another planet that is circling a dying sun? What if they intended to colonize it? What if the year for this was 2013? If you read just one novel in 2011, make it Falling Star."

    Other reviewers have said the following about Falling Star:

    "In 'Falling Star' Philip Chen writes with such quiet authority and such a wealth of expert knowledge that I was lulled into the belief that I was reading a factual version of events rather than a work of fiction. The book quickly sets off with the discovery of objects suggestive of an alien presence on Earth and this aspect of the book is quietly progressed throughout, culminating in a conclusion which raises as many questions as it answers, giving the reader plenty to think about. At the same time I was carried through the book by the compulsively exciting tale of undercover agents and the infiltration of their organisation by a network of spies so carefully absorbed into American society as to be almost untraceable. The main character, Mike, was well drawn and likeable but complex and psychologically convincing. I also enjoyed the presence of strong female characters in the inimitable Mildred and the brilliant and beautiful Martha. Interesting premise, convincingly handled in an exciting and compelling novel."

    "Mr. Chen's writing style is precise, almost military and chock full of information that makes the reader wonder if this story might not be fiction at all, but something very real and very disturbing."

    "With the political/military intrigue of a Tom Clancy novel and the Sci-Fi feel of the 2001/2010/2061 Arthur C. Clarke novels coupled with the page turner, fast paced plot of a Dan Brown novel how could you go wrong."

    "... an absolutely stunning read! I could not stop reading! I was intrigued from the first words, and just kept on reading."

    "From the early pages, I knew this was a writer to be taken seriously. Mr. Chen has penned a dynamic, thought-provoking cross between contemporary thriller and science fiction tome. His characters are well developed, the multiple storylines complex, and the ending ..."

    "I haven't enjoyed a book this much since Tom Clancy stopped putting out novels."

    "Mysterious and provocative, an intelligently written page turner by someone who knows his subject. Once I began reading Falling Star, I had to read this well-detailed thriller right through to the end."

    "Anyone interested in the future of America's defense and weaponry will find this novel gripping."

    "I will never see the ocean in the same light again."

    Cover image by Tomo Yun

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPhilip Chen
    Release dateSep 14, 2010
    ISBN9781452489995
    Falling Star
    Author

    Philip Chen

    Philip Chen's early career included a stint as an ocean research engineer working on development of deep submergence systems, including what was to have been the world's first free swimming submersible capable of 20,000 foot working depths. In addition, he participated as a hyperbaric chamber operator on ground-breaking manned saturation dives in the chamber to depths of 1,500 feet. As the operator, he was responsible for monitoring the well-being of the human volunteers, all trained underwater demolition team members from the U.S. Navy, and assuring their safe ascent to surface pressures. He has one U.S. Patent to his credit for an underwater mooring system.After this experience, Phil worked as an environmental engineer, power plant engineer, trial attorney, corporate executive, and investment banker.Phil has the degree of Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Distinction from the University of Virginia, a Master of Science from Stanford University, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota. He is a registered professional engineer and admitted to the Bar in New York and Minnesota. His biography has been regularly selected for inclusion in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World.

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    Reviews for Falling Star

    3.5/5

    21 ratings7 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I got this as part of the member review program. I am torn on this one. It had lots of action and a good plot, but I got distracted by too many (IMO) unimportant details and it seemed like the book finished with no resolution. I may just not have been in the right frame of mind for this type of book, so will have to give it another read at a later date.
    • 4/5
      I was completely and fully wrapped up in awe with this one. The plot of this book will grab you by your very own fears. The only complaint I have is the characters came in to quick. Otherwise this is one of the best I have read yet.
    • 3/5
      It all began with an anomalous magnetic signal. From there, the situation expanded quickly, drawing in multiple acronym-plagued departments, too many officers to count, and a great amount of confusion, thus eliciting a combination of paranoia and justified concern on the part of the United States government. Chen's story is well thought-out, the many layers of conspiracy a clever merging of the political and the fantastical.When appears to draw upon many of his own experiences in this work, as evidenced by the technical minutiae provided for every underwater vessel, as well as the similarity in background between his education and ethnicity and those of his protagonist, Aloysius "Mike" Liu. In spite of this connection, however, Chen evenly distributes his focus between several key players and avoids focusing solely on the experiences of one. This enriches the storyline by encompassing multiple arenas in which important action is occurring.Unfortunately, there were in fact too many characters introduced over the course of the book. Many of them had intricate backgrounds, which detracted from the story by giving the reader too many things to take in at once. Most of the characters we are told about only appear for one or two scenes, after which they vanish, save for a brief reference later that was nice as a tie-in but not wholly necessary to make the novel work. This book might have benefited from having the spotlight focused on the central characters, with dimmer lighting for what is essentially the background.Perhaps what contributed to the confusion was my distraction by several writing ticks. The author has the tendency to repeat himself, such as restating the subject in every sentence within the same paragraph. This proved to be grating, though thankfully, there were whole sections of text in which this habit did not make an appearance. In their place was the frequent misuse (or lack of use) of commas, semicolons, colons, and long dashes. Between the punctuation problems, the redundancies, and the repeated use of "Suburban's" as the plural form of "Suburban" (the vehicle) nearly had me putting this book down at less than a third of the way through. The slowness of the beginning did not help.Thankfully, I plowed on, and while the writing remained as it ever was, the plot did improve considerably. Though I maintain that the first thirty percent or so of the work could have easily been summarized elsewhere, the rest of it moves in an action-packed method that eventually drew me into piecing together the puzzle alongside CSAC. I did have to pause many times due to the plethora of unnecessary details, such as the exact type of guns that each of a dozen gunmen were holding. At times, I felt as if I were reading either a movie script or a technical manual or, on occasion, a character's résumé. Even so, this may appeal to readers with a greater interest in weaponry than I possess.Falling Star has a lot of potential — the storyline is interesting and original, and it is set up quite nicely for a sequel. The manuscript could stand a few more revisions, however, both for errors and to reduce the amount of extraneous data.
    • 4/5
      Philip Chen's first novel, Falling Star, is a winner. He has successfully combined several often disparate aspects of telling a good story that runs from 1967 to 1993! The characters are believable. The scenes are painted accurately, almost cinema-graphically. The story is believable, pulls the reader along and it is easy to read. It involves espionage, technology, mysticism and mystery woven well together. I could stop here and my critique would be complete. My only serious complaint (aside from the e-book format) was the somewhat abrupt ending that left a few strings dangling perhaps hinting at a sequel. That would be nice.However, I must add that I read Falling Star as an e-book. As a rule, I don't like e-books. I like reading ink on paper. Nonetheless, Chen quickly won this reader over. There are many details in the story that are very familiar or tangentially familiar to me personally. They added the air of authenticity to his story in a way few can. Mr. Chen obviously drew on his personal experience as an engineer, oceanographer, researcher, trial lawyer and investment banker.
    • 3/5
      I got this as part of the member review program. I am torn on this one. It had lots of action and a good plot, but I got distracted by too many (IMO) unimportant details and it seemed like the book finished with no resolution. I may just not have been in the right frame of mind for this type of book, so will have to give it another read at a later date.
    • 4/5
      Mr. Chen has a delightful mastery of the written word. Chen brings the reader through historic events, twisting the facts ever so slightly to include his interesting perspective. Anyone who paid attention to their liberal arts education will love to reminisce in this tale. Chen uses his creative imagination to elaborate on a historical clandestine government conspiracy of extraterrestrial comings and goings. In the end, where Chen really picks up the pace, would have been a good place to start this narrative. Simply put, this story leaves the reader inquisitive about the Falling Star . Keep writing Mr. Chen, this yarn is not finished…I hope.
    • 4/5
      I won a copy of this eBook from a Kindle blog and dove right in as soon as I downloaded it. The story starts out good, and picks up from there. By the time I was halfway through, it was hard to put down. I just wanted to keep turning the pages. It's a thriller, with a bit of a sci-fi bent. The story skillfully combines cold-war military espionage, underwater navel research, and UFOs. Several mysterious, probably extra-terrestrial, objects are discovered at the bottom of the ocean. The US government establishes a program to monitor these objects. After several decades of observation, the objects begin to generate activity. Throughout the book, we watch the main character, Mike, and his involvement with the objects, from their discovery to the (almost) present day. Along the way, Mike and other government agents have to deal with unknown cold-war era threats. I really enjoyed how well this was written, both in terms of plot and character development. On the surface, several of the characters appear somewhat stereotypical, but I think their portrayal was appropriate and reasonable. Several times, the author touches on the subject of racism. He refrains from being preachy, however, and each treatment of racism is essential to either move the plot or develop a character. I was really impressed by that touch. I don't know much about underwater exploration, but it's obvious that the author does. His description of the underwater scenes were technical and vivid enough, without being burdensome, to clearly portray the action that takes place. He puts me right in the submersible with the characters. It was lots of fun to read. The story told is a great stand-alone tale. It wraps itself up neatly, but also leaves a few small loose ends, which provide an obvious opportunity for a sequel, or even a series. I hope the author releases a sequel. When he does, I'll be first in line to get a copy.

    Book preview

    Falling Star - Philip Chen

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