Thomas P Hopp

A clever idea with so so writing. The earth is invaded by dinosaurs that have been (sort of) hibernating on the moon since the big asteroid hit millions of years ago. The dinosaurs’ moon base is discovered and then accidently reactivated. The dinos use a laser weapon from the moon to knock out the earth’s communication facilities and military hardware and the invasion begins. The writing, however, is not up to the idea. The segment with the scientists working at the JPL to reactivate the satellite is fine but most of the writing lacks polish and the author relies too much on stereotyped characters: the absent minded professor, the plucky cowgirl heroine, the dim-witted and/or kill crazy military officers, etc.… (lisätietoja)

The Duwamish river has been dredged and shaped into a shipping hub, surrounded by the medium heavy industries that like close proximity to easy international freight. The land once belonged to the Duwamish, a branch of the Salish tribe that inhabited the area when Europeans moved in. Unrecognized, the Duwamish dwindled in number without a reservation or a dedicated tribal government to keep them together. The tribe persevered even so. Hopp’s story interacts more with a few Duwamish members rather than the Duwamish area, which doesn’t have the distinctly Native American feel implied by the text. The crime is that of red tide poisoning, where someone has distilled the poisonous substances from the tide and used it to murder someone. The hero is Peyton McKean, a virologist of some sort. He stars in Hopp’s self-published novel The Jihad Virus. He has a journalist sidekick who comes running to write up McKean’s exploits in mutual symbiosis. While sufficiently noirish, it’s utterly predictable and clunkily written. Good for bringing some exposure to the Duwamish cause, however.… (lisätietoja)