Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I really wanted to like this book. Dolphins are incredible creatures and all the data shows they are likely sentient intelligent beings with a complex language and social structure. The book's premise of being able to communicate with them is well constructed and plausible. The problem with this book (besides a plethora of typos) is the story line is a mess. The characters make unbelievably irrational and often cliche decisions. "Leave me, save yourselves" and "I'm going, but I'm going alone". It just didn't make any sense. Why would anyone even think to do that when a much better solution is staring you right in the face? All the suspense and action in this book is rooted in incredibly contrived situations that are simply not plausible. Some of the 'science' of the book is so off the wall it doesn't even work in context of the story. It also bothers me that despite how much the scientists care for the dolphins and upon discovering just how intelligent and undeniably sentient they are, the characters are blind to how morally wrong it is to keep the dolphins in captivity as (essentially) slaves. WTF Moments: SPOILERS and why it only gets 2 stars: Why was Palin's son even ON the boat? The whole story hinges on him getting caught but there was absolutely no reason presented for him to be there in the first place. The author spends almost a whole chapter explaining how vastly superior technology the ring is and generates more power than anyone on earth can even comprehend. Then, they want to go pick a fight with the people who created it? Ok, these are grandstanding politicians and military leaders, maybe they would pick a fight. I withdraw my objection. When they found out the motives and actions of the off-worlders, why not even look at a diplomatic resolution? Earth could have easily exchanged the water for huge advances in technology and scientific knowledge. The aliens could have even helped them fix the ice shelf that was going to break off. Sure war is profitable, but the technology would have been exponentially more profitable. When the special ops team attacked the lab, why didn't they immediately exit safely through the gateway? Palin, Clay, and Caesar had a second chance to do that after the scientists made a run for it but decided to have a shootout instead. WTF? Why would Alison go out on the boat alone? It makes no sense. Oh right, so we can see the engine fail and create suspense with a ticking clock and a dolphin that saves the day using tricks it was forced to learn at sea world. So the president can't launch a second nuclear weapon without the vice president, the nuclear football, and launch codes, but his right hand man can launch his nuclear strike with a simple phone call? WTF? How did the city and ring survive the nuclear bomb? Palin said they weren't prepared for an attack like that. If they transported the nuke a few miles away like the torpedoes, why not transport it out to space where it wouldn't cause any a massive tidal wave and a hundred million deaths? Why not transport it to the other side of the planet so the proximity trigger didn't even activate? If the aliens could pluck the dolphin out of the water (without the brick mind you) why didn't they pluck Palin out of jail? Or when he was getting shot at and he did have the brick? They made such a big deal about how few of their race was left. Why didn't they transport Alison and the other dolphin to get them out of harm's way? The whole try at all carbon based life eventually evolves into a human out of 'practicality' shows a complete lack of understanding of science and biology. Humans are not the inevitable "pinnacle" of evolution, we're not even an end in a chain. Does our understanding of evolution change as we learn more? yes of course, but empirical data disproved that hypothesis long ago. It's like saying, "well actually the sun rotates around the earth, which is really flat". And finally the ending... Wait, what? just what? WTF? Have you never thrown two stones in a pond before? The waves don't just magically cancel each other out. If the amplitudes of both tidal waves were exactly the same and they were exactly out of phase, the height of the water would be 0 where they crossed due to destructive interference. But the waves would pass right through each other and continue on their way. Yay, two massive tidal waves with a free side radiation soaked water. Oh, and the epilogue... The author is like, just kidding, no one actually died, not even the dolphin with a nuke going off on his back. I was seriously waiting for the last line to say, "suddenly, john clay woke up gasping for breath...it was all a dream".