Category: Science Fiction Publisher: All Interest Books
ISBN-10: 0953824500
Type: Fiction
Pages: 220
Copyright: Jan 1 2000
Disappearing space craft, a strange white glow,and a missing space station create a baffling puzzle.
A white hole is moving through our universe so quickly that it is moving through time itself. Everything in its path disappears including a huge space station, its crew and many other spacecraft. Even to find its trajectory or position is nearly beyond human endeavour. Jim is plunged into another alternate dimension so strange as to defy belief - a universe that is almost a negative. Stranded on the surface of a large planet his craft is mysteriously taken below the surface where a wondrous internal world of alien technology exists, a world within a world that at its centre contains clouds and large rock formations plus the vista of a huge floating ocean.
Can Jim find the answers and the missing crew of the space station amongst a universe of chaos and ancient mystic machinery.
Excerpt
“Bringing into action the space-time-dimension telescope.”
Beldan blinked as the hologram viewer came into life, a huge three-dimensional picture filling half the room with its vision, showing the space-time-dimension spiral, slowly pulsating and turning.
The scene gradually dissolved from the spiral into one of many suns and planets, an immense glowing aura of light. The computer spoke again.
“I am relaying information from central Headquarters and linking it with the telescope. The present view is one of our own Galaxy from scanner four, the scanner is now turning in the opposite direction.”
The picture slowly moved, showing first the edge of the Galaxy and then emptiness until a lone glowing tiny spot of light appeared and centralised. The computer resumed.
‘The Silus Galaxy, two hundred thousand light years in distance.”
The picture transformed as the computer linked from scanner four, five, six and seven, each one enlarging on the other, to scanner eight on the edge of the Silus Galaxy. In the centre was an eerie glowing light of great brilliance, which seemed to be moving slightly every minute. Beldan spoke to the computer.
“Augur… Information – is that a Super-Nova?” The computer replied.
“Negative – it is a UP – unknown phenomenon. The scanners have been placed on its trajectory so that we can observe its movement and construction." A large white hole appeared in front of them, brilliant light in the middle, fading towards the edges. "Fifty miles in diameter, quarter of a mile in depth – everything passing through disappears, this includes life forms but excludes planets or stars. Its speed is incomprehensible."
Professional Reviews
Conan Tigard-Bookbrowser
A White Hole is transversing the galaxy at an enormous pace. Anything in its path seems to disappear from normal space as the White Hole overtakes it. After a Space Station and the IGC 10 disappear into the unknown phenomenon (UP), Jim Long, along with Gail and Norman, compute out the path of the UP, let it pass, gather some more data, and then move into the path of the UP. Their mission…find the lost ships and return then to normal space. As the UP overtakes them, they end up in a universe where space is no longer black…but white and stars appear black. They soon find the ship and the station orbiting a planet. After a harrying trip to the surface, their fighter ship is mysteriously taken into the interior of the planet. Stranded on the surface, Jim has no choice but to go below the surface. There he finds a wondrous world where the natives that live there have all but forgotten how to use the technology there. And somewhere down there in the hollowed out planet with its floating oceans and gyroscopic fighter ships are the missing member of the space station and the IGC 10.
This is the second book on the Jim Long – Space Agent series. The first book in the series is called The Ancient Ones of Light. It is a science fiction story that takes place in the distant future. Most of this story takes place in an alternate universe inside a rather strange planet. This universe is vastly different from ours and the normal laws of physics do not apply there. Jim has to use all of his wits to save the lost humans in this chaotic universe.
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Having been disappointed with the first book in this series, I wasn’t suite sure what to expect when I picked up this one. But in the five years that separate the two books, Robin G. Howard has greatly improved his story telling. This story is compelling and the alternate universe he has created is very interesting. The author has made his main character more human this time around, not really relying on his super human powers as much, but more on his intelligence. This made it a lot easier for the reader to identify with the main character. But I must say that the ending seemed a little rushed and didn’t quite give me the closure that I was looking for. This book is probably targeted for Young Adults and there is nothing in the book that would be offensive to younger readers. But this would be for the older of the younger readers, like in the latter teens. As I stated earlier, this book is quite an improvement over Robin G. Howard’s first book and I look forward to reading about more adventures starring Jim Long – Space Agent.
I rated this book a 7 out of 10.
BookBrowser Review:
The White Hole
by
Robin G. Howard
All Interest Books, November 2000, 208 pp.
ISBN: 0953824500
Genre: Speculative Fiction
Subgenre(s): Science Fiction
Reviewer: Conan Tigard
Reviewed: 12/16/2000
Jim Long – Space Agent #2
”The Silus Galaxy, two hundred thousand light years in distance.”
The picture transformed as the computer linked from scanner four, five, six and seven, each one enlarging on the other, to scanner eight on the edge of the Silus Galaxy. In the centre was an eerie glowing light of great brilliance, which seemed to be moving slightly every minute. Beldan spoke to the computer.
”Augur…Information – is that a Super Nova?”
The computer replied, ”Negative – it is a UP – unknown phenomenon. The scanners have been placed on its trajectory so that we can observe its movement and construction.” A large white hole appeared in front of them, brilliant light in the middle, fading towards the edges. “Fifty miles in diameter, quarter of a mile in depth – everything passing through disappears, this includes life forms but excludes planets or stars. Its speed is incomprehensible.” The energy form could actually be seen with the naked eye, moving through the galaxy.
A White Hole is traversing the galaxy at an enormous pace. Anything in its path seems to disappear from normal space is the White Hole overtakes it. After a Space Station and the IGC 10 disappear into the unknown phenomenon (UP), Jim Long, along with Gail and Norman, compute out the path of the UP, let it pass, gather some more data, and then move into the path of the UP. Their mission…find the lost ships and return then to normal space. As the UP overtakes them, they end up in a universe where space is no longer black…but white and stars appear black. They soon find the ship and the station orbiting a planet. After a harrying trip to the surface, their fighter ship is mysteriously taken into the interior of the planet. Stranded on the surface, Jim has no choice but to go below the surface.
Page2.
There he finds a wondrous world where the natives that live there have all but forgotten how to use the technology. And somewhere down there in the hollowed out planet with its floating oceans and gyroscopic fighter ships are the missing members of the space station and the IGC 10.
This is the second book on the Jim Long – Space Agent series. The first book in the series is called The Ancient Ones of Light. It is a science fiction story that takes place in the distant future. Most of this story takes place in an alternate universe inside a rather strange planet. This universe is vastly different from ours and the normal laws of physics do not apply there. Jim has to use all of his wits to save the lost humans in this chaotic universe.
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Having been disappointed with the first book in this series, I wasn’t suite sure what to expect when I picked up this one. But in the five years that separate the two books, Robin G. Howard has greatly improved his story telling. This story is compelling and the alternate universe he has created is very interesting. The author has made his main character more human this time around, not really relying on his super human powers as much, but more on his intelligence. This made it a lot easier for the reader to identify with the main character. This book is probably targeted for Young Adults and there is nothing in the book that would be offensive to younger readers. But this would be for the older of the younger readers, like in the latter teens. As I stated earlier, this book is quite an improvement over Robin G. Howard’s first book and I look forward to reading about more adventures starring Jim Long – Space Agent.
I rated this book a 7 out of 10.
from Bookcrossing.com -members
I enjoyed reading this book. It has a nostalgic feel for me, taking me
back to my first youthful excursions into science fiction. If you don't mind
a lack of in-depth characterisation, but want a jolly romp through space
with a righteous crew and a few whiz-bang gadgets, this is the book for you!
Likely to appeal to an adolescent audience, and those of a certain age who
wish to forget that for a while. - London
it has a nice "old school sci-fi" background.
Plus good ideas (the hollow planet!). – France
This chair is not your grandmother's rocking chair! In fact, you wouldn't want your grandmother or any loved one near it! So find a well lit room and enjoy an intense read of this Sci-Fi thriller.
