Prospectors who have crashed on a remote planet find a series of alien transportation devices which lead lead to other worlds and dimensions.
In the year 2075, overpopulation has grown to unprecedented levels and unemployment is approaching 60%. Oil and most other natural resources on Earth are long gone, and forced exploration to other galaxies becomes the law of the land. In the midst of this, a group of would-be prospectors crash-land on a distant planet, and, with no real hope of rescue, begin to explore their hostile new world. And what they find amazes them...
Excerpt
Wendy was examining the control panel. "What's this?"
I was standing behind her. Kayleen was exploring the abbreviated hallway. She was down by the large chamber. "Huh. It's an electronic device." There were only two buttons on the panel, one over the other. "Maybe it's a light switch..."
"Yeah, maybe." Without discussing it she pushed the top button. A flash of light came from the direction of the chamber. We both turned to look.
There wasn't a sign of Kayleen. She was simply gone, vanished. A thin gray dust floated in the air as the walls turned from white back to red. We ran back to where Kayleen had been.
"Kayleen!" Wendy called out. "Where did she go?"
"You vaporized her!"
She considered this for a moment and then shook her head. "Don't be silly. They wouldn't have a destruction chamber in here. What purpose would that serve?"
"Well, then, where did she go?"
She shook her head again, thinking it over. After a moment we returned to the control panel. "There's two buttons," she pointed out.
I shrugged and snaked out a hand. I pushed the lower button.
There was another flash of light and Kayleen gradually materialized at the far end of the corridor. She was grinning and seemed very tan.
She ran out to us. "Thank God!" she blurted. "I thought you'd forgotten about me!"
I was examining her. She seemed fitter than before although slightly emaciated. Her hair was tangled and streaked from the sun. Her face was as brown as a walnut. "What are you talking about? It's only been a few seconds..."
She goggled at me. "Are you crazy? It's been three days and two nights! I'd just about given up! And there wasn't that much to eat; I was living on nuts and berries."
"Where did you go?" Wendy asked.
Professional Reviews
Compulsion Reads - July 1,2013
It's bad enough that by the year 2075 overpopulation and the automization of most jobs has forced many earth residents to seek menial labor positions on other planets. However, things are about to get worse for Danny Jones and a small group of his fellow Colonial Work Force recruits when their passenger ship breaks down (most company equipment is in utter disrepair) and their escape pod brings them to a hostile planet. It seems to be a question of what will kill them first - the acid rain, vicious lion-squirrels, or their own incompetence.
Things get interesting when one of the group members, Wendy, discovers an ancient alien ship on the planet that contains multiple portals that take them to different worlds. Danny, Wendy and their quickly-dwindling group of fellow survivors explore the alien technology even as they continue to face steep odds of survival.
Portals sets readers up with an interesting plot. I was especially intrigued by the juxtaposition of the disintegrating human society that Danny and Wendy were from and the ghosts of the ancient aliens that the book's characters slowly uncover. It was interesting to follow the characters into the different worlds of the portals, never knowing what they were about to face (I can hardly imagine what the characters felt!) and to watch them guess at the intentions of a long-dead alien race based on the artifacts and technology they left behind.
Author Barry M. Vass gives us a plot-driven story in Portals, but I felt it could have used a little more character depth. Though the book is written in first person from Danny's point of view, I felt distant from him and the other characters.
For those looking for a science fiction adventure, Portals won't take you to a whole new world; it will take you all over the universe.
KSRTEXAS - Reader Review - Feb 27, 2013
I would have given this book a Five-star rating but it leaves you hanging. I won't spoil it for anyone who wants to read it (and I do think it's a good read) but you will want more at the end!
So here's what I liked:
*other worlds
*alien technology
*alien creatures
*good character development
*a story line that keeps your interest without being verbose
I enjoyed it immensely, but I want to know what happens next on several levels!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Vivian Chase - Reader Review - Jan 29, 2013
I read this on my Kindle. This is a quick, suspenseful book. I couldn't put it down, so I finished it in one day. The story is not corny, it is actually believable considering it is about the future. His writing is so descriptive you actually have a pretty clear vision of what the characters were seeing and feeling. The only reason I didn't give it five stars, I guess, is that I wanted more. Thanks, Barry for a great read. Vivian
This was no mere illusion. Colin Chase Rand, pulled through a magical portal, landed in 1935 where the dust bowl and the Great Depression was destroying lives, and a serial killer was in their midst
