A Page Turner From Beginning To End!
5 out of 5 stars
My review of Containment is funny for me to come back to. I talk about being compelled to write a review for it – since back when this was written (pre-blog) – I apparently only reviewed random books that jumped out at me. Now, knowing that this one did, it rocketed Cantrell into an upper echelon of authors in my opinion. I still think back on how much I enjoyed this book – but I should really re-read it and see what I enjoyed so much about it. AND then check out the second book.
Okay, so I don’t think I’ve felt “compelled” to write a review in a long time… or really ever for that fact. But after I finished Containment I was just thrilled. I actually wanted more. A lot of the reviews I have glanced at bashed the technical detail that Cantrell included, but I couldn’t have imagined it without it.
Yes, there is a large amount of detail when it comes to the technology… but it is a SCIENCE fiction book, so expect to have some kind of science in it. The things that Cantrell chose to explain in detail made the book better in my opinion by allowing my mind to not wander and wonder how or why something worked the way it did. In my personal opinion– there wasn’t a thing in the book that was explained that didn’t need to be explained.
On to characters — they were all very believable with a few twists and turns included. There are definite protagonists and even an unexpected antagonist. This was one aspect where Cantrell let you decide who you liked and didn’t like. He allowed my mind to wonder who is good and bad (which I enjoyed).
The world he painted with the descriptions, technical details, and people he explained (or chose not to) made this book very readable. I finished it over a course of a few days and found myself craving more.
Book Description:
The colony on Venus was not built because the destruction of Earth was possible, but because it was inevitable…
A brilliant young scientist and one of the first humans born on Venus, Arik works tirelessly to perfect the science of artificial photosynthesis, a project crucial to the future of his home, V1. The colony was built on the harsh Venusian surface by the Founders, the first humans to establish a permanent extraterrestrial settlement. Arik’s research becomes critical when he awakens from an unexplained, near-fatal accident and learns that his wife is three months pregnant. Unless Arik’s research uncovers a groundbreaking discovery, V1’s oxygen supply will not be able to support the increase in population that his baby represents.
As Arik works against time, he begins to untangle the threads of his accident, which seem inextricably linked to what lies outside the protective walls of V1—a world where the caustic atmosphere and extreme heat make all forms of known life impossible. For its entire existence, Arik’s generation has been expected to help solve the problems of colonization. But as Arik digs deeper and deeper, he discovers alarming truths about the planet that the Founders have kept hidden. With growing urgency and increasing peril, Arik finds himself on a journey that will push him to the limits of his intelligence and take him beyond the unimaginable.
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