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Availability:
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Jun 6 – Jun 10
Description
In Douglas Preston's Impact, Wyman Ford is tapped for a secret expedition to Cambodia... to locate the source of strangely beautiful gemstones that do not appear to be of this world. A brilliant meteor lights up the Maine coast... and two young women borrow a boat and set out for a distant island to find the impact crater. A scientist at the National Propulsion Facility discovers an inexplicable source of gamma rays in the outer Solar System. He is found decapitated, the data missing. High resolution NASA images reveal an unnatural feature hidden in the depths of a crater on Mars... and it appears to have been activated. Sixty hours and counting. Read more
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Top Amazon Reviews
Format: Kindle
You’ll not want to stop. I was confused at first, but soon the book got exciting. Enjoy! I sure did
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2026 by knitsalot
Format: Hardcover
In typical Preston fashion, he takes a scientific--albeit theoretical--idea, a likable protagonist, a very nasty human being, and a beat-the-clock plot pitting everyone against each other. As in his other undertaking, Blasphemy, we have all the elements of a great thriller, and how he manages to juggle everything without leaving the reader confused is one of his many talents. By bringing the aforementioned scientific theory to life, he is officially in the upper echelons of the Michael Crichton School of Writing. Other authors have tried, and failed, to do what Crichton did effortlessly (e.g., Jurassic Park), and Preston is one of the select few to pull it off. This is what happens when you have a science-educated man writing thrillers for a living; he breathes new life into heretofore incomprehensible concepts, and he does it all by keeping one thing in mind: always entertain the reader. Without giving away the plot points, as it would diminish the book's "impact" when things start revealing themselves, let's just say that Preston once again kept me up very late as I was unable to put the book down. The entire plot, and mini plots, came together so brilliantly in the end I was a bit surprised I didn't see it coming. Hooray for Preston! Most times I see the denouement coming a mile away, but this one left me saying, "Well I'll be dammed!" The reason I'm not giving it five stars is that I felt the characters could have used some more development. Don't get me wrong: I love a page-turning thriller that doesn't spend excessive time on character development (see Stephen King) and less time on action and adventure. This, however, was just shy of being balanced correctly. I wanted to know more about Wyman Ford and his background (I believe he was introduced in Blasphemy), especially since I couldn't remember why his name sounded familiar, and helpful for new Preston readers. Do not let this stop you from reading Impact. You'll enjoy the science, the adventures, the plot, the multiple climaxes, and the final shebang. It gives new meaning to that other book's title, New Moon. Have fun!
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Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2010 by tomfromboston
Format: Kindle
Another fast paced, great fun, super characters story. I love these characters and always look forward to the next one.
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2026 by Amazon Customer
Format: Kindle
Ranging across the Earth (and beyond), Impact is a well-written adventure with finely-developed, nuanced characters and a fun science-fiction story with a conclusion that really makes one think about the Universe (and our place in it). Pretty standard stuff for fans of Doug Preston (and/or Lincoln Child)! This second Wyman Ford adventure occurs after, but not necessarily as a sequel to, the events related in @Tyrannosaur Canyon"; bringing us more action, suspense, international intrigue, and multiple mysterious murders. While I highly recommend that one too, both stories stand very well on their own and do not necessarily NEED to be read in sequence (or lose anything from being read out of order of publication). This one reminded me a lot of Child's excellent "Deep Storm", with a sci-fi twist that is somewhat similar to that story, but in the end, very different. Can't wait to read the next one! -waj
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Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2017 by Bill Jackson III
Format: Kindle
This is book 3 in the Wyman Ford series. This one is quite different from the first two. This is more of a science fiction based tale. Wyman is given another assignment that turns out to be more than what was expected. He investigates further and joins forces with a brilliant young brown goddess named Abby. I'm glad she got the ending she deserved. Murder, mystery and more culminate in an unexpected ending. I did think we should have had a bit more than the brief epilogue, because a good portion of the book is a thriller. Has more in common with Lincoln Child's Deep Storm.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2024 by Admiralu
Format: Hardcover
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have written a number of really interesting and exciting novels together. In recent years, however, both have fallen victim to what I like to call "short chapter syndrome," in which a writer decides his readers are incapable of sustaining interest in any one subject or event for longer than it takes to read three pages. These novels are easy to spot - just open the covers and count the number of chapters (this one has just over 300 pages and literally 100 chapters). The problem with such a method of writing is that the novels become almost totally plot driven, with each mini-chapter driving the action forward in choppy, cliff-hanger-ridden jumps that allow for no character development and very little point beyond the bare bones of a rather ridiculous and incredible plot. "Impact" does have its moments, and it is a fast and fun read that works well on the beach; it won't tax your mind any, that's for sure. But it's disappointing, because Preston (with or without Child) is a talented writer who could (and has) done much better than this. The story is three-pronged - 1) a brilliant young college drop-out is searching for a mysterious meteoroid, 2) a career-driven astrophysicist believes he has discovered evidence of a strange phenomenon in outer space (a phenomenon a lot of people are hell bent on keeping secret), and 3) an ex-CIA operative is commissioned to investigate the sudden appearance of dangerous radioactive gems that have begun showing up all over the world. These three storylines do come together by the end of the novel, and I can't deny that Preston knows how to connect the dots in a very complex and convoluted narrative. I just wish the brilliant young college drop-out wasn't quite so brilliant (by the end of the novel I felt like I was reading one of those young-adult tomes in which a teenager saves the day - since all the adults are stewing in their own stupidity). And I wish the other characters were more than just cardboard types that could be plugged into pretty much any such thriller. Too many successful writers today have learned that once they have a name in the market it's easy to keep raking in the bucks - just map out a plot, churn out those three-page chapters, and wait for the money to flow in. Preston and his contemporaries should take a lesson from Stephen King, Michael Crichton, and Peter Straub - thrillers are better (and much more satisfying) if they are about more than "what happens next." "Impact" is a popcorn novel that could (with just a little more effort) have been a full-course meal.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2010 by Kathy Cunningham
Format: Kindle
I'm a newcomer to Douglas Preston, but I'm very impressed with his work so far. Starting with "Tyrannosaurus Canyon", the first novel in the Wyman Ford series, his books are fascinating, scientifically oriented, extremely thought provoking, and even truly frightening as he deftly tackles subjects one may not give a lot of attention, but sure do after reading his books. "Impact" is a very engaging and spooky novel, as the story starts with a seemingly meteoroid object reported off the coast of Maine, and a much larger new crater in very dangerous Cambodian jungle territory, where a horrific discovering of gems laced with Americum-241, meaning highly radioactive are being trafficked for possible terrorist dirty bomb construction, and killing those forced to mine the stones and those who unknowingly wear the stones and die from radiation poisoning. But that is just the bare bones beginning of a truly gripping altogether plausible story that encompasses a hitherto unimagined threat of global destruction Ford and the world have scant days to neutralize. Preston weaves a tale with accurate science, and unlike Michael Crighton, who turned me off to his books because he couldn't keep his political opinions to himself, and even wrote a disgusting novel attacking global warming, keeps his politics out of the story. His picture is a world encompassing one, and Wyman Ford is a very good character who has to risk life and limb to find out precisely what is going on. I recommend new readers to Preston, especially the Ford Series, to start with the first, "Tyrannosaurus Canyon" and work up from there. A reader can access a great website, fantasticfiction.com and access books and authors galore, where one can find the chronological listings for tons of books, fiction or non-fiction. The stories stand on their own, but the series is well worth the effort to start from the beginning. I look forward to what is a huge volume of books by Preston and sometimes co-author Lincoln Child. Rather than your usual cliched murder mystery where little is gained as far as insights or learning a little something along the way, Preston gives you plenty of food for thought, and that makes the books even more appealing.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2018 by Scott Hedegard
Format: Kindle
Abbey Straw and her best friend Jackie are trying out Abbey’s new telescope when what appears to be a meteor streaks across the night sky and appears to go down somewhere in the ocean. Abbey has a plan to borrow her father’s lobster boat to go in search of it, certain it must be valuable. Mark Corso, the youngest technician on the Mars Mission Project receives a classified hard drive in the mail from his mentor who is recently deceased. With the hard drive came a note asking for Mark’s opinion of the gamma ray data collected from the Mars probe. Gamma ray data? There shouldn’t be any gamma rays from Mars? Mark becomes very paranoid about possessing that hard drive, and he should, for more reasons than he knows. Wyman Ford is once again contracted by the Science Advisor to the President, asking Wyman to check find a mine that yields attractive radioactive stones. So much more is going on than any of these people can imagine, and it all comes together in a way that actually makes sense in this explosive mystery. I enjoyed this Wyman Ford mystery so much more than the last one. There’s still a lot of science in this Preston’s work, but it was far easier for a lay person to understand in IMPACT. I gave this a 4.5 for keeping the action going with great writing and creativity, rounding up to five.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2024 by LynnS77