A review by daphself
The Ghost Mine by Ben Wolf

4.0

This was a pretty good sci-fi thriller. It did remind me a little bit of Aliens, but not overly much. I would say that Ben Wolf is a lot better than Stephen King in bringing about twists, supernatural style elements, and character arcs.
This is the kind of science fiction that I remember. The main character isn't the gung-ho hero, but he, as the priest says in the book, took courage to do what was needed. Even though, slight spoiler alert here, there were some things he did that brought about the demise of others, his emotions and behavior were authentic. The story portrayed the gentle story arc that makes a good novel into a great novel.

Flawed characters are the best characters, and Justin Barclay is the epitome of flawed.

While I really enjoyed the book I did not like the vulgarity within it. Small words or slight profanity here and there could have been overlooked, but all that was in the book was not necessary. The story would have been much stronger without all that. It didn't make the characters or the situation more realistic; it added a crassness that diminished the impact the story could have made.

And that brings me to another confusing part of the book. The author professes his belief in Christ and the first acknowledgement is to the Lord Jesus Christ, so the vulgarity in the book is in odds with what he professes. I can't reconcile those two things.

Overall, a really good science fiction story that exceeded my expectations.
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