SciFi
Archimedes’ Claw is a SciFi adventure written by Theodore Morrison Homa MD, a former physician who describes near death experiences as “blessings in disguise because they give survivors the extra nudge needed to chase down unfulfilled goals.” For Dr. Homa this meant writing an epic novel he always dreamed of.
His story is compelling in and of itself. He recovered from cardiac arrest and a heart transplant. He used his own personal experiences as inspiration for his story.
“Like the main character, I found myself in an unexpected situation that led me on a path to self discovery,” Dr. Homa said. “The topic of time travel was very powerful to me.”
My first impressions of the book were that it was an attractive cover. I know that there is the old adage you can’t judge a book by its cover, but there is something appealing about the city skyline and the starry sky with the spiral gold and orange vortex in the center. It definitely identifies the book firmly in the SciFi genre.
They synopsis on the back was short and sweet, but gave enough information to sufficiently intrigue me to want to know more.
The Prologue was by far the best written part. It was immediately engaging and pulled me into the book immediately. It was well written, excellent description, and moved the story along well. It gave me a sense of where the direction of the book was going and I wanted to know more.
The rest of the book was not as tight as the Prologue. Overall, I think it was well edited, but there were some flow issues. I enjoyed the explanations into the science and technology tremendously, which most SciFi buffs can appreciate. It gave plausible scientific basis while at the same time allowing for the necessary suspension of belief that comes with the genre.
The flow issues are what most new authors struggle with. What is relevant and what moves the story forward? Oftentimes we are emotionally attached to certain parts of our manuscript and don’t wish to edit them out even though they should.
The other part that lacked for me was the relationships between the main character and the other main characters particularly his wife. I think it pushed to a point, but not quite far enough. It was good, but with more development it could have gone from good to great. That being said, there was still an emotional connection established with the characters, I just would have liked to have seen more.
The one last thing with the flow was too much time was spent on the beginning mystery and less on the action at the end. It was unbalanced. If it had been more evenly divided, or more evenly distributed throughout the book, I think the flow would have worked better and made a great novel.
The story concept was great. The science behind it solid, and it had sufficient twists to keep you engaged in the story. The main character is well developed and you get a sense of who he is and his inner conflict.
Overall, it was a good first outing for the Doctor, and it is worth reading. I would give this Three and half out of five stars.
Archimedes’Claw
By Theodore Morrison Homa, MD
ISBN> 9781463438791
Approx. 260 pages
Hardback: Retail price: $32.95
E-book price: $9.99
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