From Library JournalIn a departure from his Jake Grafton series, Coonts (America, Hong Kong, Cuba) introduces Rip Cantrell, a 22-year-old seismic surveyor who finds a flying saucer that has been buried in the Sahara for 140,000 years. Everyone wants it, including nasty billionaires and bad governments, and Rip's job is to keep it out of their hands. With air force pilot Charlotte (Charley) Pine, he learns to fly the beast and keep it away from the bad guys. Coonts's many fans may be disappointed, as what could have been a great adventure novel fails badly. Is Saucers meant as a satire? A comedy? High adventure? All of the above? The result is, in fact, none of the above. Even considering the topic, the plot is implausible, and the book also suffers from cardboard characters and wooden dialog. Cartoonish fun but definitely "Coonts Light"; for larger collections. Robert Conroy, Warren, MICopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.From BooklistRip Cantrell, doing seismic surveys in the Sahara, stumbles across a 140,000-year-old flying saucer in working condition. The air force sends beautiful ex-test pilot Charley Pine to investigate. Rip and Charley then have to fly for their lives, learning saucer-piloting as they go, from grabby, demonic Australian billionaire Hedrick, who wants to sell the saucer to the highest bidder. Eventually Rip and Charley get help from Rip's Missouri tinker uncle, Egg, and eventually the Air and Space Museum gets the saucer after, in the manner of thrillers, Hedrick and other would-be saucer-grabbers get theirs. Coonts doesn't always reach the highest level of logic here, but his knack for pacing and action is sound, and his sense of humor is ready for such developments as the effect of the saucer's antigravity on a pop-foul ball. He treats the romance of Rip and the eight-years-older Charley affectionately, and he shows a soaring passion for flying. The rather lighthearted thriller-cum-romance-cum-sf-novel could be called Rip and Charley's Excellent Adventure. Coonts stalwarts will find that reading this reminds them of his nonfiction book about flying an antique biplane, The Cannibal Queen (1992), rather than one of his Jake Grafton yarns. Roland GreenCopyright American Library Association. All rights reserved Coonts knows how to write and build suspense. The New York Times Book Tough to put down. Publishers WeeklyA comic, feel-good sf adventure. Kirkus sCoonts is a natural storyteller. USA Today why do you read Saucer (Saucer Series)
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Saucer, one of the best UFO books writtenBy Kindle CustomerOne of the best UFOWho knew Stephen Coonts could write engrossing Sci-Fi? This is the start of an well thought and researched set of books that start with a young man, Rip Cantrell, on a summer job surveying in the Sahara desert and notices a glint in a rock formation and proceeds to excavate it. Unable to identify the metal.he enlist the aid of an archaeological dig close by. The archaeologist gets excited and they unearth a flying? Saucer. Of course, one of Rips crew calls it in to his boss. But, before he can act, the Air Force brings in a team with Charley Pine, a female pilot. By this time, Rip has managed to get the hatch open. And looked around to find everything as if it were new. The Air Force wants it. Rip figures it his since he found it. And as dusk approaches. A Lybian helicoptor shows up, shooting starts. Rip grabs Charley and takes her in the saucer. She manages to get it airborne and the story goes ballistic at this point. One of the best UFO story's I have ever read. A mix of believable Tech and and a great storyline that continues throughto the second book. Saucer, The Conquest. I am dying to read the third installment. I am confident you will feel the same way from the beginning. Job well done, Stephen1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Fun Read.By Susannah St Clair Foxy LoxySometimes one forgets just how fun a writers wild imagination can be! That is the case with this book, Saucer by Stephen Coonts. I do believe it has all the excitement one might get from and actual true to life saucer ride. It begins in the Sahara with our soon to be high flying friend, Rip Cantrell. He is working for a company doing a seismic shoot having to do with oil drilling. Its just a summer job to Rip who is studying Engineering at college. As he is holding a stadia rod he catches a bright reflection seeming to come from a spot about a mile away. As he continues.. he tries to figure out just what might be out there miles and miles from anything or anybody that would cause such a thing.He talks the guys he is working with to make a short trip out in the dunes to see what it might be. There begins the tale. The bright shiny object turns out to be a Space Ship, a Flying Saucer just like in the Fantasy Sci fi movies. Unknown to Rip, one of the workers is not such a good guy and he ends up using a satellite phone to call a friend who had told him to keep an eye out for anything interesting that showed up. He figured, rightly, that a flying saucer would be such a thing. Along about the same time, the Duty Officer at Space Command in Colorado had a satellite image with a strange anomaly on it and called in her boss. They send a spy plane from Area 51.. yeah, THAT area 51 to see what the strange craft might be. Enter the Air Force. They pop over to get a look see too then the Aussies show up. Remember that phone call? Eventually the Libyans show up too.. it is after all, somewhat in their country that al this is happening. Things go very badly and Rip gets the woman test pilot who had come with the Air Force to get into the saucer with him and off they go. From here, the story only gets wilder and more fun. Maybe a bit of scary but not anymore than we are constantly being bombarded with on TV. Rip and Charley ( Charlotte ) steal the saucer, I mean, after all Rip found it. I really loved this book. I so wish they would make it into a movie . It would be better than old Captain America! The writing never lets you down. You move basically from one crisis to another all well woven into the narrative. There are two more and I plan on buying both. Coonts's books have been around for a long time. I was surprised to find that I had missed them! So if you like a great story and a bit of science fiction tossed about. Read this. It is a fun, fun read.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Saucer is fun!By LizaMy favourite books are rather gloomy,violent novels written mostly by ex-military, so I do not know why I bought Saucer but what a fun that book was!Saucer is rather childish,simple but witty book which made me laugh a lot.The sudden discovery of 140 thousand years old alien spacecraft in Sahara and travelling with that Saucer all over the world is one big and enjoyable adventure.Because I want to have more of a good time and laughs I will start reading the second book in the Saucer series right after I finish this review.And many thanks to brilliant writer Stephen Coonts!