You never know quite what to expect from these books where the author is unfortunately no longer with us, and the book has been written from their notes, but this stands up well against the first book. Very much in the Crichton style. It helps if you read The Andromeda Strain first, as it makes it much easier to get into this book. It has been very interesting reading these during the coronavirus lockdown period.

I was torn rating this. The writing is fine. It emulates the style of the original andromeda strain novel, that of a true life account type book. But... unlike the original there is a problem. The problem for me is the plot. The story just doesn't work for me. Yes its science fiction. But there are elements that strain the incredulity at times. The characters are ok but again there are moments I found annoying simply because they are there purely as a convenient plot device such as a character being able to translate a language in seconds. And the rather conveniently provided two spacesuits that happen to be the right sizes for the hero characters. I enjoyed the original book but whilst this is an ok read it doesn't make me interested in any potential sequels. As always feel free to make up your own minds though.