Not a bad book; but not Coonts' best work by any accounting.

I've read every book Stephen Coonts has written, and this one was great. I was a bit skeptical when I read the description, but decided to take a chance. I'm glad I did. After so many novels with Jake Grafton and Tommy Carmellini, Coonts ventures into new territory with a new, unlikely hero. The subject was risky- flying saucers evoke immediate skepticism- but Coonts handles it masterfully and expertly weaves the conspiracy theories into the story line. The result is a fun, fast-paced story with enough scientific foundation that it's plausible, but doesn't get bogged down with technical details. Saucer is a lighter tone than his previous novels- more like James Patterson than previous Coonts novels- and it's well written and entertaining. I was very pleasantly surprised, and I really enjoyed this book.

I really enjoyed this book. The story was light hearted and didn't seem to take itself too seriously. Not with a protagonist named Rip, and a senator named Blowhard. The story is about a student who discovers a real flying saucer buried in the Sahara, and finds himself zipping around the globe with U.S. Air Force pilot Charley Pine, in order to keep the saucer's secrets from falling into the hands of an unscrupulous Australian business man. To be honest, I got the feeling the author almost intended this to be a children's book. The story reminded me a lot of a Disney movie called "Flight of the Navigator". Almost the same basic premise. It's a fun adventure story that I wouldn't mind reading to my kids, due to it's lack of language or sexual content.