An eccentric mix of sentimental fantasy and military SF that’s touched by an angel.
An unassuming businessman must go on a mission into deep space with U.S. Marines and a literal guardian angel in this SF/fantasy series installment.
Dwyer continues his Fortress of Time series, taking up his story right where the previous entry, The Return of TAU (2020), left off. Self-described “nerdy economist” Jonathan Prescott, who neglected his missing family due to his workaholic ways, now has a cosmic crisis on top of his domestic regrets; he’s been thrust into dire interplanetary conflict against aliens who dwell in dimensional space “valleys” close to Earth. The worst opponents are evil body snatchers called the Nardomons—the real name of the bulbous-headed, spindly “Greys” of flying-saucer lore. To reproduce, the Nardomons genetically infect and transform other races, and currently, their prey are the Kronogons. The latter are advanced shape-shifters who normally possess reptilian features; they’re turtlelike in their regular lives but grow into fearsome, giant anaconda shapes in the event of battle. TAU, a key Kronogon, recently became an ally and friend to Jonathan, whose wife and daughter were killed in a previous tragedy and then resurrected thanks to Kronogon medical superscience; then they were kidnapped by the wicked Nardomons and used as a bargaining chip in the running battles that take up much of this book’s narrative. Another victim in Nardomon custody is TAU’s grandson PI, a youth who has impressively shape-shifted into a muscular, human-turtle-anaconda form. PI becomes the host for the mind of SA-Janus, a cruel Nardomon warlord whom Jonathan recently killed. The two minds, trapped together, wrestle and bargain with each other for control of PI’s body for much of the story. At other points, the narrative cuts back to Jonathan, TAU, a sea captain, and other far-fetched characters on a mission to rescue imperiled hostages of the Nardomons.
Other players include the Tralons—another race of shape-shifters who ran afoul of Nardomons, who manifest themselves as either gnome-people or solid balls. This prompts some passages that may induce double takes, such as “My balls are most ingenious.” But for SF readers, the most confused reactions may be in response to Angelina, a beautiful demi-angel tasked with defending Jonathan from harm, although her divinity prevents her from actually taking others’ lives. She must also endure the pain of unrequited love and other trials in order to earn full angel status—rather a bit like the character of Clarence in the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. (It’s no surprise, then, that many readers will see a bit of the young James Stewart in the put-upon Jonathan.) The deep theological and scientific implications of the existence of bona fide guardian angels intrude on the adventure only rarely; to the aliens, Angelina is just another Earth being with some handy superpowers. The complicated plot catches fire with some well-paced, high-stakes scenes involving warfare, strategy, and calamities playing out among the various ensembles. The finale wraps things up, for now, but it also points the way toward an inevitable future sequel.
An eccentric mix of sentimental fantasy and military SF that’s touched by an angel.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 290
Publisher: Manuscript
Review Posted Online: Nov. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
An ambitious but plodding space odyssey.
Having survived a disastrous deep space mission in 2038, three asteroid miners plan a return to their abandoned ship to save two colleagues who were left behind.
Though bankrolled through a crooked money laundering scheme, their original project promised to put in place a program to reduce the CO2 levels on Earth, ease global warming, and pave the way for the future. The rescue mission, itself unsanctioned, doesn't have a much better chance of succeeding. All manner of technical mishaps, unplanned-for dangers, and cutthroat competition for the precious resources from the asteroid await the three miners. One of them has cancer. The international community opposes the mission, with China, Russia, and the United States sending questionable "observers" to the new space station that gets built north of the moon for the expedition. And then there is Space Titan Jack Macy, a rogue billionaire threatening to grab the riches. (As one character says, "It's a free universe.") Suarez's basic story is a good one, with tense moments, cool robot surrogates, and virtual reality visions. But too much of the novel consists of long, sometimes bloated stretches of technical description, discussions of newfangled financing for "off-world" projects, and at least one unneeded backstory. So little actually happens that fixing the station's faulty plumbing becomes a significant plot point. For those who want to know everything about "silicon photovoltaics" and "orthostatic intolerance," Suarez's latest SF saga will be right up their alley. But for those itching for less talk and more action, the book's many pages of setup become wearing.
An ambitious but plodding space odyssey.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-18363-2
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
A huge, churning, relentlessly entertaining melodrama buoyed by confidence that human values will prevail.
A rare, rattling space opera—first of a trilogy, or series, from Corey (aka Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck).
Humanity colonized the solar system out as far as Neptune but then exploration stagnated. Straight-arrow Jim Holden is XO of an ice-hauler swinging between the rings of Saturn and the mining stations of the Belt, the scattered ring of asteroids between Mars and Jupiter. His ship's captain, responding to a distress beacon, orders Holden and a shuttle crew to investigate what proves to be a derelict. Holden realizes it's some sort of trap, but an immensely powerful, stealthed warship destroys the ice-hauler, leaving Holden and the shuttle crew the sole survivors. This unthinkable act swiftly brings Earth, with its huge swarms of ships, Mars with its less numerous but modern and powerful navy, and the essentially defenseless Belt to the brink of war. Meanwhile, on the asteroid Ceres, cynical, hard-drinking detective Miller—we don't find out he has other names until the last few pages—receives orders to track down and "rescue"—i.e. kidnap—a girl, Julie Mao, who rebelled against her rich Earth family and built an independent life for herself in the Belt. Julie is nowhere to be found but, as the fighting escalates, Miller discovers that Julie's father knew beforehand that hostilities would occur. Now obsessed, Miller continues to investigate even when he loses his job—and the trail leads towards Holden, the derelict, and what might prove to be a horrifying biological experiment. No great depth of character here, but the adherence to known physical laws—no spaceships zooming around like airplanes—makes the action all the more visceral. And where Corey really excels is in conveying the horror and stupidity of interplanetary war, the sheer vast emptiness of space and the amorality of huge corporations.
A huge, churning, relentlessly entertaining melodrama buoyed by confidence that human values will prevail.Pub Date: June 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-316-12908-4
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Orbit/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
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