A sharp, illuminating dystopian tale.
In this second installment of an SF series, a scientist tries to reunite with friends while a pandemic and an imminent war threaten the world.
The FossilFlu virus has devastated Earth, now split into the Sanctuary of Europe, the Sanctuary of Americas, and the Sanctuary of Asia. In Europe, virologist Dr. Mercy Perching has helped keep safe an avian-human hybrid with a genetic immunity to the virus. The Americas’ ruthless leader, the Prime, wants the hybrid for her country, even if it means going to war with Europe. Mercy plans a trip to Asia, where some of her friends—rebels against the Prime—are currently taking refuge. With her traveling companion, government agent Basil Goodman, she plans to bring her cohorts back to Europe. But following a sudden attack during their journey, the two awaken separately in Oasis One. In this apparent lab, Mercy learns from android Sindy that she and Basil are in quarantine. It seems they’ve reached Asia, which has battled FossilFlu with a genetic modification. In addition, Oasis One’s “Keepers,” to avoid humanity’s potential extinction, have Incubation Synths, like Sindy, for human propagation. But Mercy and Basil look to escape, as the gene therapy, if ineffective, could result in their deaths. Weisbeck’s wonderfully detailed sequel tackles SF staples readers know by heart, including Sindy’s questioning what it means to be human. But the characters and relationships are remarkable, especially Mercy and Basil; his feelings run deeper, as she’s in love with someone else. The Prime is another standout character: This formidable villain is frighteningly omnipotent. The prose is evocative, particularly when describing the environment: “Fiddleheads of lady fern unrolled, spongy toadstools mushroomed into blue gilled umbrellas, and odorous prickly pine needles and buttercup wildflowers filled the air with an otherworldly aura.” The author smartly concentrates on only a few characters in this short installment and leaves plenty of avenues to explore in the next volume.
A sharp, illuminating dystopian tale. (dedication)Pub Date: Dec. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5272-8122-6
Page Count: 186
Publisher: DJW Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An unforgettable story of survival and the power of friendship—nothing short of a science-fiction masterwork.
Weir’s latest is a page-turning interstellar thrill ride that follows a junior high school teacher–turned–reluctant astronaut at the center of a desperate mission to save humankind from a looming extinction event.
Ryland Grace was a once-promising molecular biologist who wrote a controversial academic paper contesting the assumption that life requires liquid water. Now disgraced, he works as a junior high science teacher in San Francisco. His previous theories, however, make him the perfect researcher for a multinational task force that's trying to understand how and why the sun is suddenly dimming at an alarming rate. A barely detectable line of light that rises from the sun’s north pole and curves toward Venus is inexplicably draining the star of power. According to scientists, an “instant ice age” is all but inevitable within a few decades. All the other stars in proximity to the sun seem to be suffering with the same affliction—except Tau Ceti. An unwilling last-minute replacement as part of a three-person mission heading to Tau Ceti in hopes of finding an answer, Ryland finds himself awakening from an induced coma on the spaceship with two dead crewmates and a spotty memory. With time running out for humankind, he discovers an alien spacecraft in the vicinity of his ship with a strange traveler on a similar quest. Although hard scientific speculation fuels the storyline, the real power lies in the many jaw-dropping plot twists, the relentless tension, and the extraordinary dynamic between Ryland and the alien (whom he nicknames Rocky because of its carapace of oxidized minerals and metallic alloy bones). Readers may find themselves consuming this emotionally intense and thematically profound novel in one stay-up-all-night-until-your-eyes-bleed sitting.
An unforgettable story of survival and the power of friendship—nothing short of a science-fiction masterwork.Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-13520-4
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Suspenseful, frightening, and sometimes poignant—provided the reader has a generously willing suspension of disbelief.
A man walks out of a bar and his life becomes a kaleidoscope of altered states in this science-fiction thriller.
Crouch opens on a family in a warm, resonant domestic moment with three well-developed characters. At home in Chicago’s Logan Square, Jason Dessen dices an onion while his wife, Daniela, sips wine and chats on the phone. Their son, Charlie, an appealing 15-year-old, sketches on a pad. Still, an undertone of regret hovers over the couple, a preoccupation with roads not taken, a theme the book will literally explore, in multifarious ways. To start, both Jason and Daniela abandoned careers that might have soared, Jason as a physicist, Daniela as an artist. When Charlie was born, he suffered a major illness. Jason was forced to abandon promising research to teach undergraduates at a small college. Daniela turned from having gallery shows to teaching private art lessons to middle school students. On this bracing October evening, Jason visits a local bar to pay homage to Ryan Holder, a former college roommate who just received a major award for his work in neuroscience, an honor that rankles Jason, who, Ryan says, gave up on his career. Smarting from the comment, Jason suffers “a sucker punch” as he heads home that leaves him “standing on the precipice.” From behind Jason, a man with a “ghost white” face, “red, pursed lips," and "horrifying eyes” points a gun at Jason and forces him to drive an SUV, following preset navigational directions. At their destination, the abductor forces Jason to strip naked, beats him, then leads him into a vast, abandoned power plant. Here, Jason meets men and women who insist they want to help him. Attempting to escape, Jason opens a door that leads him into a series of dark, strange, yet eerily familiar encounters that sometimes strain credibility, especially in the tale's final moments.
Suspenseful, frightening, and sometimes poignant—provided the reader has a generously willing suspension of disbelief.Pub Date: July 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-90422-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
PROFILES
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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