An animated, inventive, and infinitely entertaining sci-fi tale.
In Bowie’s debut fantasy, three beings from another universe unite to unlock their magical potential and take down a corrupt, ruling mage.
A hacker’s virus has decimated four universes in Nancy Iffik’s Universe Grower, courtesy of her brother Nigel, who compromised her system by browsing pornography on it. Only one universe remains, and just one planet, Aisaphora—and both are still in danger. On said planet, Luiz Alvarez is an investor who incites the wrath of Richard Victor, a representative from the much-feared organization The Business, when his most recent investment for them tanks. Amateur fighter Nor “The Hawk” Dixon is a Zord who’s biologically a female but identifies as genderless as a member of the International Church of Zorda. They, along with shaman Calliya Tregoriya (a representative of the Crenosiyos, a species that shares the planet with humans), are drawn to the Black Mage Manor, where the late Black Mage’s ghost says that he’s chosen them to remedy Aisaphora’s magical-power imbalance. Using talismans to hone their newfound magic capabilities, the trio sets its sights on defeating the politically unscrupulous Grand White Mage. Bowie’s story is set in a fictional world that hints at something much bigger, involving other “universe tiers” (Nancy’s universe is in the “Ninth Tier,” Aisaphora in the “Tenth”). It smartly centers on Aisaphora, though, and its three crucial residents, adding a fourth with the titular character—another Crenosiyo, appearing in flashbacks that gradually inch toward the present day. His inclusion injects an engaging touch of mystery to the proceedings, as his significance isn’t revealed until much later. However, Bowie’s other characters, with their ever-shifting first-person narratives, are the true engine of the book: Calliya is perpetually cynical (“I’ve mostly avoided people because they suck”) and the charmingly dense Luiz prefers living in a drug-induced, hallucinogenic haze. Readers will find Nor to be the most striking, however; as a Zord, she uses the “holy pronoun” form (“ey,” “eir,” and “em”) for both genders and treats males and females the same—although anyone who’s not a Zord is merely a “weak-kin.”
An animated, inventive, and infinitely entertaining sci-fi tale.Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 223
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: April 3, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Genetically engineered dinosaurs run amok in Crichton's new, vastly entertaining science thriller. From the introduction alone—a classically Crichton-clear discussion of the implications of biotechnological research—it's evident that the Harvard M.D. has bounced back from the science-fantasy silliness of Sphere (1987) for another taut reworking of the Frankenstein theme, as in The Andromeda Strain and The Terminal Man. Here, Dr. Frankenstein is aging billionaire John Hammond, whose monster is a manmade ecosystem based on a Costa Rican island. Designed as the world's ultimate theme park, the ecosystem boasts climate and flora of the Jurassic Age and—most spectacularly—15 varieties of dinosaurs, created by elaborate genetic engineering that Crichton explains in fascinating detail, rich with dino-lore and complete with graphics. Into the park, for a safety check before its opening, comes the novel's band of characters—who, though well drawn, double as symbolic types in this unsubtle morality play. Among them are hero Alan Grant, noble paleontologist; Hammond, venal and obsessed; amoral dino-designer Henry Wu; Hammond's two innocent grandchildren; and mathematician Ian Malcolm, who in long diatribes serves as Crichton's mouthpiece to lament the folly of science. Upon arrival, the visitors tour the park; meanwhile, an industrial spy steals some dino embryos by shutting down the island's power—and its security grid, allowing the beasts to run loose. The bulk of the remaining narrative consists of dinos—ferocious T. Rex's, voracious velociraptors, venom-spitting dilophosaurs—stalking, ripping, and eating the cast in fast, furious, and suspenseful set-pieces as the ecosystem spins apart. And can Grant prevent the dinos from escaping to the mainland to create unchecked havoc? Though intrusive, the moralizing rarely slows this tornado-paced tale, a slick package of info-thrills that's Crichton's most clever since Congo (1980)—and easily the most exciting dinosaur novel ever written. A sure-fire best-seller.
Pub Date: Nov. 7, 1990
ISBN: 0394588169
Page Count: 424
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 21, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1990
Too much drama at the end detracts from a finely wrought and subtle conundrum.
Ware (In A Dark, Dark Wood, 2015) offers up a classic “paranoid woman” story with a modern twist in this tense, claustrophobic mystery.
Days before departing on a luxury cruise for work, travel journalist Lo Blacklock is the victim of a break-in. Though unharmed, she ends up locked in her own room for several hours before escaping; as a result, she is unable to sleep. By the time she comes onboard the Aurora, Lo is suffering from severe sleep deprivation and possibly even PTSD, so when she hears a big splash from the cabin next door in the middle of the night, “the kind of splash made by a body hitting water,” she can’t prove to security that anything violent has actually occurred. To make matters stranger, there's no record of any passenger traveling in the cabin next to Lo’s, even though Lo herself saw a woman there and even borrowed makeup from her before the first night’s dinner party. Reeling from her own trauma, and faced with proof that she may have been hallucinating, Lo continues to investigate, aided by her ex-boyfriend Ben (who's also writing about the cruise), fighting desperately to find any shred of evidence that she may be right. The cast of characters, their conversations, and the luxurious but confining setting all echo classic Agatha Christie; in fact, the structure of the mystery itself is an old one: a woman insists murder has occurred, everyone else says she’s crazy. But Lo is no wallflower; she is a strong and determined modern heroine who refuses to doubt the evidence of her own instincts. Despite this successful formula, and a whole lot of slowly unraveling tension, the end is somehow unsatisfying. And the newspaper and social media inserts add little depth.
Too much drama at the end detracts from a finely wrought and subtle conundrum.Pub Date: July 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5011-3293-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Scout Press/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
BOOK TO SCREEN
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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