An intriguing premise rooted in provocative philosophical questions, but the promising beginning is undermined by a weak...
A brilliant, idealistic student’s noble intentions go horribly awry in Duringer’s sci-fi novel.
Graduate student Susan Rotham had a difficult childhood. Growing up poor, she and her family often struggled to find adequate food, which sparked a desire in her to dedicate her life’s work to finding a way to eradicate world hunger. As an aspiring scientist, she dreams of creating a supervegetable that could provide all the nutrients necessary for survival and be grown without soil or water. She believes her work could complement the research of Dr. Robin Mallory, a respected authority on a species of air plant called Tillandsias. The supervegetable could save millions from starvation and ultimately promote equality among all classes of people; however, world financial markets could be disrupted by the presence of a safe, abundant source of free food. Working in secret, Dr. Mallory and Susan successfully develop the supervegetable and call it Tillandsias aetherolus. The vegetable lives up to its promise, helping millions around the world and bringing fame and fortune to Susan and Dr. Mallory. But unexpected mutations threaten the survival of the planet. Duringer’s imaginative scenario traces the development of the Tillandsias aetherolus, its effects on the planet, and how the world is ultimately changed by this well-intentioned, genetically engineered vegetable. The first half of the novel is the most successful, with the action moving at a brisk pace as Susan and Dr. Mallory move from university labs to the jungles of Ecuador in a race against time to create the vegetable. Motivated by a genuine desire to help humanity, they are aware of the potential risks to the global balance of power; however, they don’t realize that unintended consequences could be even riskier than financial disruption. These consequences are explored in the second half of the novel, as Susan and Dr. Mallory try to restore humanity and the planet. Though imaginative, this section lacks the philosophical conundrums that made the first half so enthralling.
An intriguing premise rooted in provocative philosophical questions, but the promising beginning is undermined by a weak second half.Pub Date: March 13, 2014
ISBN: 978-1492396321
Page Count: 326
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: May 29, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.
A tightly wound caseworker is pushed out of his comfort zone when he’s sent to observe a remote orphanage for magical children.
Linus Baker loves rules, which makes him perfectly suited for his job as a midlevel bureaucrat working for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, where he investigates orphanages for children who can do things like make objects float, who have tails or feathers, and even those who are young witches. Linus clings to the notion that his job is about saving children from cruel or dangerous homes, but really he’s a cog in a government machine that treats magical children as second-class citizens. When Extremely Upper Management sends for Linus, he learns that his next assignment is a mission to an island orphanage for especially dangerous kids. He is to stay on the island for a month and write reports for Extremely Upper Management, which warns him to be especially meticulous in his observations. When he reaches the island, he meets extraordinary kids like Talia the gnome, Theodore the wyvern, and Chauncey, an amorphous blob whose parentage is unknown. The proprietor of the orphanage is a strange but charming man named Arthur, who makes it clear to Linus that he will do anything in his power to give his charges a loving home on the island. As Linus spends more time with Arthur and the kids, he starts to question a world that would shun them for being different, and he even develops romantic feelings for Arthur. Lambda Literary Award–winning author Klune (The Art of Breathing, 2019, etc.) has a knack for creating endearing characters, and readers will grow to love Arthur and the orphans alongside Linus. Linus himself is a lovable protagonist despite his prickliness, and Klune aptly handles his evolving feelings and morals. The prose is a touch wooden in places, but fans of quirky fantasy will eat it up.
A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.Pub Date: March 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-21728-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
PERSPECTIVES
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
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