A triumphant and entertaining blend of science, religion, and indelible characters.
A doctor uncovers a surprising menace after a family tragedy causes him to lose a portion of his memory in this novel.
Dr. Randy Macklin was at home in Maryland when his wife, Cheri, died after a car accident in Malaysia. As a UNESCO director, she had traveled to Indonesia as part of a tsunami relief effort, but the fatal collision occurred in Kuala Lumpur. Randy is staying with his lifelong friend and business partner, Young Nae Yoon, just outside Kuantan. Alarmingly, Randy can’t remember the four months since Cheri’s funeral, including his 19-year-old daughter, Desiree, falling into a coma from a snakebite. So he sees psychiatrist Dr. Sanantha Mauwad for help. Part of the therapy involves a field trip to where Young Nae says a snake bit Desiree, but Randy and Sanantha discover a discrepancy or two in his story. A friend of Randy’s subsequently explains that a dangerous rival, Lo Cheung, may have targeted those close to Young Nae. Sure enough, unexplained apparent bug bites on Randy’s back may be signs of an elaborate plot, one that threatens him physically every time he has an illuminating flash of memory. Shocking revelations await as Randy gets closer to the truth. Hartlove’s sequel has a discernible spiritual undertone, featuring diverse religious beliefs and characters’ ambiguous dreams that ultimately prove enlightening. Nevertheless, the story’s core is an engrossing mystery, as the villain, who may or may not be Lo Cheung, spearheads a devious scheme both intricate and disturbing. The author sets a persistent momentum courtesy of details gradually revealed rather than saving all the plot twists for the final act. This likewise allows for necessary scientific exposition to unfold periodically without decelerating the narrative. Characters, even the baddies, are dynamic, though a standout is empathetic Sanantha, returning from the first installment.
A triumphant and entertaining blend of science, religion, and indelible characters. (dedication, acknowledgements, author bio)Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-949139-63-1
Page Count: 261
Publisher: Paper Angel Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Well-drawn characters introduce the criminal underworld to the occult kind in a breathless and compelling plot.
A Yale sophomore fights for her life as she balances academics with supernatural extracurriculars in this smart fantasy thriller, the second in a series.
Galaxy “Alex” Stern is a member of Lethe House, the ninth of Yale’s secret societies. And not just any member—she’s Virgil, the officer who conducts the society's rituals. In the world of Bardugo’s Alex Stern series, Yale’s secret societies command not just powerful social networks, but actual magic; it’s Lethe’s job to keep that magic in control. Alex is new to the role. She had to take over in a hurry after the previous Virgil, Darlington, her mentor and love interest, disappeared in a cliffhanger at the end of the first book. He appears to be in hell, but is he stuck there for good? Alex and Pamela Dawes—Lethe’s Oculus, or archivist/administrator—have found a reference to a pathway called a Gauntlet that can open a portal to hell, but can they find the Gauntlet itself? And what about the four murderers the Gauntlet ritual requires? Meanwhile, Alex’s past as a small-time drug dealer is catching up with her, adding gritty street crime to the demonic white-collar evil the Yale crowd tends to prefer. The plot is relentless and clever, and the writing is vivid, intelligent, and funny at just the right moments, but best of all are the complex characters, such as the four murderers, each with a backstory that makes it possible for the reader to trust them to enter hell and have the strength to leave again. Like the first book, this one ends with a cliffhanger.
Well-drawn characters introduce the criminal underworld to the occult kind in a breathless and compelling plot.Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-31310-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
Vintage King: a pleasure for his many fans and not a bad place to start if you’re new to him.
The master of supernatural disaster returns with four horror-laced novellas.
The protagonist of the title story, Holly Gibney, is by King’s own admission one of his most beloved characters, a “quirky walk-on” who quickly found herself at the center of some very unpleasant goings-on in End of Watch, Mr. Mercedes, and The Outsider. The insect-licious proceedings of the last are revisited, most yuckily, while some of King’s favorite conceits turn up: What happens if the dead are never really dead but instead show up generation after generation, occupying different bodies but most certainly exercising their same old mean-spirited voodoo? It won’t please TV journalists to know that the shape-shifting bad guys in that title story just happen to be on-the-ground reporters who turn up at very ugly disasters—and even cause them, albeit many decades apart. Think Jack Torrance in that photo at the end of The Shining, and you’ve got the general idea. “Only a coincidence, Holly thinks, but a chill shivers through her just the same,” King writes, “and once again she thinks of how there may be forces in this world moving people as they will, like men (and women) on a chessboard.” In the careful-what-you-wish-for department, Rat is one of those meta-referential things King enjoys: There are the usual hallucinatory doings, a destiny-altering rodent, and of course a writer protagonist who makes a deal with the devil for success that he thinks will outsmart the fates. No such luck, of course. Perhaps the most troubling story is the first, which may cause iPhone owners to rethink their purchases. King has gone a far piece from the killer clowns and vampires of old, with his monsters and monstrosities taking on far more quotidian forms—which makes them all the scarier.
Vintage King: a pleasure for his many fans and not a bad place to start if you’re new to him.Pub Date: April 20, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9821-3797-7
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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