Sweeping, amusing, at last quite moving mock epic about a Russian spacecraft that shoots for the moon 60 hours before Apollo II lifts off from Houston—and then slowly runs out of luck when entering lunar orbit. Batchelor's staggeringly authentic re-creation of what purports to be the Russian space program matches his well-received earlier successes with historical fiction (1983's The Birth of the People's Republic of Antarctica and 1985's Niagara Falls-Civil War epic American Falls); here, intaglio craftsmanship shows everywhere—though detail never hinders the pace. A raw innocent, cosmonaut Peter Nevsky, 22, arrives at Starry Town, the USSR's skimpy space center, and finds himself entangled in family politics that bring on a national disaster. A major plot turn should remain veiled here, but let it be said that Peter's surprising tie with the half-insane, evil Mme. Eudaemonia Romodanovsky (whose inapt first name means Good Demon and who is being romantically pursued by the equally evil General Iagoda of State Security) brings plenty of Dostoevskian clout to the page. Iagoda at Eudaemonia's behest has Peter and his beloved Katya kidnapped, beaten, and imprisoned, and Katya dies. Meanwhile, Peter's other large tie is with his three drunken ``uncles,'' the troika of former air aces now at the top of the cosmonaut ladder and earmarked for the moon shot. Peter's father was the finest Russian air ace of WW II and the ``uncles'' are his godfathers. Batchelor spells out marvelously the many competing directorates in Russian politics circa 1963 and shows how rival agencies in a madhouse of surreal allegiances could launch secret high-weaponry wars among themselves without upsetting the nation. The Swiftian final deathtrip to the moon by Peter's three worn-out, broken-down uncles is unforgettable. Superbly bolted-together fantasy you could bang with a wrench.
Pub Date: May 14, 1993
ISBN: 0-8050-2141-8
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1993
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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
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