McWilliams’ debut is, for the most part, a beautiful intersection of science and magic in which a mysterious girl and a team of scientists seek to create artificial intelligence.
Scientific wunderkind Tyler Cipriani, son of the famous Aiden Cipriani, doesn’t like being manipulated by his father; he had enough of that as a child when he was a test subject for his father’s studies. He dislikes it so much that in spite of his considerable talents, he avoids working much on his own. As his mother later explains, “[T]he problem is…you want to be a rebel, but you have nothing to rebel against.” So when his dad approaches him about helping Quantum Bay Labs win the Xprize for artificial intelligence, Tyler isn’t remotely interested—until he meets the lab’s latest hire, Danny Searle. Intelligent, funny and mysterious, the beautiful bookkeeper immediately captures Tyler’s attention with her magical—both literally and figuratively—worldview. Allowing his father to manipulate him once more, Tyler signs on to help the team with Prometheus, their artificial intelligence project. Though largely an idea-driven novel, McWilliams’ work features some magnificent characters that are equal parts hyperintelligent and approachable. Scientific questions of consciousness, free will and reality are addressed in clever ways, as when Aiden—traveling down a rabbit hole of a dinner discussion that is so pleasant and thought-provoking readers might wish these were real people they could spend time with—reminds his guests that, “just because a fish discovers he lives in a fish tank, doesn’t mean he no longer has to swim.” What Danny brings to the table is a different perspective: “Why can’t you just admit that science is the study of a magical world that just happens to be consistent and logical?” But it’s not just at the intersection of science and magic that McWilliams’ talent shines; it’s how he’s able to align those worldviews to build on each other as Danny—and, much to Tyler’s discomfort, her ex-boyfriend, David, a professional magician who shows up later—contributes to the programming project by inspiring new ideas in the scientists. Danny retains her mystery until, just before the project’s deadline, a car crash puts her in a coma and her secrets are revealed. The first two-thirds of the novel are supremely excellent, but the final third goes up in smoke. The tone changes, the charm disappears, and the poorly explored ending comes from too far afield to be anything but disappointing despite McWilliams’ last-ditch efforts to resurrect the otherwise outstanding story.
A beautiful start to a tale of love, science and magic; it’s a shame the magic doesn’t last.
Pub Date: May 9, 2014
ISBN: 978-1499583724
Page Count: 268
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: July 9, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
As Tolkien had his Silmarillion, so Martin has this trilogy of foundational tales. They succeed on their own, but in...
Huzzah! Martin (The Ice Dragon, 2014, etc.) delivers just what fans have been waiting for: stirring tales of the founding of the Targaryen line.
Duncan—Dunk for short—has his hapless moments. He’s big, nearly gigantic, “hugely tall for his age, a shambling, shaggy, big-boned boy of sixteen or seventeen.” Uncertain of himself, clumsy, and alone in the world, he has every one of the makings of a hero, if only events will turn in that direction. They do, courtesy of a tiny boy who steals into the “hedge knight” Dunk’s life and eventually reveals a name to match that of Ser Duncan the Tall—an altogether better name, at that, than Duncan of Flea Bottom would have been. Egg, as the squire calls himself, has a strange light about him, as if he will be destined to go on to better things, as indeed he will. Reminiscent of a simpler Arthur Rackham, the illustrations capture that light, as they do the growing friendship between Dunk and Egg—think Manute Bol and Muggsy Bogues, if your knowledge of basketball matches your interest in fantasy. This being Martin, that friendship will not be without its fraught moments, its dangers and double crosses and knightly politics. There are plenty of goopily violent episodes as well, from jousts (“this time Lord Leo Tyrell aimed his point so expertly he ripped the Grey Lion’s helm cleanly off his head”) to medieval torture (“Egg…used the hat to fan away the flies. There were hundreds crawling on the dead men, and more drifting lazily through the still, hot air.”). Throughout, Martin delivers thoughtful foreshadowing of the themes and lineages that will populate his Ice and Fire series, in which Egg, it turns out, is much less fragile than he seems.
As Tolkien had his Silmarillion, so Martin has this trilogy of foundational tales. They succeed on their own, but in addition, they succeed in making fans want more—and with luck, Martin will oblige them with more of these early yarns.Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-345-53348-7
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bantam
Review Posted Online: Oct. 6, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Speculative fiction at its most transfixing.
After their high-risk expedition disintegrates, it’s every scientist for herself in this wonderfully creepy blend of horror and science fiction. This is the first volume of the Southern Reach trilogy from VanderMeer (Finch, 2009, etc.); subsequent volumes are scheduled for publication in June and September 2014.
The Southern Reach is the secret government agency that dispatches expeditions across the border to monitor Area X, an ominous coastal no man’s land since an unspecified event 30 years before. This latest expedition, the 12th, is all-female, consisting of a psychologist, an anthropologist, a surveyor and a biologist (the narrator). Names are taboo. Their leader, the psychologist, has hypnotic powers. They have no communication devices, but they do have firearms, which they will use; some earlier expeditions also ended bloodily. Close to base camp is "the tower," a mostly underground structure that acts as tunnel, which they descend. On its walls are grim biblical admonitions, raised letters made of fungi. The biologist incautiously inhales tiny spores which, she will discover later, fill her with brightness, a form of ESP. Tension between the women increases when the anthropologist goes missing; they will discover her dead in the tower, discharging green ash. Next, the psychologist disappears. Leaving the hostile, ex-military surveyor behind, the biologist makes her way to the other interesting structure, the lighthouse, which she climbs in dread. VanderMeer is an expert fearmonger, but his strongest suit, what makes his novel a standout, is his depiction of the biologist. Like any scientist, she has an overriding need to classify, to know. This has been her lifelong passion. Her solitary explorations created problems in her marriage; her husband, a medic, returned from the previous expedition a zombie. What killed the anthropologist? The biologist’s samples reveal human brain tissue. Some organism is trying to colonize and absorb the humans with whom it comes in contact. Experiencing “the severe temptation of the unknown,” she must re-enter the tower to confront the Crawler, her name for the graffiti writer.
Speculative fiction at its most transfixing.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-374-10409-2
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2013
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