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THE UDM PROTOCOL

Name: THE UDM PROTOCOL
Author: Keith Gumbs
ISBN: 978-1-4787-8977-2

STALKED SEDUCTION

by Keith Gumbs ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 2, 2017

Strong lead characters, but this stalls after a promising start.

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In his debut novel, Gumbs brings two strangers into a romantic entanglement.

In this first volume of a planned series, Gumbs introduces readers to Jaacyn and Georgia, who start at odds but become lovers in a very unlikely scenario. The UDM in the title stands for “uniquely defining moment” (among other things), and each character undergoes certain testing situations. In the beginning, Jaacyn, a black man from Anguilla, is stalking Georgia, a white woman, until both are injured in a terrorist subway bombing, after which they are inexplicably drawn together. Each has secrets that Gumbs never addresses. Georgia escaped from and was paid off by a secret organization, which she still fears. Jaacyn communicates telepathically with an unseen being named Protocol. Gumbs spends many pages on flat secondary characters: Georgia’s caring but weak-willed mother, Vernie; her bigoted father, Malcolm; and Jaacyn’s easily conned cousin Curtiss. These characters seem to exist largely to be recipients of Jaacyn’s lectures on societal ills: “If you believe race is that important, you’re of the wrong race.” Gumbs’ plot hinges on the development of Jaacyn and Georgia’s relationship; they are both intriguing leads, but they still fail to learn much of substance about each other. Instead, there’s too much of Curtiss’ running to Jaacyn for loans to cover his debts, Vernie’s health scare, and Malcolm’s fretting about his daughter keeping company with a black man. There are also several chapters about Jaacyn’s bizarre night with a prostitute. Every time it seems like a reveal about either Jaacyn or Georgia might be imminent, the meandering narrative diverts to a secondary character and his or her problem. As a result, by novel’s end, there is little impetus for readers to continue to future books in this series.

Strong lead characters, but this stalls after a promising start.

Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-4787-8977-2

Page Count: 298

Publisher: Outskirts Press

Review Posted Online: May 29, 2018

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL FICTION

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LIFE OF PI

by Yann Martel ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2001

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A fable about the consolatory and strengthening powers of religion flounders about somewhere inside this unconventional coming-of-age tale, which was shortlisted for Canada’s Governor General’s Award. The story is told in retrospect by Piscine Molitor Patel (named for a swimming pool, thereafter fortuitously nicknamed “Pi”), years after he was shipwrecked when his parents, who owned a zoo in India, were attempting to emigrate, with their menagerie, to Canada. During 227 days at sea spent in a lifeboat with a hyena, an orangutan, a zebra, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger (mostly with the latter, which had efficiently slaughtered its fellow beasts), Pi found serenity and courage in his faith: a frequently reiterated amalgam of Muslim, Hindu, and Christian beliefs. The story of his later life, education, and mission rounds out, but does not improve upon, the alternately suspenseful and whimsical account of Pi’s ordeal at sea—which offers the best reason for reading this otherwise preachy and somewhat redundant story of his Life.

Pub Date: June 1, 2001

ISBN: 0-15-100811-6

Page Count: 336

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2002

Categories:

GENERAL FICTION

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PET SEMATARY

by Stephen King ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 4, 1983

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This novel began as a reworking of W.W. Jacobs' horror classic "The Monkey's Paw"—a short story about the dreadful outcome when a father wishes for his dead son's resurrection. And King's 400-page version reads, in fact, like a monstrously padded short story, moving so slowly that every plot-turn becomes lumberingly predictable. Still, readers with a taste for the morbid and ghoulish will find unlimited dark, mortality-obsessed atmosphere here—as Dr. Louis Creed arrives in Maine with wife Rachel and their two little kids Ellie and Gage, moving into a semi-rural house not far from the "Pet Sematary": a spot in the woods where local kids have been burying their pets for decades. Louis, 35, finds a great new friend/father-figure in elderly neighbor Jud Crandall; he begins work as director of the local university health-services. But Louis is oppressed by thoughts of death—especially after a dying student whispers something about the pet cemetery, then reappears in a dream (but is it a dream) to lead Louis into those woods during the middle of the night. What is the secret of the Pet Sematary? Well, eventually old Jud gives Louis a lecture/tour of the Pet Sematary's "annex"—an old Micmac burying ground where pets have been buried. . .and then reappeared alive! So, when little Ellie's beloved cat Church is run over (while Ellie's visiting grandfolks), Louis and Jud bury it in the annex—resulting in a faintly nasty resurrection: Church reappears, now with a foul smell and a creepy demeanor. But: what would happen if a human corpse were buried there? That's the question when Louis' little son Gage is promptly killed in an accident. Will grieving father Louis dig up his son's body from the normal graveyard and replant it in the Pet Sematary? What about the stories of a previous similar attempt—when dead Timmy Baterman was "transformed into some sort of all-knowing daemon?" Will Gage return to the living—but as "a thing of evil?" He will indeed, spouting obscenities and committing murder. . .before Louis must eliminate this child-demon he has unleashed. Filled out with overdone family melodrama (the feud between Louis and his father-in-law) and repetitious inner monologues: a broody horror tale that's strong on dark, depressing chills, weak on suspense or surprise—and not likely to please the fans of King's zestier, livelier terror-thons.