Complex scientific notions in a story format prove equally entertaining and perceptive.
In this sci-fi thriller, preventing a near-future plague may simply entail getting help by sending messages into the past.
Josh Scribner was a mere teen when he conceived the Beetle, a brain implant to treat seizures or neurological disorders. By 2039, the now-billionaire has come to the terrifying conclusion that Beetles may not be remedying such conditions but actually causing them. Each new implant makes the ailment worse, processing loads of data that affect even brains without Beetles and making everyone sick, including Josh’s daughter, Cierra. Fortunately, his physicist pal Min-Jun Dan has a potential solution: use available technology to send a metal marker back in time and establish communication with someone. In 2015, Air Force veteran and pilot trainer Maria Kerrigan stumbles upon a marker dated 1999 and addressed to Dr. Weldon Qualls at Princeton University. Qualls, a published supporter of time travel, enlists Maria’s assistance, not yet aware of what they’ll be preventing. Further correspondence (P.O. boxes and coordinates for new markers) confirms that an attempt to alter the future is unsuccessful. But there’s something bigger at play, as Josh suspects that some deaths in 2039 may not be from the Beetle itself but active assassinations. At the same time, Maria and Qualls, still in 2015, could be in danger. Thomas and Thurkettle’s (Seeing by Moonlight, 2015) time-traveling novel deviates from most other tales of this subgenre by focusing more on concept than action. This preserves simplicity throughout, even as Josh and Min-Jun discuss “other version[s] of now,” slight changes in their own lives as a result of Maria’s missions. The story also introduces a fascinating dilemma: can individuals retain memories from prior versions of themselves? Maria is initially more engaging than the plot, mercilessly tormented by deaths she caused by piloting drones and conversing with “the Voice” in her head. But the twisty second half is pure exhilaration, adding a clear-cut villain and new, essential characters. The authors’ prose is, like the book overall, intelligent and comprehensive, especially with chic terminology like “gravity wake,” a field created by accelerated particles, the essence of traversing space-time.
Complex scientific notions in a story format prove equally entertaining and perceptive.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-4835-7621-3
Page Count: 302
Publisher: BookBaby
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Will simultaneously intrigue both romantics and skeptics. The science might oversimplify, but it’s gripping enough to read...
Marrs’ debut novel traces the stories of five people who find their soul mates—or do they?
Imagine if you could submit to a simple DNA test and then receive your Match in your email. Not just an online date who might be geographically compatible, but a true and unique genetically destined partner. While the potential long-term benefits may seem to outweigh the negative consequences, the system is far from infallible; as any science-fiction fan could tell you, if it sounds too good to be true, there’s usually a catastrophe lurking at the other end. Marrs’ novel traces five individuals who meet their Matches under varying circumstances and with widely conflicting outcomes. During the course of their romantic adventures (and misadventures), the entire DNA matching algorithm will prove to be susceptible to hacking, also proving that (gasp!) just because something may be driven by science doesn’t mean that it’s free from the world of human error. The philosophy posed by the novel speaks not just to the power of love and the laws of attraction, but also serves as a commentary on today’s world of genetic exploration. Do these breakthroughs simplify our lives, or do they make us lazy, replacing the idea of “destiny” or “fate” with “science” as a larger power that we don’t need to question? These ideas keep the novel moving along and create a deeper level of interest, since most of the narrative threads are fairly predictable. The two exceptions are the psychopathic serial killer who meets his Match and begins to lose interest in killing and the heterosexual man matched with another man, both of whom must then redefine sexuality and love, commitment and family.
Will simultaneously intrigue both romantics and skeptics. The science might oversimplify, but it’s gripping enough to read all in one sitting.Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-335-00510-6
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
Too much puzzle-solving, not enough suspense.
Video-game players embrace the quest of a lifetime in a virtual world; screenwriter Cline’s first novel is old wine in new bottles.
The real world, in 2045, is the usual dystopian horror story. So who can blame Wade, our narrator, if he spends most of his time in a virtual world? The 18-year-old, orphaned at 11, has no friends in his vertical trailer park in Oklahoma City, while the OASIS has captivating bells and whistles, and it’s free. Its creator, the legendary billionaire James Halliday, left a curious will. He had devised an elaborate online game, a hunt for a hidden Easter egg. The finder would inherit his estate. Old-fashioned riddles lead to three keys and three gates. Wade, or rather his avatar Parzival, is the first gunter (egg-hunter) to win the Copper Key, first of three. Halliday was obsessed with the pop culture of the 1980s, primarily the arcade games, so the novel is as much retro as futurist. Parzival’s great strength is that he has absorbed all Halliday’s obsessions; he knows by heart three essential movies, crossing the line from geek to freak. His most formidable competitors are the Sixers, contract gunters working for the evil conglomerate IOI, whose goal is to acquire the OASIS. Cline’s narrative is straightforward but loaded with exposition. It takes a while to reach a scene that crackles with excitement: the meeting between Parzival (now world famous as the lead contender) and Sorrento, the head of IOI. The latter tries to recruit Parzival; when he fails, he issues and executes a death threat. Wade’s trailer is demolished, his relatives killed; luckily Wade was not at home. Too bad this is the dramatic high point. Parzival threads his way between more ’80s games and movies to gain the other keys; it’s clever but not exciting. Even a romance with another avatar and the ultimate “epic throwdown” fail to stir the blood.
Too much puzzle-solving, not enough suspense.Pub Date: Aug. 16, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-307-88743-6
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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