An exciting, high-stakes futuristic tale.
An adventure sequel focuses on a geologist in post–climate change Antarctica.
Westhoff begins this installment of his Erebus Tales series a year after its predecessor, Stone Fever(2016), left off. A 24th-century geologist named Keltyn SparrowHawk, wounded and stranded while on a mission to Antarctica’s forbidding Mount Erebus, has been taken in by the nomadic Onwei tribe. Keltyn has spent time healing and growing close with several members of her new people. Unfortunately, the evil, greedy outside world, here epitomized by scheming industrialist Oscar Bailey, still has designs on the precious iridium buried in Mount Erebus. While dealing with domestic challenges posed in part by a splinter group aiming to hamstring his enterprise, Bailey outfits a new expedition to Antarctica, this one spearheaded by a scene-stealing character named Helmut Gans and Keltyn’s former mentor, Russell McCoy. This mission places Keltyn and her tribe directly on the perilous path of confronting the world’s most powerful man. The story that unfolds takes in a far wider range of adventures than the first book, from savage combat between newly modified prehistoric animals to equally ferocious conflicts between tribal factions. Westhoff writes all of this with an engaging enthusiasm that almost always compensates for a tendency toward leaden prose. This is an author who could benefit greatly from not underestimating his readers, something he repeatedly does, usually to the detriment of his narrative. When an older character summons a young man to deliver a message, for example, readers are told that his breath smelled of rotgut whiskey as he tells the man: “That old hag Yoka wishes to see you. It is important.” To which the author adds: “He emphasized ‘por’ with a sneer.” But readers have already seen the italics, and they can intuit the sneer. Still, the audience will nevertheless enjoy plenty of thrills in this rousing story as the pages turn.
An exciting, high-stakes futuristic tale.Pub Date: May 17, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77180-490-5
Page Count: 386
Publisher: Iguana Books
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Layered, distinctive, and memorable.
An intrepid teenager battles a powerful, corrupt family to liberate the ordinary people of her frozen world in this translated work from South Korea.
In this duology closer, 17-year-old Jeon Chobahm is living in Snowglobe with a few other girls who, like her, recently learned—and exposed to shocked viewers—the secret that they’re clones of Goh Haeri, the star of the world’s most popular reality show. The most recent Haeri died by suicide; now Chobahm vows to discover the fate of the original Haeri, who mysteriously disappeared three years ago. She investigates the Yibonn Media Group, which rules over Snowglobe, while also contending with resentful fellow clone Serin, eluding constant surveillance, and dealing with uncertain feelings about sympathetic Yibonn heir Bonwhe. Chobahm’s movements are impeded by the extreme weather, blackouts, and human-induced environmental disasters that abound in Snowglobe. When Chobahm learns she’ll be framed for a terrible crime, she sets out to reveal an explosive secret to the world, one that the Yibonn family would do anything—including committing murder—to keep quiet. The entertaining plot is deftly interwoven with weightier themes: How does entertainment distort reality? How does one soften the pain of remembering—and what is the price of forgetting? The story is complex, and the heavier themes are handled with a light touch, allowing Chobahm’s strength, intelligence, and compassion to shine. This volume is accessible to new readers but is best appreciated by those familiar with the series opener.
Layered, distinctive, and memorable. (cast of characters) (Dystopian. 12-adult)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593809143
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
Nerve-shredding space whodunnitry with a side of existential dread.
Earth’s attempt to colonize Mars meets with sabotage.
If all goes to plan, Officer Gold and her crewmates, Captain Blake and Officer Kang, will be the first humans “to live and die on a planet other than Earth.” After a lengthy “extend-sleep” aboard the Valiant, the shipmates are nearing Mars, where three robots have spent years assembling the mission’s base, dubbed Citadel. Those same robots are supposed to help the Valiant’s landing pod touch down smoothly and in the correct location, but when the time comes, Blake’s radio calls go unanswered. The crew executes a harrowing manual descent, only to discover that something has destroyed Citadel’s lab. Worse, their access codes don’t work on any of Citadel’s doors, and their suits are low on oxygen. Desperate pounding summons a badly damaged Robot Two, who lets them in and then retrieves Robot One from “her” hiding place. It seems all three robots have gendered (and named) themselves during their stint on Mars, in addition to pondering the meaning of life, the nature of death, and the existence of God. Unequipped for coping with such thoughts, Robot Three, aka Alex, went mad, forcing Robot One (Shay) and Robot Two (Wes) to exile him from Citadel. Wes asserts that the damage was Alex’s doing, but Shay believes an alien is responsible and intends further harm. Regardless, something clearly wants to kill them, and returning home isn’t an option. Straddling the line between horror, science fiction, and locked-room mystery, this posthumously published novel from the pseudonymous Coile is lean, mean, and propulsively paced. Although Coile’s characters are hastily sketched and a few of the tale’s more bizarre twists falter under scrutiny, Gold’s terse first-person narration and the claustrophobic setting conspire to amplify the high-stakes plot’s inherent tension.
Nerve-shredding space whodunnitry with a side of existential dread.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9780593851630
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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