A fine sci-fi story about scientists attempting to discover the truth inside all of us.
A highly original debut novel about a scientist making a discovery that defies science.
This complex novel tells of two different worlds: that of Yuzuki Tanaka, a brilliant and ambitious Japanese doctoral candidate, and that of the Core, a “subtle form of energy, difficult to detect with…conscious human senses.” On the surface, these worlds share nothing in common; Yuzuki is a woman who only believes in tangible things, but her new research will challenge her assumptions. She joins a team of outstanding scientists in Moscow in order to improve her own project, Salmon, a search engine designed to intuit whatever a person wants; however, she soon learns of another, far more ambitious endeavor. Yuri Kolotov, a Russian professor, is working on a system that can be used to read a person’s subconscious mind. Using this technology, he hopes to spread a new wave of self-control throughout humanity. But as Yuzuki and Yuri entangle themselves in their work, the question of who’s really in charge becomes more beguiling. Suddenly, Yuzuki is haunted by long, disturbing dreams and mental images, as if she’s receiving messages from somewhere else. Soon, the “angels,” as Yuri calls them, begin to communicate more clearly, and the scientists discover a strange force: an invisible energy that’s searching for a Carrier to transmit ideas and feelings to the collective human consciousness. The “angels” have chosen Yuzuki, but what will she choose to do in return? This spellbinding, challenging science-fiction work offers varied philosophical musings, intense discussions of medical ethics and other thought-provoking issues, and well-crafted, compelling characters. The unpredictable, imaginative plot draws from the author’s interest in the scientific world and the basics of human behavior. Slavoiu’s portrayal of Yuzuki’s precise mind and kind heart help carry the plot along, which offers readers a puzzle as intriguing as the human mind itself.
A fine sci-fi story about scientists attempting to discover the truth inside all of us.Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-1482721621
Page Count: 210
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Oct. 24, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
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