Not lacking in imagination but short on fleshed-out characters to connect with as the increasingly convoluted story develops.
In Humphries’ dizzying debut, which blends sci-fi, crime drama, martial arts and more, a secret government project goes haywire, poking holes in the space-time continuum and setting into motion a series of events that reverberate across centuries.
In 2049, a brick-shaped piece of technology goes missing from a lunar satellite, falling through a portal caused by dimensional damage at the hands of a governmental unit of quantum scientists. The so-called brick lands in seventh-century Korea, where Sainen Chinhung, a vicious assassin from the era, steals the Four Dragons Sword, which seems to have the ability to interact with strange, midair “shimmerings” that, when people step through them, apparently allow for time travel. Sainen steps through one such portal and emerges in Victorian London, where his first act of murder ends up being credited to Jack the Ripper. From there, he traverses through historical settings, attaining power for himself as a crime lord. Meanwhile, a female warrior from the seventh century, Kyung-Soon, who at first pledges to regain the sword, eventually ends up working with Sainen in order to amass power and wealth for herself. Humphries’ novel is extremely ambitious, awesome in scope and meticulously researched. Each time the novel arrives in a new era, Humphries vividly brings it to life, a particularly impressive feat given the book’s deliberately fragmented style. Comprised mostly of very short chapters, the narrative at times jumps between multiple characters and stories. While weaving throughout time may be impressive on a technical level, it comes at the expense of characterization and the ability to follow the narrative. There’s rarely more than a passing glance at any of the characters, and even readers well-versed in time-travel stories might find themselves scratching their heads at the plot’s confusing structure. A number of surprisingly graphic, gory sequences in the book’s latter half might turn readers off, too.
Not lacking in imagination but short on fleshed-out characters to connect with as the increasingly convoluted story develops.Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2013
ISBN: 978-0615844763
Page Count: 390
Publisher: Lucky Buzzard LLC
Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2014
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
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
