An engrossing political tale with an intriguing what-if scenario.
In this SF-infused novel, a young scientist in an alternate totalitarian world may have discovered a way to change history.
Joshua Franks, a college student and scientist, lives in George’s Cross. More than two centuries ago, this royal city was known as Philadelphia. It was here, in the late 1700s, that the British army hanged a group of rebels called “the Signers”—men like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin who declared their freedom with the Declaration of Independence. By 2021, the British Empire has conquered much of the world. Joshua works in a “lightning lab,” where scientists have attempted to harness the power of lightning for a decade. One day, he has a breakthrough, stumbling on a potential method of sending a message to the past. When the merciless ruler King George VII gets wind of the discovery, he forces Joshua to repeat the dangerous experiment. Around the same time, Joshua learns he’s a descendant of Franklin’s, and his parents gift him the inventor’s journals. With the benefit of hindsight, Joshua may be able to help the Signers, though this will mean crossing the powerful king. Swan provides a captivating alternative history. Big Ben, for example, is in George’s Cross, the royal lineage’s home for centuries. The author wisely simplifies the globe-spanning narrative by focusing on the former Philadelphia and merely hinting at countries, like China, that haven’t succumbed to Britain’s “ever-expanding empire.” Well-developed characters further mold this fictional world; Joshua, in a mandatory academy program since he was 3 years old, sees his parents only once a year on his birthday. The author’s language is often playful, mostly courtesy of Joshua’s eccentric pal Emerson Flanders, who (affectionately) calls him “Joshu-blah” or “Joshu-arse.” The plot, though predictable, boasts delightful SF turns and an ending open to readers’ interpretations.
An engrossing political tale with an intriguing what-if scenario.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-66-321775-2
Page Count: 334
Publisher: Iuniverse Inc
Review Posted Online: Aug. 18, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Fast-moving excitement with a satisfying finish.
The feds must protect an accused criminal and an orphaned girl.
Maybe you’ve met him before as protagonist of The 6:20 Man (2022): Ex-Army Ranger Travis Devine, who’d had the dubious fortune to tangle with “the girl on the train,” is now assigned by his homeland security boss to protect Danny Glass, who's awaiting trial on multiple RICO charges in Washington state. Devine has what it takes: He “was a closer, snooper, fixer, investigator,” and, when necessary, a killer. These skills are on full display as the deaths of three key witnesses grind justice to a temporary halt. Glass has a 12-year-old niece, Betsy Odom, and each is the other’s only living relative—her parents recently died of an apparent drug overdose. The FBI has temporary guardianship of Betsy, who's a handful. She tells Travis that though she’s not yet 13, she's 28 in “life-shit years.” The financially well-heeled Glass wants to be her legal guardian with an eye to eventual adoption, but what are his real motives? And what happens to her if he's convicted? Meanwhile, Betsy insists that her parents never touched drugs, and she begs Travis to find out how they really died. This becomes part of a mission that oozes danger. The small town of Ricketts has a woman mayor who’s full of charm on the surface, but deeply corrupt and deadly when crossed. She may be linked to a subversive group called "12/24/65," as in 1865, when the Ku Klux Klan beast was born. Blood flows, bombs explode, and people perish, both good guys and not-so-good guys. Readers might ponder why in fiction as well as in life, it sometimes seems necessary for many to die so one may live. And what about the girl on the train? She's not necessary to the plot, but she's a fun addition as she pops in and out of the pages, occasionally leaving notes for Travis. Maybe she still wants him dead.
Fast-moving excitement with a satisfying finish.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781538757901
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.
A woman accused of shooting her husband six times in the face refuses to speak.
"Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years. They were both artists—Alicia was a painter, and Gabriel was a well-known fashion photographer." Michaelides' debut is narrated in the voice of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a job at the institution where Alicia is incarcerated because he's fascinated with her case and believes he will be able to get her to talk. The narration of the increasingly unrealistic events that follow is interwoven with excerpts from Alicia's diary. Ah, yes, the old interwoven diary trick. When you read Alicia's diary you'll conclude the woman could well have been a novelist instead of a painter because it contains page after page of detailed dialogue, scenes, and conversations quite unlike those in any journal you've ever seen. " 'What's the matter?' 'I can't talk about it on the phone, I need to see you.' 'It's just—I'm not sure I can make it up to Cambridge at the minute.' 'I'll come to you. This afternoon. Okay?' Something in Paul's voice made me agree without thinking about it. He sounded desperate. 'Okay. Are you sure you can't tell me about it now?' 'I'll see you later.' Paul hung up." Wouldn't all this appear in a diary as "Paul wouldn't tell me what was wrong"? An even more improbable entry is the one that pins the tail on the killer. While much of the book is clumsy, contrived, and silly, it is while reading passages of the diary that one may actually find oneself laughing out loud.
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-30169-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
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