A rousing, if familiar, actioner that squarely hits its target coordinates.
An international expedition to meet alien soldiers exposes Earth to the possibility of apocalyptic war in Barone’s (Jettisoned, 2014, etc.) sci-fi novel.
In 2052, astronauts watch in shock and awe as a wormhole near Jupiter disgorges a fleet of spaceships and a giant juggernaut in pursuit; during a spectacular dogfight, the latter destroys half of the smaller craft before they annihilate it. The mysterious winners of the battle head for the solar system’s inner planets, and Earth’s superpowers—the United States, Russia, and China, who are barely at ease with one another—launch a team of specialists to meet the potential threat. Brooklyn, New York–born U.S. Marine Capt. Joe Delano, a linguist and tactician, is tapped to intercept and interpret for the invaders, and the humans open tentative lines of communication with what turns out to be two related alien species. The hirsute, tough Tarlons (imagine Star Wars’ Wookiees, with long ears) and the Halkins have fought running battles with the marauders in the bigger ships—the Ktarrans, described as an empire of sadistic predators. The newcomers gravely inform Delano and his comrades that Earth should expect a savage Ktarran attack and enslavement. But are these aliens telling the truth—and what can humanity do about it? Some readers may expect a few twists involving characters from Barone’s previous novella, but they figure little in the big picture. Overall, though, this is a wildly entertaining riff on the old Flash Gordon idea that, when multiple species confront a powerful menace, only earthlings have the nerve and cooperative ability to rally and go on the offense. And, indeed, the combat finale, with its long-shot strategies, unfolds cinematically, like a well-told caper film. Barone’s prose sometimes recalls that of a Cold War–era techno-thriller: “These are not basic Glocks....These are modified, match-quality weapons with longer barrels. The extra length increases the bullet’s velocity. The armor-piercing +P ammunition is quite powerful as well.” Also, Delano’s multiple relationships with foreign women puts him in James Bond/Matt Helm territory. However, even genre fans who are well-acquainted with these formulas will salute this yarn’s finesse.
A rousing, if familiar, actioner that squarely hits its target coordinates.Pub Date: July 9, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-692-98300-3
Page Count: 372
Publisher: Eskkar Enterprises
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.
Four men who meet as college roommates move to New York and spend the next three decades gaining renown in their professions—as an architect, painter, actor and lawyer—and struggling with demons in their intertwined personal lives.
Yanagihara (The People in the Trees, 2013) takes the still-bold leap of writing about characters who don’t share her background; in addition to being male, JB is African-American, Malcolm has a black father and white mother, Willem is white, and “Jude’s race was undetermined”—deserted at birth, he was raised in a monastery and had an unspeakably traumatic childhood that’s revealed slowly over the course of the book. Two of them are gay, one straight and one bisexual. There isn’t a single significant female character, and for a long novel, there isn’t much plot. There aren’t even many markers of what’s happening in the outside world; Jude moves to a loft in SoHo as a young man, but we don’t see the neighborhood change from gritty artists’ enclave to glitzy tourist destination. What we get instead is an intensely interior look at the friends’ psyches and relationships, and it’s utterly enthralling. The four men think about work and creativity and success and failure; they cook for each other, compete with each other and jostle for each other’s affection. JB bases his entire artistic career on painting portraits of his friends, while Malcolm takes care of them by designing their apartments and houses. When Jude, as an adult, is adopted by his favorite Harvard law professor, his friends join him for Thanksgiving in Cambridge every year. And when Willem becomes a movie star, they all bask in his glow. Eventually, the tone darkens and the story narrows to focus on Jude as the pain of his past cuts deep into his carefully constructed life.
The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.Pub Date: March 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-53925-8
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
PERSPECTIVES
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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