Convincingly realized, with the vigorous narrative whizzing along—too long—at hyperspeed, and frenetic plot twists that...
An Australian award-winning F/SF author strikes new sparks from an old flint: What if matter transmitters (“Beam me up, Scotty”) really worked?
By 2069, KTI Corp.’s “d-mat” matter transmitter network (the technology’s a closely guarded secret) makes it possible to travel instantly to almost anywhere on Earth. Meanwhile, a serial killer known as the Twinmaker somehow copies his victims while they’re in transit. The original proceeds unharmed to her destination, unaware that a duplicate has been captured. The latest victim’s mutilated remains have been transmitted to a seemingly empty apartment once shared by private eye Jonah McEwen and his adoptive father, Lindsay Carlaw, a researcher who helped develop QUALIA, the artificial intelligence that runs KTI. Investigating officers Marylin Blaylock and Odi Whitesmith discover Jonah in a tank of nutrient gel, his brain infected with hostile software. Since Jonah was once Marylin’s employer and lover, and all the Twinmaker’s victims resemble Marylin, Jonah immediately becomes suspect #1. Clearly, though, this Jonah’s too damaged—but what if there’s a homicidal copy? Jonah’s last recollection is of Lindsay dying, killed by a bomb; Jonah made inquiries and learned something significant, but can’t remember what. Oddly, Lindsay helped found the anti–d-mat group WHOLE and refused to travel by d-mat—except on the day of his death! Obviously, the Twinmaker has full access to KTI’s technology; yet, suspiciously, KTI boss Fabian Schumacher refuses to release his secret files—and Jonah remembers seeing KTI security chief Herold Verstegen in the apartment after Lindsay’s death.
Convincingly realized, with the vigorous narrative whizzing along—too long—at hyperspeed, and frenetic plot twists that can’t quite disguise the holes.Pub Date: April 8, 2005
ISBN: 1-59102-311-4
Page Count: 510
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2005
An author to watch, Buehlman is now two for two in delivering eerie, offbeat novels with admirable literary skill.
Cormac McCarthy's The Road meets Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in this frightful medieval epic about an orphan girl with visionary powers in plague-devastated France.
The year is 1348. The conflict between France and England is nothing compared to the all-out war building between good angels and fallen ones for control of heaven (though a scene in which soldiers are massacred by a rainbow of arrows is pretty horrific). Among mortals, only the girl, Delphine, knows of the cataclysm to come. Angels speak to her, issuing warnings—and a command to run. A pack of thieves is about to carry her off and rape her when she is saved by a disgraced knight, Thomas, with whom she teams on a march across the parched landscape. Survivors desperate for food have made donkey a delicacy and don't mind eating human flesh. The few healthy people left lock themselves in, not wanting to risk contact with strangers, no matter how dire the strangers' needs. To venture out at night is suicidal: Horrific forces swirl about, ravaging living forms. Lethal black clouds, tentacled water creatures and assorted monsters are comfortable in the daylight hours as well. The knight and a third fellow journeyer, a priest, have difficulty believing Delphine's visions are real, but with oblivion lurking in every shadow, they don't have any choice but to trust her. The question becomes, can she trust herself? Buehlman, who drew upon his love of Fitzgerald and Hemingway in his acclaimed Southern horror novel, Those Across the River (2011), slips effortlessly into a different kind of literary sensibility, one that doesn't scrimp on earthy humor and lyrical writing in the face of unspeakable horrors. The power of suggestion is the author's strong suit, along with first-rate storytelling talent.
An author to watch, Buehlman is now two for two in delivering eerie, offbeat novels with admirable literary skill.Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-937007-86-7
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Ace/Berkley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
A new series starts off with a bang.
A queen and her young daughter are forced to separate and go into hiding when a corrupt politician tries to take over the kingdom.
Queen Cressa of Weirandale is worried about her 8-year-old daughter, the “princella” Cerúlia. The people of Weirandale worship a water spirit, Nargis, who grants each queen a special gift called a Talent. Cressa herself is able to meddle with memories, for example, and her mother possessed supernatural strategic abilities that served her well in battle. Cerúlia, however, appears to have none, because surely her insistence that she can talk to animals is only her young imagination running wild. When Cerúlia’s many pets warn her about assassins creeping into the royal chambers, the girl is able to save herself and her mother. Cressa uses her Talent, which actually extends to forcing anyone to tell her the truth, to root out traitors among the aristocracy, led by the power-hungry Lord Matwyck. Fearing for her daughter’s life and her own, Cressa takes Cerúlia and flees. Thinking Cerúlia will be safer away from her mother, Cressa takes the girl to a kind peasant family and adjusts their memories so they believe Cerúlia is their adopted daughter. Kozloff’s debut is the first of four Nine Realms books, and Tor plans to publish them over just four months. Luckily, the series opener is a strong start, so readers will be grateful for the short wait before Book 2. Kozloff sets a solid stage with glimpses into other characters and nations while keeping the book together with a clear, propulsive plot.
A new series starts off with a bang.Pub Date: Jan. 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-16854-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
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