An engaging and unconventional thriller with a vibrant heroine.
An act of sabotage gives a teenage girl some remarkable new abilities in this debut SF novel.
Diana Dunphy is a normal 16-year-old girl whose parents’ work is anything but ordinary. Her divorced parents, Rita and Aaron Dunphy, are scientists collaborating on a project called the Tachyon Chamber, affectionately nicknamed the “Crock Pot.” Designed to tackle the twin problems of oil scarcity and waste disposal, the Tachyon Chamber sends discarded materials back in time, where they will become oil for present-day use. But on the night of the project’s demonstration, terrorists posing as high school friends of Diana’s attack the attendees in an effort to download the software that makes the chamber possible. Diana tries to intervene, but she is pushed into the chamber. Her parents rescue her; then, her father is killed trying to dispose of a bomb left by the terrorists. While recovering in a hospital, Diana notices something is different about her. She craves rare meat and uses her tongue to smell. Her mother tests her DNA and discovers similarities with a Tyrannosaurus rex’s genetic material. Diana must keep her new powers and instincts under control as she returns to high school, but her efforts are complicated by her desire to seek revenge against the terrorists responsible for her condition and her father’s death. Gleisser’s novel is a fast-paced SF thriller bolstered by a dynamic heroine and well-staged action scenes. The narrative is anchored by Diana, whose world is turned upside down when her DNA is spliced with that of a dinosaur. She is surrounded by a strong supporting cast, including her mother and Chuck Leadingham, a classmate who eventually develops a romantic interest in Diana. The investigation into the sabotage that led to Diana’s transformation leads to some of the tale’s most intense action sequences, particularly her use of her sense of smell to uncover the location of the terrorists. That said, there are a few minor editing inconsistencies. For example, the name of the institute supporting the Dunphys’ research is spelled both “Gotelle” and “Gottelle.”
An engaging and unconventional thriller with a vibrant heroine.Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-948374-21-7
Page Count: 328
Publisher: Hydra Publications
Review Posted Online: Feb. 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PROFILES
Readers willing to overlook the endless exposition may enjoy some diversity that's often missing in SF.
In this earnest space opera, an ensemble of badass women and nonbinary and queer characters fight corporate overlords on the semilawless planet Persephone.
A century ago, the Emissaries, hidden beings indigenous to Persephone, gave the gift of prolonged life to Rosie, a nonbinary cleric-colonizer, and Vissia, now head of the corporation that owns the planet. Despite and because of that gift, Vissia's bent on exploiting the Emissaries until nothing is left. Rosie, now a crime boss, enlists Angel, the expelled former student of an all-female martial arts academy, and her team of revivified United Republic of Worlds soldiers, to protect the Emissaries. Unless they can be convinced to reveal themselves and join the URW, making the corporate claim on Persephone void, the odds are not in their favor. With clear nods to Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven, complete with an AI ship named Kurosawa, this has all the makings of a great SF adventure, but it doesn't have the depth to pull it off. With too many sluggish infodumps and a broad diversity checklist to hit regardless of authenticity, the narrative gets tangled and many threads get lost. So much so that a story trying to champion Indigenous autonomy makes "the benefits of assimilation" the final goal. Rosie, however, is a bright spot. Their gender-fluid nonbinariness is just one part of a delightfully complex, genuine, and amoral character who could make this novel worth your time.
Readers willing to overlook the endless exposition may enjoy some diversity that's often missing in SF.Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-1458-7
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Saga/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
An un-put-down-able, action-packed adventure that packs an emotional punch.
In a post-quake Los Angeles, a psychokinetic government agent is on the run from...pretty much everyone.
Seeing as Teagan was already in the middle of a high-speed chase with a murderous biker gang, not much could have made her day worse. Except maybe getting an accidental face full of the meth she stole from said biker gang. Now she’ll have to deal with the next crisis while coming down from her unintended high. Because if there’s one thing we know about psychokinetic government operative Teagan after two frenetically fast-paced adventures—most recently Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air (2020)—it’s that there’s always another crisis on the way. Sure enough, no sooner is the high-speed car chase situation resolved (with maximum destruction) than someone electrifies an entire building, which should be impossible, and Teagan’s team is dispatched to figure out if this impossible situation might have been caused by another kid from the mysterious School, a kid with extranormal powers. Unfortunately, that means they’re all a little too busy to worry about why their comms have been disrupted or who tipped off the biker gang that they were coming. Fans who’ve been along for the ride on Teagan’s previous two outings know what to expect by now, and this third installment fully delivers, with a breakneck pace, high stakes, and plenty of wisecracks. This adventure sees Teagan separated from her team, on the run from the government, the aforementioned biker gang, and a truly terrifying adversary known as the Zigzag Man—in other words, pushed to her absolute limits both physically and emotionally. The result is gripping, suspenseful, and thoroughly enjoyable.
An un-put-down-able, action-packed adventure that packs an emotional punch.Pub Date: April 27, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-70277-5
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Orbit
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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