An old story with updated weapons.
Military mayhem on a California marijuana farm.
Supersoldier Ryan Decker and an impromptu collection of comrades in arms take on a corporate criminal enterprise in this conventional thriller. Brett Hale has gone missing on "Murder Mountain," the epicenter of the marijuana cultivation industry in Humboldt County, California, and Decker's investigation of the disappearance, which began as a simple favor for Sen. Margaret Steele, a friend of Hale's mother’s from law school, uncovers a vast corporate takeover of the pot farming business. Bankrolled by the Athena Corporation, this quasi-military enterprise, code-named EMERALD CITY, anticipates a harvest worth in the neighborhood of $2 billion and is commensurately dedicated to preserving its secrecy. Decker's attempt to locate Hale provokes a reaction from EMERALD CITY and, in essence, starts a war. Heavy on weaponry and security technology, the narrative moves toward the inevitable final shootout without much verve or spirit. Decker himself is a somewhat rounded military character, and Harlow, his partner/girlfriend, is marginally believable, but most of the other characters are predictable: a sheriff reluctant to upset the status quo, a ruthless security manager, an evil political-influence peddler, and so on. Interestingly, several female characters enter the fray, but they are stand-ins, effective only when they fight "like men." The battle descriptions are detailed and sometimes not confusing, but the real stars of the book are weapons, bristling with spiky acronyms, and electronic security technologies.
An old story with updated weapons.Pub Date: July 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2186-9
Page Count: 396
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
Admirable in its aims but needed more finesse.
In 1944, the lives of a newspaper reporter, a newly ordained minister, Japanese internees, and a Japanese scientist intertwine around a mysterious illness.
“There’s a long history of violence against Asians in America. If you’re unaware of this, it’s not surprising: it doesn’t make the history books, it’s not taught in classrooms,” the author writes in an afterword. Her novel combines historical events, such as Roosevelt’s executive order forcing Japanese Americans into internment camps, with supernatural elements from Japanese folklore. Chapters alternate among the perspectives of minister Archie Mitchell, reporter Fran Gurstwold, Camp Minidoka internees Meiko Briggs and her daughter Aiko, and scientist Wasaburo Oishi’s journal entries. What unites these disparate characters becomes clear as more is revealed about the illness spreading through the internment camp and the dangerous balloons or parachutes that have begun appearing in several states. While at first the plot moves at a dizzying pace, especially in Archie’s first chapters, a balance of incisive detail and steady progression is struck toward the middle of the book. What appears to be a story of supernatural suspense mixed with historical fiction transforms into an important reminder of the United States’ short memory of its own atrocities and its long history of anti-Asian sentiment, violence, and racism. Didactic writing is both a strength and a weakness here. At first, important parallels are created; for instance, “America was not Nazi Germany. Rounding up citizens in camps in order to kill them: it was impossible. It went against everything America stood for—everything Americans said they stood for. Yet here she was, dying in an internment camp.” Unfortunately, by the end, these notes become too frequent and heavy-handed. Even so, it's enjoyable to experience the ambitious, weblike weaving of the book's many elements.
Admirable in its aims but needed more finesse.Pub Date: April 26, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-32833-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2022
A smart and highly original work of modern fantasy.
After the events of Book of Night (2022), Charlie Hall is forced to hunt down the perpetrator of a terrible massacre.
Charlie Hall is the Hierophant: It’s her job to be tethered to a powerful, independent shadow—a “Blight”— and hunt down other Blights for the Cabals, the heads of their respective shadow-magic specialties. The Cabals use the difficult job of Hierophant as a punishment, but Charlie agreed to take it on so she could be the person tethered to Vince, aka Red, the Blight who posed as a human and ended up dating and falling in love with Charlie. The Cabal leaders used magic to steal the part of Red’s memory that contained his relationship with Charlie, and so Charlie is determined to steal Red’s memories back. And she needs to move fast, because if Red doesn’t remember loving her, he just might be OK with Charlie being killed if it means his own freedom. Meanwhile, Mr. Punch, a terrifying Cabal leader who specializes in using shadow magic to possess other people’s bodies, has a job for Charlie: He wants her to find the culprit behind a terrible massacre that was attributed to a cult. He suspects that the people were actually killed by a Blight, and he doesn’t want the Cabals to face the blowback if the truth becomes public. Mr. Punch could do terrible things to Charlie if she fails, but if she succeeds, he’ll help Charlie and Red be free of the Cabals for good. The sophomore novel in a series is always tough, but this sequel proves that the second book can be even better than the first. Black turns the screws on the magical world she set up in Book 1, creating complicated political motives between Charlie and the Cabal leaders and making the question of what it means for a shadow, like Red, to have their own consciousness more interesting. Veteran con artist Charlie makes some truly brilliant moves, especially toward the end, where the last few chapters have one terrific surprise after the other.
A smart and highly original work of modern fantasy.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9781250812223
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
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