A fitting end to this trilogy, which, in even its trippiest moments, maintains a plausibility that others in this subgenre...
In an alternate near future, the threat of an alien invasion looms ever closer in the city-state of Rosewater, the surrounding nation of Nigeria, and, ultimately, all of Earth.
As per the agreement set in the previous Wormwood novel (The Rosewater Insurrection, 2019), the alien Homians have begun mentally occupying reanimates, apparently mindless fresh human corpses healed and revived by Homian technology. Unbeknownst to most, this is the beginning of a gradual takeover of Earth by the Homians. But some Homians are trying to speed up the process through a series of mass murders. Worse still, Hannah Jacques, a lawyer and the wife of Rosewater’s mayor (who struck the deal with the Homians), publicly reveals that reanimates are capable of recovering their memories and cognitive facilities. Tensions in Rosewater rise still higher as criminal twins and rivals Taiwo and Kehinde engage in violent turf wars and the mayor legalizes gay marriage in what is still a very homophobic population. Meanwhile, Femi Alaagomeji, once the head of the Nigerian intelligence agency S45, works to counter the Homian threat, enlisting her former operative Kaaro, the cowardly but powerful psychic who is sensitive to her cause even while his girlfriend, Aminat, another ex–S45 agent, feels frustrated in her current position as Rosewater’s head of security. And Oyin Da, the enigmatic time-traveling woman also known as Bicycle Girl, learns some troubling truths about herself as she searches for a way to undermine the aliens and ensure humanity’s survival. Popular American tales of alien invasion typically depict the contentious nations of the world recognizing the threat and uniting despite their differences to defeat the unearthly foe; Thompson is far too canny about how even an alternate version of our planet really works politically to throw such a corny show our way. Of course, it’s still a trope (but a more believable one) that only a few people are clearsighted and ruthless enough to see and act upon the truth while everyone else fails to notice, too intent on their own needs. The ultimate strategy our (anti)heroes choose to employ against the Homians also has its roots in a sci-fi plot device that’s more than a century old, but it’s still carried off with drama and panache.
A fitting end to this trilogy, which, in even its trippiest moments, maintains a plausibility that others in this subgenre often lack.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-316-44909-0
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Orbit
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Twelve tales, 198494, drawn from various publications, by the author of Towing Jehovah (1994), etc. The main thrust here isn't always biblical, though satire looms large—along with dollops of ironic, iconoclastic, or subversive wit. The dazzlingly effective best of a decidedly superior bunch: A murderously mutinous WW I American infantry private ends up in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with a permanent honor guard; reversing his Babel decision, God gives everyone the power of perfect comprehension—with equally devastating results; a robot civilization adheres to the Darwinian principle of natural selection, despite the manifest impossibility of its applying to them; and the sad story of Gunther Black, a man with multiple personalities so numerous that they form nations—and conduct war! In other notable what-ifs, Moses never receives a replacement set of law tablets; Lincoln considers signing an armistice; Helen decides to put an end to the Trojan War; Ebenezer Scrooge lives out his days as an unregenerate capitalist rascal; and Job realizes he's been duped and demands a rematch. Elsewhere, a dead woman's donated organs yearn to reunite; Noah ponders the possibility of other survivors; and, finally, in a rather silly fable, a farmer's wife gives birth to planet Earth. A splendidly provocative series of engagements for supple and enquiring minds; mandatory for fanatics of any stripe.
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100192-8
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Harvest/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
McCaffrey's latest rummage through the archives of planet Pern (Dragonseye, 1997, etc.) has unearthed Robinton, the Masterharper of Pern, and the circumstances surrounding the advent of weyrleader F'lar and Lessa, the first woman Dragonrider. It's a time when no Thread has fallen for centuries (it's due in 50 years or so), and five of the six weyrs stand inexplicably empty of Dragons and Riders. Young Rob, rejected by his father, is a musical prodigy and has the ability to speak telepathically with dragons. As Rob's musical and diplomatic skills grow, he becomes friendly with Dragonrider F'lon and also earns the enmity of Fax, a holder who refuses to allow his people to be educated (the traditional role of the Harpers). Rob marries, but his wife dies of a fever; F'lon's wife dies in childbirth; Fax, meanwhile, by force and trickery dominates the north and threatens the very basis of Pern society. Then, after F'lon is killed in a contrived duel, Fax invades Ruatha Hold, and now Rob must enlist the aid of F'lon's son F'lar to defeat Fax. Covers well-trodden ground in more detail than hitherto; presumably, most dragonfans will find it satisfying enough.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-345-38823-2
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1997
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