A seriocomic novel that explores the possibilities of futuristic technology and the classic tropes of a mismatched duo.
Debut author Zakreski offers a sci-fi novel about a lawyer dealing with an intergalactic computer virus.
After law student Andron Varga meets a folk singer named Astrid who “smells of rare mountain flowers,” it doesn’t take long for the two to fall in love. Down the road, Andron proposes marriage. Then, suddenly, Astrid is killed by a falling meteorite. Sent into despair, Andron becomes determined to make sense of the tragedy. During his quest for answers, he downloads and installs the software for ILEAP, a project that aims to make contact with civilizations elsewhere in the universe. After he clicks the “FIND LIFE button” and utters some lonely words (“there must be someone somewhere to love me”), things become even stranger. Soon enough, the entire Internet crashes and authorities believe that Andron is involved with a cyberterrorist attack; he’s brutally tortured but eventually released. At this point, the plot lacks direction for several pages until Zakreski introduces a new entity to craftily set it back on course. Andron, through his blundering, has managed to download a virus named Cygnus, who tells him that his own cyber-DNA “got into your computer…and boom Mac Daddy, here I am.” It’s a virus with an attitude, and woe to any innocent lawyer who thinks he can put that genie back in the bottle. They wind up as a team of sorts, and although they initially have some fun, Cygnus steers into moral gray areas. For example, it increases Andron’s bank account exponentially, causing him to worry that something bad is around the corner. In a story that’s part William Gibson-style cyberthriller, part wacky comedy, the pendulum swings between an investigation of the human soul and off-color remarks, such as Cygnus’ opinion that “Bitches are all for successful older dudes with tragic pasts.” Zakreski depicts Cygnus as foulmouthed and capable of dark actions, and he’s certainly shown to be a handful for a man like Andron, who simply wants to stay out of trouble. Readers who enjoy such chaotic characters are likely to enjoy the conflict, though others may wish there were more to the overall premise.
A seriocomic novel that explores the possibilities of futuristic technology and the classic tropes of a mismatched duo.Pub Date: June 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5333-9182-7
Page Count: 366
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A somewhat fragmentary nocturnal shadows Jim Nightshade and his friend Will Halloway, born just before and just after midnight on the 31st of October, as they walk the thin line between real and imaginary worlds. A carnival (evil) comes to town with its calliope, merry-go-round and mirror maze, and in its distortion, the funeral march is played backwards, their teacher's nephew seems to assume the identity of the carnival's Mr. Cooger. The Illustrated Man (an earlier Bradbury title) doubles as Mr. Dark. comes for the boys and Jim almost does; and there are other spectres in this freakshow of the mind, The Witch, The Dwarf, etc., before faith casts out all these fears which the carnival has exploited... The allusions (the October country, the autumn people, etc.) as well as the concerns of previous books will be familiar to Bradbury's readers as once again this conjurer limns a haunted landscape in an allegory of good and evil. Definitely for all admirers.
Pub Date: June 15, 1962
ISBN: 0380977273
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1962
A celebration of fantasy that melds modern ideology with classic tropes. More of these dragons, please.
After 1,000 years of peace, whispers that “the Nameless One will return” ignite the spark that sets the world order aflame.
No, the Nameless One is not a new nickname for Voldemort. Here, evil takes the shape of fire-breathing dragons—beasts that feed off chaos and imbalance—set on destroying humankind. The leader of these creatures, the Nameless One, has been trapped in the Abyss for ages after having been severely wounded by the sword Ascalon wielded by Galian Berethnet. These events brought about the current order: Virtudom, the kingdom set up by Berethnet, is a pious society that considers all dragons evil. In the East, dragons are worshiped as gods—but not the fire-breathing type. These dragons channel the power of water and are said to be born of stars. They forge a connection with humans by taking riders. In the South, an entirely different way of thinking exists. There, a society of female mages called the Priory worships the Mother. They don’t believe that the Berethnet line, continued by generations of queens, is the sacred key to keeping the Nameless One at bay. This means he could return—and soon. “Do you not see? It is a cycle.” The one thing uniting all corners of the world is fear. Representatives of each belief system—Queen Sabran the Ninth of Virtudom, hopeful dragon rider Tané of the East, and Ead Duryan, mage of the Priory from the South—are linked by the common goal of keeping the Nameless One trapped at any cost. This world of female warriors and leaders feels natural, and while there is a “chosen one” aspect to the tale, it’s far from the main point. Shannon’s depth of imagination and worldbuilding are impressive, as this 800-pager is filled not only with legend, but also with satisfying twists that turn legend on its head. Shannon isn’t new to this game of complex storytelling. Her Bone Season novels (The Song Rising, 2017, etc.) navigate a multilayered society of clairvoyants. Here, Shannon chooses a more traditional view of magic, where light fights against dark, earth against sky, and fire against water. Through these classic pairings, an entirely fresh and addicting tale is born. Shannon may favor detailed explication over keeping a steady pace, but the epic converging of plotlines at the end is enough to forgive.
A celebration of fantasy that melds modern ideology with classic tropes. More of these dragons, please.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-63557-029-8
Page Count: 848
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
