Food for thought, if not entirely digestible.
After an African-American thug murders a white graduate student jogging in Central Park, the two team up to combat an alien menace in Mosley’s (Rose Gold, 2014, etc.) latest science-fiction effort.
When Ronnie Bottoms brains Lorraine Fell with a rock, her corpse conveniently falls on top of the Silver Box, an incredibly powerful AI remorseful about its original purpose: fulfilling the whims of the Laz, a sadistic conquering race. When the Box acts to help Ronnie resurrect Lorraine, they also inadvertently awaken the Laz as well, which soon sets its sights on Earth. Mosley is always genuinely interested in getting inside people’s heads and trying to bridge social, economic and racial divides—or at least, to disseminate understanding about the natures of those divides. But for some reason, his science fiction is typically crafted in the form of fables, and the insights which seem organic and integrated in his mysteries lose subtlety in his SF. The message of this particular fable is also somewhat murky: What do Lorraine and Ronnie gain by their encounter with the Silver Box? Have they really become more enlightened? Ronnie does become a more philosophical person, willing to consider the implications of his actions (although fidelity doesn’t seem part of that package). But Lorraine seems to have gained Ronnie’s less attractive qualities in return, rejecting philosophy (formerly her area of study) and words for the purely physical, running for miles and having sex with a stranger (the oddly named Alton Brown—does Mosley have some connection with the Food Network celebrity?). And although she’s strong enough now to resist her domineering father’s bullying, she apparently has no problem continuing to accept his financial support and never for one second worries that it might be cut off.
Food for thought, if not entirely digestible.Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7653-7521-6
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An exciting, thought-provoking mind-bender.
In Crouch’s sci-fi–driven thriller, a machine designed to help people relive their memories creates apocalyptic consequences.
In 2018, NYPD Detective Barry Sutton unsuccessfully tries to talk Ann Voss Peters off the edge of the Poe Building. She claims to have False Memory Syndrome, a bewildering condition that seems to be spreading. People like Ann have detailed false memories of other lives lived, including marriages and children, but in “shades of gray, like film noir stills.” For some, like Ann, an overwhelming sense of loss leads to suicide. Barry knows loss: Eleven years ago, his 15-year-old daughter, Meghan, was killed by a hit-and-run driver. Details from Ann’s story lead him to dig deeper, and his investigation leads him to a mysterious place called Hotel Memory, where he makes a life-altering discovery. In 2007, a ridiculously wealthy philanthropist and inventor named Marcus Slade offers neuroscientist Helena Smith the chance of a lifetime and an unlimited budget to build a machine that allows people to relive their memories. He says he wants to “change the world.” Helena hopes that her mother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, will benefit from her passion project. The opportunity for unfettered research is too tempting to turn down. However, when Slade takes the research in a controversial direction, Helena may have to destroy her dream to save the world. Returning to a few of the themes he explored in Dark Matter (2016), Crouch delivers a bullet-fast narrative and raises the stakes to a fever pitch. A poignant love story is woven in with much food for thought on grief and the nature of memories and how they shape us, rounding out this twisty and terrifying thrill ride.
An exciting, thought-provoking mind-bender.Pub Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-5978-0
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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
PERSPECTIVES
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