Following his dynamic 1998 debut, the Antarctic thriller Ice Reich, ex-journalist and Pulitzer Prize—winner Dietrich moves on to Australia for this slower-paced future-world saga of malcontents and convicts roaming the outback in a deadly game orchestrated by an all-powerful corporate entity. Halfway through the 21st century, United Corporations has made the world secure—even if a plague born of genetic engineering did accidentally kill off the entire human population of Australia—but Daniel Dyson, a comfortably midlevel programmer, isn—t satisfied. His bad attitude earns him a reprimand, yet suddenly, out of the surrounding darkness of conformity, a ray of hope shines forth in the shapely form of Raven. She entices him into a subterranean escapade, then turns him on to Outback Adventure, a secret, selective tour agency offering the ultimate challenge: a no-gadgets survivalist trek across now plague-free Australia, with only those reaching the coast able to get back home. Although Raven vanishes, Daniel still signs up, trusting he—ll run into her over there. But, as he and the group he’s teamed with learn to their dismay, when Raven saves them from dying of thirst, their ultimate adventure is just another means for Big Brother to stifle dissent—by throwing together the restless and the criminal in a place apart, with no intention of bringing any of them back. Raven proves to be not the fellow free spirit Daniel had fallen in love with; she is instead an agent of the corporate monolith he detests. As they traverse the continent, however, with a pack of killer convicts pursuing them for the key to escape, which the two possess, a new understanding grows between them, as does a new hope for humanity. The pro-wilderness, outside-the-box message is hammered home in ways ranging from clever to clunky, but when the action stops and the pondering begins, a lack of character depth makes this story about as succulent as a mouthful of desert sand.
Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2000
ISBN: 0-446-52457-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1999
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.
Life lessons.
Angie Malone, the youngest of a big, warm Italian-American family, returns to her Pacific Northwest hometown to wrestle with various midlife disappointments: her divorce, Papa’s death, a downturn in business at the family restaurant, and, above all, her childlessness. After several miscarriages, she, a successful ad exec, and husband Conlan, a reporter, befriended a pregnant young girl and planned to adopt her baby—and then the birth mother changed her mind. Angie and Conlan drifted apart and soon found they just didn’t love each other anymore. Metaphorically speaking, “her need for a child had been a high tide, an overwhelming force that drowned them. A year ago, she could have kicked to the surface but not now.” Sadder but wiser, Angie goes to work in the struggling family restaurant, bickering with Mama over updating the menu and replacing the ancient waitress. Soon, Angie befriends another young girl, Lauren Ribido, who’s eager to learn and desperately needs a job. Lauren’s family lives on the wrong side of the tracks, and her mother is a promiscuous alcoholic, but Angie knows nothing of this sad story and welcomes Lauren into the DeSaria family circle. The girl listens in, wide-eyed, as the sisters argue and make wisecracks and—gee-whiz—are actually nice to each other. Nothing at all like her relationship with her sluttish mother, who throws Lauren out when boyfriend David, en route to Stanford, gets her pregnant. Will Lauren, who’s just been accepted to USC, let Angie adopt her baby? Well, a bit of a twist at the end keeps things from becoming too predictable.
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.Pub Date: July 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-345-46750-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2004
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
© Copyright 2024 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.
