A fascinating nonhuman cast and their faraway world make for an enthralling read.
Fenix’s SF debut follows an orphan as he fights to survive among a warrior race of people who hate him.
Hok’ee was discovered as an abandoned infant on planet Korritorjim. He has the same snakelike eyes, luminescent veins, and fangs as the Das nervin who inhabit the desert world, but his colors are different, indicating that he hails from the Xai tribe, abhorred by the Das. Still, they’d rather avoid further war with other tribes, so the possibility that Hok’ee is an “aresh” (a pawn used to justify igniting conflict) ensures his safety, at least until he’s an adult. That doesn’t stop him from suffering merciless bullying or his adoptive family’s endless cruelty. Life takes a turn for the better when Hok’ee meets Öökyo Varkinis. The two boys are roughly the same age and quickly become close friends—and, in due time, something more (“His heart beat a little faster, aching for him”). But circumstances split them apart, and Hok’ee has no choice but to start his Trial, a tradition in which a nervin “pup” is forced to fend for himself outside of civilization. Fenix introduces a cast of unforgettable characters: The nervin are immortal, have incredible healing abilities, and even hibernate. Hok’ee’s exceptionally vicious adoptive father calls him a “mutt” (there’s a chance Hok’ee has mortal blood) and constantly reminds him that his being an aresh is the only reason the boy is alive. This tautly-written novel’s first half focuses on the bigotry Hok’ee endures and on his deftly understated relationship with Öökyo. The latter half, in which Hok’ee teams up with a bounty hunter, slowly exposes readers to the narrative’s larger world(s). As this is a series opener, a few mysteries remain unresolved and the story ends on a solid cliffhanger.
A fascinating nonhuman cast and their faraway world make for an enthralling read.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.
Are we not men? We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z(2006).
A zombie apocalypse is one thing. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.” Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene.
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-2678-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
This rip-roaring romp pivots between past and present and posits the future-altering power of love, hope, and forgiveness.
A time-toying spy romance that’s truly a thriller.
In the author’s note following the moving conclusion of her gripping, gleefully delicious debut novel, Bradley explains how she gathered historical facts about Lt. Graham Gore, a real-life Victorian naval officer and polar explorer, then “extrapolated a great deal” about him to come up with one of her main characters, a curly-haired, chain-smoking, devastatingly charming dreamboat who has been transported through time. Having also found inspiration in the sole extant daguerreotype of Gore, showing him to have been “a very attractive man,” Bradley wrote the earliest draft of the book for a cluster of friends who were similarly passionate about polar explorers. Her finished novel—taut, artfully unspooled, and vividly written—retains the kind of insouciant joy and intimacy you might expect from a book with those origins. It’s also breathtakingly sexy. The time-toggling plot focuses on the plight of a British civil servant who takes a high-paying job on a secret mission, working as a “bridge” to help time-traveling “expats” resettle in 21st-century London—and who falls hard for her charge, the aforementioned Commander Gore. Drama, intrigue, and romance ensue. And while this quasi-futuristic tale of time and tenderness never seems to take itself too seriously, it also offers a meaningful, nuanced perspective on the challenges we face, the choices we make, and the way we live and love today.
This rip-roaring romp pivots between past and present and posits the future-altering power of love, hope, and forgiveness.Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781668045145
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Avid Reader Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
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