A solid, creepy page-turner.
A search-and-rescue mission on a hostile planet results in a horrific discovery in this dread-filled sci-fi thriller.
In response to a distress signal, the Odyssey crew sets out to investigate a drilling base on Achlys, a fringe planet harboring something sinister beneath its harsh surface. Seventeen-year-old Thea Sadik certainly values her internship at drilling conglomerate Hevetz Industries working for esteemed microbiologist Lisbeth Tarlow, but the young intern suspects that Tarlow’s tragic past may help to uncover Achlys’ evil secrets. Nova Singh, an 18-year-old brown-skinned pilot, meanwhile tries to act as peacemaker for her fiery cousin, a Hevetz mechanic, and wrestles with her feelings for the headstrong female captain, Dylan Lowe. The team’s search for survivors leads them to an abandoned ship full of deceased personnel as well as a stack of bodies in one of the drilling sites. Using an omnipresent third-person narration to clue readers in at key moments, Bowman (Retribution Rails, 2017, etc.) sets up an intriguing universe, providing small doses of political intrigue that suggest something more grandiose in a potential sequel. Self-serving acts plague the Odyssey crew from the onset, and the author does an admirable job of explaining their motivations even if the answers prove unsatisfying at times. When one of their own is infected by an unknown contagion, the group must fend off an aggressive outbreak. The book assumes a white default.
A solid, creepy page-turner. (Science fiction/horror. 13-adult)Pub Date: July 24, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-257414-5
Page Count: 432
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2018
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
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