The author pushes her cast of Herans and earthlings—along with readers—through an unforgettable emotional crucible.
Earth descendants struggle to survive on an inhospitable planet in Maxwell’s sci-fi sequel to The Rasken (2011).
On the sparsely settled planet Hera, 16-year-old Margole once possessed the technology to teleport from place to place. Using a palm-embedded wonder called the rasken, she wielded power reserved for leaders of the various matriarchal tribes living along the Noku River. The technology is now broken, yet Margole still yearns to hunt and travel the river like the nomadic men who periodically visit the women’s villages. Meanwhile, on 54th-century Earth, marine researchers Karl Trax and Terra Woods discover an ancient spaceship at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Study of the vessel reveals that it once traveled to Hera to start a colony. This prompts a scientific voyage back to learn more about a divergent line of humanity. Karl and Terra are joined by Lt. Seran Talbur and sociologist T. E. Drummers. While first contact between the two groups goes smoothly, the scientists soon discover that the Noku River harbors an invasive population of insect larvae. Large moths hatch and start spreading a deadly parasite among both peoples, precipitating a struggle for survival not seen by the Herans for a thousand years, when Noku’s invaders last appeared. Maxwell (Butterfly Storm, 2011) continues the heroic arc of Margole in this second novel in the series, as she navigates her first disastrous Eros Ceremony (the mating ritual between stationary and nomadic tribes), and then throws in with the off-world scientists. Her reaction to their technology is grounded and endearing; in one tent she finds “smooth, shiny objects, some that spewed light, completely unlike that of the lanterns back home.” As the biological terror of the moths (among other creatures) amplifies and the tragedies pile up, Margole’s instincts to go against the grain prove invaluable to her tribe. Maxwell also broadens the scope of her series with a framing sequence involving manipulative aliens called the Avonades. YA and sci-fi audiences should love this ferociously smart sequel.
The author pushes her cast of Herans and earthlings—along with readers—through an unforgettable emotional crucible.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Alaskan Bookshelf
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.
A promise to his best friend leads an Army serviceman to a family in need and a chance at true love in this novel.
Beckett Gentry is surprised when his Army buddy Ryan MacKenzie gives him a letter from Ryan’s sister, Ella. Abandoned by his mother, Beckett grew up in a series of foster homes. He is wary of attachments until he reads Ella’s letter. A single mother, Ella lives with her twins, Maisie and Colt, at Solitude, the resort she operates in Telluride, Colorado. They begin a correspondence, although Beckett can only identify himself by his call sign, Chaos. After Ryan’s death during a mission, Beckett travels to Telluride as his friend had requested. He bonds with the twins while falling deeply in love with Ella. Reluctant to reveal details of Ryan’s death and risk causing her pain, Beckett declines to disclose to Ella that he is Chaos. Maisie needs treatment for neuroblastoma, and Beckett formally adopts the twins as a sign of his commitment to support Ella and her children. He and Ella pursue a romance, but when an insurance investigator questions the adoption, Beckett is faced with revealing the truth about the letters and Ryan’s death, risking losing the family he loves. Yarros’ (Wilder, 2016, etc.) novel is a deeply felt and emotionally nuanced contemporary romance bolstered by well-drawn characters and strong, confident storytelling. Beckett and Ella are sympathetic protagonists whose past experiences leave them cautious when it comes to love. Beckett never knew the security of a stable home life. Ella impulsively married her high school boyfriend, but the marriage ended when he discovered she was pregnant. The author is especially adept at developing the characters through subtle but significant details, like Beckett’s aversion to swearing. Beckett and Ella’s romance unfolds slowly in chapters that alternate between their first-person viewpoints. The letters they exchanged are pivotal to their connection, and almost every chapter opens with one. Yarros’ writing is crisp and sharp, with passages that are poetic without being florid. For example, in a letter to Beckett, Ella writes of motherhood: “But I’m not the center of their universe. I’m more like their gravity.” While the love story is the book’s focus, the subplot involving Maisie’s illness is equally well-developed, and the link between Beckett and the twins is heartfelt and sincere.
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64063-533-3
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: Jan. 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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