 We have some great new releases this week. I've chosen two both for different reasons. I chose Starglass because I love the cover and the blurb. In addition, it's nice to know there are books out there for kids that have to do with science and fiction. The earlier we grab their imagination the better off the world will be. The second book is an adult science fiction thriller with a dash of romance. I was fortunate enough to be able to read and review Interrupt before publication. You will see my review below. Starglass by Phoebe North (Simon & Schuster) Starglass is a Young Adult, Science Fiction, romance done right. Already the reviews are coming in and they are good. Kudos to Phoebe for a great read. Blurb Terra has never known anything but life aboard the Asherah, a city-within-a-spaceship that left Earth five hundred years ago in search of refuge. At sixteen, working a job that doesn’t interest her, and living with a grieving father who only notices her when he’s yelling, Terra is sure that there has to be more to life than what she’s got. When she inadvertently witnesses the captain’s guard murdering an innocent man, Terra is suddenly thrust into the dark world beneath her ship’s surface. Terra discovers that her choices may determine life or death for the people she cares most about. Before landing on the long-promised planet, Terra has to make the decision of a lifetime, one that will determine the fate of her people.  Interrupt, by Jeff Carlson, (Tor) In the distant past, the leader of a Neanderthal tribe confronts the end of his kind. Today, a computational biologist, a Navy pilot, and an autistic boy are drawn together by the ancient mystery that gave rise to Homo sapiens. Planes are falling from the sky. Global communications have ceased. America stands on the brink of war with China, but war is the least of humankind’s concerns. As solar storms destroy Earth’s electronics and plunge the world into another Ice Age, our civilization finds itself overrun by a powerful new species of man.
3 Star Review Several years ago, there was much ballyhoo over whether or not ancient humans interbred with Neanderthals. Seems scientists discovered genetic similarities between us and in Interrupt, Jeff Carlson comes up with his own, unique ideas about Neanderthals and humans. Emily Flint, biologist, is late for an appointment. One moment she is driving down the street, the next she is standing in front of a car accident. She doesn't know how or why she got there. Or even why the accident happened. Flint catalog's the experience, then proceeds on her way. Her fiancee will retrieve her car and have it fixed while she makes her appointment. Emily's main goal in her work is to discover a cure for autistic children. Not only has she found a cure, but she has also discovered a vaccine against the elusive genetic disorder. Her nephew, P.J., is autistic and it is for him that she began her studies. Torn between the pharmaceutical's need for a weekly injection that will make everyone rich and a cure, Emily enters her appointment. More accidents happen. A plane falls from the sky. Flashes of white light pierce the sunlit day. A solar max is on the way. Astronomer and part-time father, Marcus Wolsinger, discovers that the sun, which has been stable for the last four thousand years, is entering a period of solar max that will upset the equilibrium. His son is visiting him but Marcus sends him back to LA just as the largest of the flares enters Earth's atmosphere. This will prove to be his undoing. In the South China Sea, Lieutenant Commander Drew Haldane, a secret operative of ROMEO, tries to make sense of the deteriorating situation around the globe. Is China using an EMP against the US? Or perhaps something more sinister? As solar flares shut down the world, Emily, Drew, and Marcus, begin to see the effects of the storm on the human population. Those humans caught outside revert back to primitive human behavior . Autistic children, who carry the genetic connection to Neanderthals, become Neanderthal and form bands that kill primitive humans. In the meantime, China is still trying to wipe the US off the planet. While the writing is intense and drives you forward, I had great difficulty believing the story. With apocalyptic writing there has to be a believability factor that Interrupt was missing. Sure, there was plenty of jargon used, but it didn't connect. The last part of the book was page after page of descriptive fighting. So much so, I lost interest and hurried to finish. As an ARC, Interrupt was interesting enough to while away the afternoon, but I wouldn't pay for it unless it was a .99 cent special for Kindle. I just couldn't get my brain to suspend belief when it came to some people being Neanderthals and others not. In a way, it smacked of racism and that bothered me. We have enough in the world to segregate us right now. We don't need more. Happy reading!!! (((hugs))) Louann Comments are closed.
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