Opinions of a Wolf

Summary:
When the floating reality tv show SeaLife receives a distress beacon coming from a remote island, it looks like their ratings are going to improve.  Henders Island has not been visited since the 1700s, and the scientists aboard the Trident are excited at the possible new species they could find.  Unfortunately, the species aren’t as benign as they thought.

Review:
This was recommended to me by a couple of friends who know I’m a huge Michael Crichton fan as a Crichton-esque reading experience.  I can definitely say that this falls solidly in the hard, plausible scifi genre that has been so empty since Crichton’s passing.

Fahy takes the concept of an island splitting off from the rest of civilization and evolving separately and runs with it.  The creatures he comes up with are fantastic and frightening yet simultaneously plausible, which is part of what makes the thrills so thrilling. Similar to Crichton, there are long passages of science explained at a level easily understandable by anyone with a high school diploma.  Also, there are passages that at first seem unimportant but later are revealed to be connected and important.

The characterization is strong enough for a thriller of this sort, although that of the main characters could be a bit stronger.  Everyone is easy to tell apart, however, and their motivations are clear, something that can be difficult to pull off at the fast pace of a thriller.  In future writings, I do hope that Fahy’s main characters will be a bit more well-rounded, however.

The pacing is a bit bumpy with some passages that remove the previously built-up suspense.  Although this was necessary to explain the science, it does seem that it could have been worked in more smoothly.  The last quarter of the book, however, is paced perfectly with no interruptions and just the right amount of suspense.

One of the highlights of the book is definitely the inclusion of the reality tv show.  It lends it a current real vibe.  Things are recorded as they happen.  The world sort of knows what’s going on, but not quite.  The military has to get involved.  Everything reads as very plausible and realistically connected to how the modern world actually works.  Plus the scenes involving the reality tv producers are just good comic relief.

I absolutely plan on reading Fahy’s future works, and definitely recommend this to fans of Crichton style scifi.

4 out of 5 stars

Source: PaperBackSwap

Buy It