Reviewed by: Sooz
Genre: Science Fiction Thriller
Approximate word count: 40-45,000 words
Availability
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on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or
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Author:
Toby Tate
has seemingly done it all. He’s been in the Navy, worked as cab driver, a pizza delivery man, a phone
solicitor, a shipyard technician, a government contractor, a retail music
salesman, a bookseller, a cell phone salesman and a recording studio engineer,
according to his bio.
He has written several sci-fi, fantasy and horror books.
You can learn about him on his website.
http://www.tobytatestories.com/
Description:
Chloe
Johansson’s father goes missing and she heads from Boston to Switzerland to
learn what she could about his disappearance. Her father was one of the
scientists that discovered the Higgs Boson, and he accidentally discovered
there was more to the God Particle than realized. Johansson, her family and
for-hire agents cross the globe to save it from unseen monster that could
destroy everything.
Appraisal:
Chloe
Johansson is a brave, smart 16-year-old. She’s already attends MIT, and when
her dad goes missing, she doesn’t bat an eye in going to Switzerland, where he
works at the CERN, in trying to help find him.
The science
fiction thriller pits Chloe as the central character from a first-person point
of view, but we get into the mind of other characters as author Toby Tate uses
a third-person point of view for the other characters. This jumping between POV
felt a bit disjointed, but luckily it didn’t last long as the chapters were
short and direct.
Admittedly,
I don’t know enough about the Higgs Boson to know if the science going on in
the book is even plausible. It was one of those moments where I decided to let
go and jump into the story, and I think readers will have to do that.
The story
puts the family on the run across the globe, chasing a being that could wreak
havoc on the world if it takes control of the right person. Tate does a great
of describing the settings of all the different places the family visits, but I
wasn’t sure the globetrotting was necessary as we did find the characters on a
plane often.
I would
have liked to learn more about some of the other characters as Tate put a
diverse group together to fight the menace, but Chloe Johansson was a likable
16-year-old, who seems young enough to not understand the dangers she faced.
Even while trying to save her father, and the world, she still finds time to
think about the cute boy who just saved her family.
There was a
subplot that started at the beginning of the book where Chloe’s friend calls to
tell her she is pregnant, but this thread isn’t picked up again until the very
end of the book. If there are other stories about Johansson, perhaps it will be
mentioned again, but I wasn’t sure what the point was other than put out a
political opinion regarding options for teenage pregnancy. This subplot wasn’t
involved enough to sway my feelings of the book.
For those
who like fast-paced, sci-fi thrillers, this is the type of book you would
enjoy.
Format/Typo Issues:
No major
issues.
Rating: ***Three stars
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