Reviewed
by: BigAl
Genre:
Science Fiction
Approximate
word count: 95-100,000
words
Availability
Click
on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes &
Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
“Nicholas
Conley's passion for storytelling began at an early age, prompted by
a love of science fiction novels, comic books and horror movies. When
not busy writing, Nicholas spends his time reading, traveling to new
places, and indulging in a lifelong coffee habit. In order to better
establish himself on the planet Earth, Nicholas has currently made
his home in New Hampshire.”
For
more, visit the author's website.
Description:
“Gabriel
Schist is spending his remaining years at Bright New Day, a nursing
home. He once won the Nobel Prize for inventing a vaccine for AIDS.
But now, he has Alzheimer’s, and his mind is slowly slipping away.
When
one of the residents comes down with a horrific virus, Gabriel
realizes that he is the only one who can find a cure. Encouraged by
Victor, an odd stranger, he convinces the administrator to allow him
to study the virus. Soon, reality begins to shift, and Gabriel’s
hallucinations interfere with his work.
As the
death count mounts, Gabriel is in a race against the clock and his
own mind. Can he find a cure before his brain deteriorates past the
point of no return?”
Appraisal:
Well,
this was sure different.
The
main story thread, the search for the vaccine, is a solid science
fiction story. What raises it beyond just another story is the
character of Gabriel. He's an easy character to like. Extremely
accomplished, yet far from perfect, he knows he's coming to the end
of his days, and is coming to terms with decisions he's made in life
that might have been mistakes. He has a lot of backstory which is
introduced smoothly. Rather than feeling like it's being dumped on
the reader all at once, it’s doled out at appropriate points.
I also
found experiencing Gabriel's struggles with the deterioration in his
mental processes due to his disease interesting, at least to a point.
Anyone who has aged enough to realize their brain isn't as sharp as
it once was may find pondering how they would handle Altzheimer's
something to contemplate. (Then again, some may not.) As Gabriel's
condition worsened, I often found myself uncertain what was
hallucination and what was science fiction. If you're a sci-fi reader
who appreciates character development, Pale
Highway would be a good
choice.
FYI:
A
small amount of adult language.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No
significant issues.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
1 comment:
I'm going to be reading this soon, so I'm glad it's interesting. :)
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