(translated by Laura Fitzgerald)
Genre: Science Fiction/Technothriller
Description:
Extract from Amazon: “Miguel Le Fablec, a young European
university professor, appears to have the ability to turn his imagination into
reality – the so-called Midas Effect. Unaware of his power, Miguel attracts the
attention of the CIA and NASA, which take him to the US and draw him
into international intrigues, scientific projects and secret services
operations that overwhelm his reaction capacity. Everyone wants to control
and use him.”
Author:
Manuel Dorado has a background in the area
in which he has set this, his first novel. Not the CIA. Hopefully. But he is an
aerospace engineer. His short fiction in Spanish has won awards, and been
included in a number of magazines. This is his first novel and, I think, his
first translated work.
Laura Fitzgerald translated the novel. She
has retained excellent page-turning quality and the English is supple and
effective.
Appraisal:
This is an unusual novel in several ways. I
like unusual, which is why I was drawn to it in BigAl’s looong list of indie books
looking for reviews.
For a start, it was written in Spanish and
has been published in translation. So, from the outset this British reader is
getting a different worldview. Spanish is not constructed anything like
English. A book has to be well constructed to withstand such a sea change
without reading as stilted. For this reason, I don’t usually seek out
translated literature or poetry. But I had already become intrigued by this
novel before realising. Still, I like being outside my literary comfort zone.
It’s why I review indie books, because they are like Forrest Gump’s box of
chocolates: you never know what you’re going to get. So with this.
The premise is a simple one, but one which I
have not come across before in science fiction: what if you could influence
events so as to have the outcome you want every time. We can all imagine
ourselves having that ability, so although it is definitely fiction about
science it also snuggles up warmly to the reader, as the concept is eminently
graspable. What would we do with that ability? Could we control it? How would
we control it? And, most importantly (as the blurb considers) what would The
Powers That Be do with a person with such a gift?
I like the way certain characteristics of
the people inhabiting the book are reinforced each time they take centre stage.
Castillo fiddles with his tie, Gorlov has an endless supply of cheap pens which
he deconstructs while he thinks. Everyone has a tic. Physical descriptions of
the characters really worked for me, as with this: “Fred smiled. His
Anglo-Saxon features compressed with the action, his eyes almost disappearing
between cavernous wrinkles.” The descriptions are pithy and insightful,
reinforcing characterisation, motivation and action. This enables the
protagonists to think in really rather subtle ways. Indeed, the imagery
throughout the book is a delight. I also like the lightly worn knowledge of the
geographical settings that Dorado uses, in the USA, Europe and the Middle East.
So much for the characterisation, what of
the plot? There is plenty of that too, despite the ‘inflection’ taking place,
inevitably, inside the head of the Midas. There is danger, and chases; allies
turn out to be enemies and vice versa. The page turning quality is excellent.
And, finally, it has a twist at the end
which I did not see coming (and I almost always spot the twist coming).
Recommended.
Buy now
from: Amazon US Amazon UK
Format/Typo
Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating: ****
Four Stars
Reviewed
by: Judi Moore
Approximate word count: 135-140,000 words
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