Wednesday book Review: Necropath May 6, 2009
Posted by kmcalear in Book Review, Science Fiction.add a comment
Necropath by Eric Brown seemed to be an interesting choice. A space port set in exotic india dealing with all the incoming races of the galaxy, Bengal Station employs psychics, humans and aliens (Eee Tees) to keep interstellar traffic going. Unfortunately I felt lost from the moment I picked up the book. Vaughn, the main character, is flat and emotionless which is explained away by his use of a special drug to inhibit his telepathic abilities, but the result is that it’s hard to connect with the character. Tiger and her sister Sukara are scrappy and gritty, but never really connect emotionally. You feel sorry for them, but the childlike mind set of both characters is difficult to accept in light of their work as prostitutes and beggars. I was somewhat interested in what happened with Sukara, which at least got me to skim the entire book to find out what happened. The environment never really gives a feeling of futuristic setting, the gritty world complete with the impoverished beggars, the prostitutes and the middle class policemen doesn’t stand out from the modern day. Brown throws in references to flying cars, different forms of communication and space ships, but it never comes together in a way that drew me in. The aliens that go to the strip bar, also, are difficult to really visualize. Finally the plot is full of vague hints to Vaughn’s past that end up being more annoying than intriguing, and don’t get resolved until the end of the book. The plot itself is decent, but it would require more character ties to keep me reading and intrigued in what happens. Because I couldn’t connect with the characters I only had a cursory interest in the results of the plot. In general I have to say I skimmed this book and won’t be reading any of the others.
Genre: Science Fiction/Mystery
Age: Adult
Content: Sexuality, violence, alien-sexuality
Overall: Scrap
From Publishers Weekly
Mystery, fantasy and science fiction create a backdrop for this far-flung story with an uneasy conclusion. Jeff Vaughan, telepath in hiding, uncovers a bizarre shipment being smuggled from colony planet Verkerk’s World: a young human girl, apparently an important cult figure, accompanying a mysterious shielded container. The colony is also the source of rhapsody, a potent drug, and when a friend overdoses under odd circumstances, Vaughan suspects a connection. He and cop Jimmy Chandra set off for Verkerk’s World and soon uncover a plot around a rhapsody-fueled religion. As the body count rises, Vaughan starts to wonder whether he’s battling a lethal alien force or blocking humanity from achieving transcendence. Brown (Kéthani) sketches a complex future world full of bitter idealists, strange aliens and fantastic landscapes where nothing is as it seems. (Oct.)
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