Most helpful customer reviews
|
|
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bravo!, Dec 9 2004
When our story begins, fifteen-year-old Faye Smallwood lives in Sallysweet River on the planet of Demoth. She is human, the daughter of a doctor. A species called the Ooloms (think flying squirrels whose skin changes color like a chamaeleon) peacefully coexist with the humans. A new and deadly plague is wiping out millions of the Ooloms. Humans are somehow immune. Faye's father, Dr. Henry Smallwood finds the cure. The last Oolom to die is Proctor Zillif, a member of the Vigil, who Faye has become close to. Her father dies in a mining accident shortly thereafter.Once an adult, Faye joins the Vigil, a band of fiercely independent monitors charged with rooting out government corruption. To help in this struggle, her mind is linked to the powerful datasphere that regulates the planet, Xé (pronounced Chay). While on her first assignment a couple of robots try to assassinate her. It is one of multiple attacks on proctors around the globe. Ooloms and humans were not the first species to inhabit Demoth. The planet is riddled with long-abandoned mines and settlements. Somewhere deep among them is something that had been left behind: an alien technology of unimaginable potential to build or destroy. Enemy agents want desperately to find it. Even some of Faye's own people would kill to find it and unravel its mysteries. Proctor Faye Smallwood teams up with Admiral Festina Ramos (from the books "Expendable" and "Radiant") to discover who or what is behind a sinister conspiracy. During it all, new plagues are forming. ***** Author James Alan Gardner won me as a fan from the book "Expendable". From then on, I have been scrambling to get my hands on each of his previously published novels. I worried that none of his other books would equal the wonder I felt upon reading the first. Fortunately, the author has yet to let me down. As it stands, this is the third book by the author I have finished reading and I could not choose upon which I have enjoyed best. Therefore, I will plainly state that if you come across a book written by James Alan Gardner, do not bother reading the back to learn what it is about. Simply purchase the book. It is more than worth the money! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
|
|
|
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable., Jun 17 2004
James Alan Gardner is one of the few male authors I've read who does a good job when it comes to telling a story from a woman's point-of-view. I loved his first novel "Expendable", and was pleased to see the protagonist, Festina Ramos, show up in "Vigilant". Festina is more of a supporting character here; the first-person narrative is told by Faye Smallwood, a 40-something woman living on the planet Demoth in the 25th century. Faye becomes a member of "The Vigil", a watchdog organization that ferrets out government corruption, and the story takes off when Faye becomes a target of assassins who are killing off members of The Vigil.I had a few minor problems with "Vigilant". Faye's first person narrative annoyed me in a few places. I found it odd that a 40ish-year-old woman living in the 25th century kept using 20th century slang. In several places, I felt the story was underdeveloped, particularly when it came to Faye's relationships with her family. It was interesting that Gardner didn't take the easy way out here and have Faye's "group marriage/commune" life-style fade away as she got older, but Faye's spouses were barely mentioned and when they were, I could never remember which one was which. I would have liked to have gotten to know them better. I also would have liked more background on the how the human/alien Oolom relationship developed on Demoth. The Oolom settled on Demoth first and far outnumbered humans, and yet the Oolom had adapted many human mannerisms instead of the other way around. Overall though, "Vigilant" was a fun read and quite a page-turner. I enjoyed it.
|
|
|
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great sci-fi mystery, Nov 20 2002
On the planet Demoth, a deadly plague decimates the Oolom race, while leaving their human neighbors unaffected, at least physically. Faye helps care for the patients, and is a witness when her father finds a cure. After her father's mysterious death a few days later, Faye drifts through life, enters into a group marriage (her culture is bisexual), and eventually becomes a member of the Vigil, a watchdog group who fiercely monitor the government. On her first assignment, her partner is killed and Faye finds herself fleeing not only the assassins, but also a couple of government agents who feels she is hiding something. With the help of her new Oolom partner and of Festina Ramos (from Gardner's first book "Expendable"), Faye sifts through the mystery of this multilayered conspiracy which is connected not only to Demoth's past before the Ooloms arrived, but also to Faye's father. Now if Faye could only stop being distracted by the enigmatic Festina, so she could concentrate on surviving... "Vigilant" starts slow, but after the arrival of Festina, the story flares to life and the reader can hardly read quickly enough. James Alan Gardner is a gifted writer whose stories capture the imagination and entertain readers for all their worth.
|
|
|
Most recent customer reviews
|
