cover image Originator

Originator

Joel Shepherd. Pyr, $18 trade paper (520p) ISBN 978-1-61614-992-5

Super-cyborg warrior Cassandra "Sandy" Kresnov finds herself at the center of a complex plot that could lead to interstellar warfare in her crackling sixth adventure (after Operation Shield). Unknown terrorists have destroyed a moon with a League mining station on it, and the perpetrators could also be involved with a group of xenophobes bent on misusing NCT, the neural cluster technology designed by the alien Talee and used to create cyborgs like Sandy. If misused, NCT can make people%E2%80%94and entire societies%E2%80%94dangerously unstable. Cai, a Talee agent, warns Sandy that if human use of NCT gets out of hand, the paranoid Talee could target all of humankind. Sandy has personal reasons to get the situation under control, since her adopted son has some of the dangerous Talee tech in his own head. Once again Shepherd delivers lightning-fast thrills and intrigue fueled by sharp extrapolation. Readers who can keep up with all the details of technology and intrigue will enjoy the ride. (Jan.)