Spears of God

September 25, 2006
Hendrix's latest overstuffed near-future thriller (after 2005's The Labyrinth Key
) tracks a multiparty global race to control various meteorites that may contain missing keys to human evolution, according to scientists Michael Miskulin, Darla Pittman and Susan Yamada. Hendrix wraps a high-stakes plot around this idea: a ruthless rogue army research group interested in using the power of the meteorites to develop super soldiers competes with religious zealots looking to spark world war three. But the author goes into detail about the scientific nuances of his concept at the expense of character development and pacing. Readers willing to wade through lists of government acronyms and thick scientific jargon explaining alternate-reality meteor science will find the action picks up a bit in the novel's last 50 pages.

October 15, 2006
A global search for meteorites said to cause those exposed to them to develop extraordinary powers results in the near extinction of a small tribe of apparently primitive residents of the Amazon. The four survivors, three girls and a boy, fall under the protection of a pair of scientists, Michael Miskulin and Susan Yamada, until they all become targets of a conspiracy to control both the meteorites and the children. Set in a plausible near future where global concerns clash with individual rights, Hendrixs (The Labyrinth Key) latest novel proffers a superb blend of hard science and sf adventure sweetened with strongly developed characters. Recommended for most sf collections.

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2006
The events of " The Labyrinth Key" (2004) are peripheral to this story but key to some of the strange events that unfold from various groups' research into meteorites. Basic here is the conceit that materials in certain kinds of meteorites contain the key to realizing human potentialities. Michael Miskulin encounters this intriguing notion when he discovers the slaughter of innocents who lived in symbiosis with a fungus originating in a meteorite. According to stories passed down from Michael's aunt Jacinta, the victims' progenitors inspired the myths of a "Sky People." The only survivors are three children not yet completely merged with the fungus. As their symbiosis becomes complete, they gain telepathic powers, among other things. Military researchers, governments, and a slew of sinister types want the implicated meteorites for such things as the creation of telepathic supersoldiers and will stop at nothing to get them, even if it leads to warfare when they start going after the sacred relics of major religions. Hendrix's solidly paced thriller is one gripping story.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)