Blowback
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
WMG Publishing
ebook $5.99
trade paper $18.99

As I announced in my last post on this blog, I’m going to be reviewing all of the Anniversary Day Saga titles in order, alternating between here and Amazing Stories.  The even numbered titles will be reviewed here, while the odd numbered titles I’ll review at Amazing Stories.  The first one of those was a few weeks ago.

Blowback is the second novel in the series, and it takes place six months after the events of Anniversary Day.  The residents of the Moon are struggling to put their lives back together amidst the devastation.  Only the actions of Miles Flint, Noelle DeRicci, Bartholomew Nyquist, and other investigators kept the death toll from being higher.

Now these people are trying to trace where the clones came from and who sent them.  Along with the shock and grief that don’t seem to go away is the fear that something like Anniversary Day will happen again.   It’s a fear that’s well-founded, since the only clone captured alive in the previous book said that Anniversary Day was only the beginning. 

Miles’ daughter Talia is frustrated with having to go to school rather than get to help each day with the investigation, but she won’t be left untouched by the events of the book.  In many ways, her story is at the heart of the novel, because she is having to face some really adult situations.

Help will come from some new directions as the story expands in Blowback.  Three new allies are introduced, a crime lord, a minor diplomat on the Peyti homeworld, and a special agent of the Earth Alliance who is under deep cover.  Each of them will have a part to play in this novel and some of the ones to come.

Rusch puts a number of twists in her story.  There will be betrayals and surprises.  Politics will affect the investigation.  Beyond that, I don’t want to say too much.  Part of the joy of reading Blowback was the changes in direction the story took.

I found Blowback to be an almost seamless blend of science fiction, police procedural, and thriller.  This is a story that is not only epic in scope, but it’s expanding.  Some writers can’t keep their tale under control when this happens, but Rusch has everything in hand.  She changes viewpoint characters every chapter in such a way that the tension builds.  We also get a glimpse of how the different characters see each other, which adds to the depth of the cast.

But it was more than just entertainment.  Rusch puts story first, as well she should.  But she’s a gifted writer who is more than capable of incorporating her message into her work when she has something to say without it getting int he way of the story or turning into a sermon.  There are a number of newer writers who would benefit from studying her work.

Of course there are echoes of 9-11 here.  But there are also other issues buried in the story.  I’ll let you find them.  It’s this feature of her writing that adds a richness to the story.

My one complaint has to do with a character who is mentioned in passing a time or two.  At the end of Anniversary Day, one of the conspirators is captured.  I’m guessing the authorities haven’t learned anything from this person in the last six months, such as how that person was recruited or who was giving that person orders.  I’ll have to trust the Rusch isn’t through with this character.

The next volume, A Murder of Clones, went on sale a few weeks ago.  I’m reading it and plan to have the review ready to go for my next column for Amazing Stories next week.  I’ll post a link here when it goes live.