FLIGHT OF SHADOWS
Sigmund Brouwer
WaterBrook Press
Thriller
ISBN: 9781400070336
Sigmund Brouwer is an author who seldom disappoints, and his latest release could be used as Exhibit A in proving why that is. In FLIGHT OF SHADOWS, he nails every element of satisfying futuristic fiction with the skills, talent, and passion of an author who chooses craftsmanship over mass production.
FLIGHT OF SHADOWS is the sequel to Brouwer's 2008 release, BROKEN ANGEL, but he is such a gifted writer that there's never a moment when a reader new to the series feels lost in this follow-up story. His writing is such that the reader wants to read the first book rather than feel that she has to in order to figure out what's going on. Brouwer seamlessly picks up the story line from BROKEN ANGEL and continues it without missing a beat.
And it's a terrifying story line, one that is all too believable to anyone who recognizes the blessings, curses, and failures of technology. Brouwer creates a society in which the blessings of DNA experimentation turn into an apparent curse, and science's failure to overcome drought results in conflict that irreversibly changes the political landscape and structure of the U.S. This new society, only a few generations in the future, is inhabited by four classes of people: the Influentials, those who have virtually all of the wealth and power; the Industrials, whose work permits allow them to enter the newly created city-states to make a living; the Illegals, those who lack the necessary paperwork and are forced to live in abject poverty; and the Invisibles, those, like a young woman named Caitlyn Brown, who need to live under the radar, for varying reasons.
For Caitlyn, being an Invisible is essential to her survival. A product of DNA experimentation gone wrong, Caitlyn has escaped the Christian theocracy of Appalachia in search of the one man who can correct her lab-induced deformity. But close on her heels is a bounty hunter whose Influential backers know that her DNA is a priceless commodity, along with several other government and private parties. In her effort to remain invisible, she connects with a streetwise guy named Razor, whose boast of being "fast, sharp, and dangerous" proves to be grounded in reality and essential to Caitlyn's survival.
Meanwhile, Billy and Theo, two of Caitlyn's friends who also escaped from Appalachia, eagerly but cautiously anticipate a pre-arranged reunion with her, unaware that their every move is being tracked by government agents who know the value of Caitlyn's DNA and the plans Billy and Theo have to meet up with her.
All of that makes for a lot of lightning-fast chases through streets and subterranean passageways, penthouses, and shanty towns, in and around the city-state known as DC, with Caitlyn and friends doing whatever it takes to elude those who are relentlessly pursuing her. But FLIGHT OF SHADOWS is so much more than Hollywood-style entertainment --- though it certainly is that. It's also a look at an all-too-believable future fraught with terrifying possibilities: of weapons whose sole purpose is to create widespread fear and panic, of the high moral cost of genetic experimentation, of the repercussions of illegal immigration, and of the consequences of oppressive governmental control, with the end result being a bleak and hopeless dystopian society.
But Brouwer doesn't leave the reader in a bleak and hopeless state, nor does he wave a magic wand and make the world he created a better place. Instead, he lifts the gloomy darkness and sheds light on a new world far from the city-state of DC, one that begs to be fleshed out in a subsequent book --- hopefully with the intriguing character of Razor making a comeback.
--- Reviewed by Marcia Ford (misfit@marciaford.com)
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