Homefront by Scott James Magner
Resurrection House: 10/20/15
eBook review copy, 392 pages
paperback ISBN-13: 9781630230272
Homefront by Scott James Magner is a recommended science fiction novel set in the 27th century.
The novel will hook you right at the start with the discussion of the
Transgenic virus as learned about in a Congressional inquiry. Then the
action jumps to the future after the Transgenic virus has already
mutated individuals and we meet Commander Jantine and her infiltration
force of soldiers, scientists, and engineers on a suicide mission. They
are all exiles from Earth's outer colonies. Although they know they may
not survive their mission, they are part of a plan to establish a new,
secret colony on Earth. The mods or gennies (modified or genetically
altered humans) have divided themselves up into a cast system based on
how altered they are from an unmutated human, with Alphas being the
highest. Jantine is a Beta.
At the same time, in alternating passages, we meet Lieutenant
Mira Harlan of the System Defense Force. She is on a dreadnought
outside of Earth's orbit and part of a clandestine fleet with a secret
mission. When Jantine's ship inadvertently crashes into the dreadnought,
it sets into motion another secret plan based on cargo the ship is
carrying. This secret mission is a result of a conflict on Earth.
Circumstances result in Harlan joining forces with Jantine's group.
The quality of the writing in Homefront is great, but sometimes
the presentation of the narrative could have been better. After being
pulled in with a compelling opening scene, I was left struggling a bit
with following all the characters and their different points of view at
the beginning. I couldn't help but wonder if it could have been
alleviated with some more background information on them right at the
start rather than leaving it all for the reader to piece together.
Sometimes it's cool to just give us clues and hints with a big reveal
later, but sometimes it helps to have a bit more information to sort
characters out from the start.
Those who appreciate military conflicts or engagements in their science
fiction are going to enjoy the action and combat scenes. There is some
philosophical pondering on what makes us human, as well as questions on how
family should be defined. There is telepathy between characters that
reads like dream sequences, which can be a plus or minus depending upon
the reader's feelings. This is likely the first book in a new series, The
Transgenic Wars, because the ending suggests a continuation of the
story.
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy
of Resurrection House for review
purposes.
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