A Better World by Marcus Sakey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
If you read my review of Brilliance (Brilliance Saga, #1), you know that I appreciated the novel but was very interested to see what author Marcus Sakey would be able to achieve with the story once he’d got all the exposition out of the way. I’m very pleased that my hunch that the second novel would be more rewarding was correct.
A Better World examines the ramifications of former FBI agent Nick Cooper’s actions at the climax of Brilliance. Our world has been turned upside down, with the Brilliant-led terrorist group the Children of Darwin able to operate almost without impunity in the absence of the Department of Analysis and Response (DAR).
There is a lot of political intrigue in this series, but it succeeds best with its feet on the ground, up close with those dealing with the effects of the world-shaking actions in this chaotic time. The Children of Darwin are able to completely isolate 3 major American cities, starving them of supplies and aid. Mob rule & martial law vie for control, both seeming worse than the actions of the terrorists. The maxim about civilization being twenty-four hours and two meals away from barbarism is perfectly illustrated here.
The story works because of its terrifying plausibility. In fact, the Brilliants don’t really even have much to do. The real story of this novel has much less to do with superhuman abilities than it does with all too human weakness.
It’s not all positive; the writing is still very screenplay-esque and the author makes the unforgivable sin of not finishing the story. It’s understood when you’re in the middle book of a trilogy that everything isn’t going to be wrapped up neatly, but there is no excuse for releasing a story that feels this unfinished. There’s an expectation on the part of the reader that each installment of a series has to feel like a complete story, even when the overall tale is not done.
My annoyance at this lapse is due in large part to my desire to find out what happens next. It just could have been much more elegantly tied off if not tied up.
I really enjoyed A Better World – a good story got much better in the second installment. Recommended – with the caveat that you may want to wait until the series is complete before starting…
