By: Steven Barnes Publisher: Forge Books Average Rating: Binding: Mass Market Paperback Label: Forge Books Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 464 Publication Date: July 13, 2003
A powerful thriller of redemption, hope, and courage that overcomes all obstacles.
It began well - an experiment in techniques to teach high-risk children - poor, minority, children - the life-strategies that will allow them to succeed in life. And not just succeed, but overcome the odds and become wildly successful. They chose as their model a man who had done it all - Alexander Marcus; a black man who raised himself up from poverty to become one of the wealthiest, most powerful men in America.
The imprinting is effective. The children are focused, driven. They are inventive, intelligent, and love learning. But there is a mysterious darkness to them - a ruthlessness that is surprising. Renny Sand first met the children as a journalist covering the sensational trial of a preschool operator. There were terrible charges of sex abuse, but the thing that stayed with Renny was the strange poise and power of a group of eight year old children. That, and the face of the mother of one of them, Vivian Emory.
Now the children are thirteen years old, and one of them has been killed in a mysterious hit-and-run accident. Renny Sands sees the possibility of big story, a human interest story, a story that might jump-start his flagging career. He'll do a follow-up on the preschool scandal; and he might get a chance to restart his love life as well - Vivian Emory has divorced her husband in the five years since he met her.
Sort of slow I feel that Mr. Barnes is an excellent writer and a good story teller. However, I had a few problems with the story. One, I am not sure who pen this story as a sci-fi. It is not, though I am not a fan of the genre. Secondly, for me it took too long for me as reader to have any understanding of what was going on. I think it was around the two hundreth page that I began to have an inkling of what had happened to the children. Thirdly, the implied event under the bridge with the motor cycle crew and the guys from the gay bar did not give me any idea of what happened, though I suspected. Mr. Barnes characters kept alluding to the incident. However, it was about the 240th page before he specifically spelled out what happened.
The story took too long to unfold. He did not give enough imformation for me to follow the story until I have read over half of the book.
The story unfolded towards the end. But before than, I was annoyed as a reader at the pace and the amount of vital information to understanding the story took ages.
Masterly. Horrible. Since the fifties psychology books have said extroversion is related to sadism. Without Freudian necromancy--the more outgoing you are, the more your kindness and cruelty affects people. Self-help books claim to make you more outgoing. Suppose there was a self-help technique that worked? In 'Charisma', Steven Barnes -lifelong follower of Carnegie, Napoleon Hill, Tim Piering; creator of 'The Five Minute Miracle'- Steven Barnes wraps mass-murder mystery muscles and skinless bloody horror around a self-help saga skeleton. It's an acheivement not seen in SF since Heinlein's juveniles fused True Confessions with Boys Life and space adventure. Larry Niven hasn't extrapolated this tightly this close to the present since a couple of his early short stories. It's a Hell of a ride. It's also a betrayal of Barnes' life's work. I've bought his 'Five Minute Miracle'. I've even DONE some of the exercises. What if I turn into Charles Manson? In that case, blame it all on Steven Barnes
A solid and pleasureable thriller Because Barnes is known primarly as a science fiction author, this book is often mistakenly found on the Sci-Fi shelf at book stores, instead of with the thrillers or general fiction where it belongs. So science fiction fans beware - there's very little for you here.
What is here is a solid story that does a plausible job of getting us inside the head of an adolescent of above normal intelligence. I especially liked the character of Renny Sands, a man who is re-energized by the possibility of a career-making story.
If the book has a weak point, it is the instant attractions that various characters feel towards each other. I'm all for love at first sight, but the frequency with which two people know everything they need to about one another eventually became a little distracting.
Quibles aside, the plot is fascintating and the character interesting. I definintely recommend it.
A very satisfying multi-genre thriller Those who only know Barnes through his collaborations with hard sci-fi master Larry Niven should be pleasantly surprised by this genre-esque novel about a group of highly intelligent and amazingly motivated children from small-town, USA. There are elements of horror, romance, mystery, western, and yes, even a touch of sci-fi, but the result is none of the above, but rather a basically mainstream story about what makes successful people tick.
Although one may question the characters' motivations, and there's at least one scientific point that seems like quite a stretch, there's no denying the power of this engrossing mystery. The kids tend to steal the spotlight, of course, especially when we see how they play the system and manipulate the adult world as they see fit. Renny Sand is the inquisitive reporter who covered an infamous scandal that shook the town years earlier. He returns now, after some reversals, driven by his desire for Vivian, the beautiful mother of one of the boys. And while Sand is a pleasant and engaging enough character, he ultimately doesn't seem to have much to do in this novel. We think he's being set up as the hero of this tale, but when all's said and done, it's really the gun-slingin' grandma who saves the day, and the sections featuring her and her husband seem slow and largely irrelevant until the climax where all the pieces come together. Barnes probably should have dropped these two altogether and made Sands the hero.
That quibble aside however, this book is a serious page-turner, with mysteries at every turn: the Aristotle project, the pre-school scandal, Sheriff D'Angelo's secret, and the late great Alexander Marcus' weakness, are all explained in good time, but not so quickly that we lose interest in the story before it's been played out. A very entertaining and altogether satisfying read, but not yet the masterpiece we're hoping for from Barnes.
www.SFReader.com Review Review by Lynn Nicole Louis
Steven Barnes has been around a while, having penned some collaborations with Larry Niven in 1981 and 1982, with Stretlethal, his first solo out (at least according to his web site) being released in 1983. Other books of his I've read and enjoyed include Gorgon Child, FireDance, and Blood Brothers. Lately though, it seems he's been very busy, with numerous book being released over the last few years. You can find reviews on www.SFReader.com of his recent novels Lion's Blood and Zulu Heart.
Well versed in martial arts, Barnes characters are often unique and intense individuals caught up in violent struggles. He's one of the best action/fight writers out there, with a special ability to create characters that are at once strong and vulnerable. His books reflect the abundant energy that Barnes obviously possesses. He also seems fascinated with the concept of the Japanese term Bushido, or The Way of the Warrior; that undeniable Warrior Spirit that pushes some people to the peak of their potential, be it for good or evil. I've enjoyed everything of his I've read, and Charisma is no exception.
The magic of childhood, the gritty reality of growing up, love, honor, ambition, redemption.... You'll find all that and more here in a book you won't want to put down.
Lynn Nicole Louis Read the full review at www.SFReader.com
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