By Leo
Publisher: Cinebook
ISBN: 9781849182058
The mission has begun to the neighbouring planet in an attempt to retrieve Kim’s daughter and Zao’s sister, and potentially make contact with a sentient alien species. However the small group preparing to enter this new world’s atmosphere must also contend with the religious fundamentalist Jedediah who sees the entire trip from an utterly different perspective to his crewmates.
Forced to enter through a dense cloud bank their first encounter with the planet’s wildlife almost ends their mission straight-away, but once through they’re able to touch down on a rocky plateau and prepare the drone. The idea is use the drone to overfly the area they consider to be the origination point of the bizarre beam that was snatching creatures and their loved ones, but because they don’t know what they’re dealing with yet it’s felt that a cautionary look with the drone will help them prepare for what should be done next. Unfortunately, Jedediah has a different opinion, and the drone doesn’t even make it out of the landing craft, meaning a small party must investigate the source directly, bringing them in close and dangerous proximity with this world’s obscure creatures and plant life.
Leo teases some answers here, and we get tantalisingly close to understanding more of the nature of this alien scenario, but not before events become stranger and the dangers of their predicament begin to claim victims. Leo’s genius is his ability to make these environments feel other-worldly, usually through some form of convergent-evolution with a twist or by just daring to say what if ?. The cloud whale creature with its giant buoyancy sacks upon its back, sucking in raindrops containing tiny creatures like a whale shark was very impressive, and all the creatures he creates are all the more intriguing because Kim’s interaction with them is always so brief, leaving little time to study or understand them.
Kim’s struggle, having come so far over the course of many books, continues, with her authority challenged and her patience at breaking point over the abduction of her daughter. She’s a strong, determined character, without the hung-ho antics or crazy stunts of an action adventure hero, and so making her much easier to relate to.
Once again, an excellent addition to the ongoing story which, hopefully, should conclude next year.
And if you liked that: You won’t need to wait too long to get another fix of Leo’s creativity as his new series Kenya is out now
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