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Summary
Summary
A paranormal thriller from master storyteller Steven Barnes: A broken family struggles to hold itself together against a plot to unleash global genocide in Twelve Days
Around the world, leaders and notorious criminals alike are mysteriously dying. A terrorist group promises a series of deaths within two months. And against the backdrop of the apocalypse, the lives of a small shattered family and a broken soldier are transformed in the bustling city of Atlanta.
Olympia Dorsey is a journalist and mother, with a cynical teenage daughter and an autistic son named Hannibal, all trying to heal from a personal tragedy. Across the street, Ex-Special Forces soldier Terry Nicolas and his wartime unit have reunited Stateside to carry out a risky heist that will not only right a terrible injustice, but also set them up for life--at the cost of their honor. Terry and the family's visit to an unusual martial arts exhibition brings them into contact with Madame Gupta, a teacher of singular skill who offers not just a way for Terry to tap into mastery beyond his dreams, but also for Hannibal to transcend the limits of his condition. But to see these promises realized, Terry will need to betray those with whom he fought and bled.
Meanwhile, as the death toll gains momentum and society itself teeters on the edge of collapse, Olympia's fragile clan is placed in jeopardy, and Terry comes to understand the terrible price he must pay to prevent catastrophe.
Author Notes
He is the author of 15 novels & as many teleplays has been nominated for Hugo & Cable Ace Awards. He lives in Longview, Washington, with his novelist wife Tananarive Due & his daughter Nicki.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (1)
Publisher's Weekly Review
An Indian mystic turns an autistic boy into a psychic weapon in this disappointing novel, Barnes's first solo publication since 2009's Shadow Valley. A message that foretells the deaths of prominent public leaders and criminals, dubbed the "Dead List," isn't taken very seriously at first, but when people on the list begin to die violently, the world takes notice. Journalist Olympia Dorsey is raising 13-year-old Nicki and eight-year-old Hannibal in Atlanta on her own. When she and her former lover, Terry Nicolas, meets the otherworldly Madame Gupta at a martial arts demonstration, Gupta calls Hannibal an "indigo boy." She claims she can help him at her retreat, Salvation Sanctuary. She also has a very odd effect on Terry, and he starts to question his involvement in a heist planned with his ex-Special Forces buddies. When it becomes clear that Gupta has terrifying plans for Hannibal, Olympia, with Terry's help, must get him away from her before it's too late. Barnes's characters are mostly well-written, and he knows his way around a fight scene, but the apocalyptic thread is thin, and the heavy metaphysical angle may be off-putting for some readers. Most offensive is Gupta's plan to use Hannibal's powers, stemming from his autism, to send out a "killing wave" to murder people from afar. Many readers won't make it all the way to the too-pat conclusion. Agent: Eleanor Wood, Spectrum Literary. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
