Energetic characters headline this deliberately paced SF tale.
A chemist in a future America unearths alarming secrets in Wilson’s dystopian novel and series launch.
Casey Pride comes from a long line of chemists. Years ago, her great-grandmother, Martha Hemingway, developed an anti-aging formula. Now, in the early 22nd century, Casey suspects her father, Jonathon, who married into the Hemingway family, is secretly working on the same formula. Jonathon works for the Calberras, a manipulative “elite faction” linked to President Ronald Crumpt, Jr., and he gets Casey a job at one of the Calberras’ labs. That’s how Casey discovers a handful of jump drives that had belonged to Martha’s chemist son, Percy. Going through her late grandfather’s files leads to quite a few surprises involving the Crumpt administration, which has included father-and-son presidencies. Casey is in a good position to help the Alliance, a covert group digging up intel on the government that may be planning something even bigger.
Wilson’s unhurried narrative gradually reveals Casey’s discoveries; she peruses the jump-drive files over the course of several days, attending to work and other tasks in between. Although what she finds isn’t exactly jaw-dropping, the character development makes the story more than worthwhile (Martha’s curious childhood unfolds in the mid-19th century; Casey understandably has trouble trusting her own father and compellingly juggles relationships between the Alliance and the president’s task force).
There’s plenty of blatant satire throughout, from references to Crumpt-related DC riots in January 2021 to former president (and Percy’s friend) Richard Rixon. The author displays a skill for keen descriptions: “The President looked up from his desk as she entered, his casual demeanour at odds with the weight of the moment.” The ending makes it abundantly clear that Casey’s journey is only getting started.
Energetic characters headline this deliberately paced SF tale. Kirkus Media https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/cj-wilson/the-legacy-caseys-journey/
