It is a moment in the near future when the threat of terror has cultivated rage, apathy, and panic across the country. For Phil, a dermatologist at the UCLA hospital, it is a time of unease, in contrast to the days when he coasted through life on his good looks and middling charm. In addition to having to deal with his mother, Edith, who’s emerging after years of grieving over her late husband, Phil has been recruited for a secret terror-response team. The assignment just may provide an ordinary man a chance at heroism.
This post-9/11 look at America and the threat of terrorism, particularly bioterrorism, encompasses what life might be like in 2013. UCLA dermatologist Phil Fuchs's life drastically changes when he's selected to join a secret terror-response team. Narrator C.J. Critt maintains a sense of foreboding as Fuchs tries to determine whether a subtle terror attack is underway or a UCLA experiment has gone horribly wrong. The accomplished Critt infuses daily life with the sounds of young romance, the breakup of a marriage, and the undercurrents of fear and watchfulness brand new to America. This timely story will appeal to many despite its reminder that life will never be what it once was. S.G.B. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine
Booklist (starred review)...
"This novel starts out as a curiosity, takes a turn into something perplexing, but ends as an artistic and soulful master achievement.”
About the Author
Carolyn See is the author of ten books. She is the Friday-morning reviewer for The Washington Post, and she has been on the boards of the National Book Critics Circle and PENWest International. She has won both Guggenheim and Getty fellowships and currently teaches English at UCLA. She lives in Pacific Palisades, California.
