It's always a good day when I
receive an email from an author who has discovered this blog and offers me the
opportunity to read and comment on his/her new book. Such is the case with this
tale by O.R. Lea. After reading the blub, I knew I had to read this because of
its unique setting of near future events in the Persian Gulf.
I downloaded a copy of Riebeckite
from Kindle Unlimited and am leaving this review voluntarily.
Overall, I found Rebeckite
to be a well told great story. It features well-defined characters set in a
world where there are those who would exploit a disaster for greed and power. I
enjoyed the location setting of the story; I've never read a sci-fi story set
in the Middle East as far as I can remember. I found it refreshing the people
depicted were mostly just regular people trying to go about their lives as best
they can. It was fun getting a brief view of culture I feel is often
misunderstood by many in western culture.
Rebeckite is a sci-fi thriller with political and
scientific intrigue. It is well paced with characters who are well developed
and that a reader can care about. The principal human antagonists are developed
through the story and their true motivations are revealed slowly. The non-human
antagonist is terrifying, leading to some rather graphic descriptions of death
and dismemberment, but I would not label the gory scenes as gratuitous. There are
some small bits of humor added to the tale that made me laugh; most of those
were between the two principal characters.
In 2027, the Earth's moon is
struck by an asteroid named Riebecki. The impact kicked up enough material to
form a ghostly blue ring around the satellite. While it is a breath-taking site
for those on the planet, Earth's gravity is also pulling a steady stream of
material into the atmosphere. The material sprinkling into the air is harmful
to life on the land, so a series of giant scrubbers are built to remove the
material, dubbed riebeckite, from the atmosphere and deposited into the sea. As
a result, fisheries are suffering. The company in charge of the scrubbers
employ Dr. Tahira Piriyeva to study the effects of the blue dust on the ocean
around the island of Qeshm. When one of her colleagues is injured, she begins a
journey of discovery that leads to a deadly realization.
Further investigation shows
that the danger from the material streaming from the moon is being exploited by
greedy, power-hungry individuals whose self-interest could put millions of
lives in jeopardy.
When Tahira is reunited with a
childhood friend, Zareen Isfahani, it is a race for survival and to expose
those who would put the world's population in harm's way to protect the secret
of the Riebeckites and gain fortune.
This tale has a lot of great
characters at both ends of the spectrum. My favorite characters in this story
are the dynamic duo of Tahira and Zareen. Together, they are an unstoppable
force with Tahira as the brains, and Zareen as the muscle. The pair are from
different sides of the tracks, with Tahira on the island because of the
annexation by Azerbaijan. Zareen is a native of Iran and is part of the
resistance to the annexation of Qeshm. They are friends when they are young but
wound up getting separated during an uprising. When they are reunited, they
have changed, but it doesn't take them long to remember their friendship and
how much they care for each other.
Both are strong female characters,
and it isn't hard to find them as people one can care about. The author did a
great job creating characters with such complementary strengths, and their
ability to fill in the gaps in each other’s weaknesses.
My favorite point of plot is
the development of the principal characters, but at the same time, I enjoyed
the development of the tale's main antagonist; the beings that arise because of
the material streaming to the Earth from the moon. Without getting specific, I
will say that the development of the monsters is slow and enhances development
of the plot. For a lot of the story, I was wondering what would eventually come
from this part. I was not disappointed. I will also say that what came of the
material is terrifying, and difficult to defeat.
My takeaway from Riebeckites
is how people from diametrically different cultures can find a bridge of
friendship, overcome their differences, and work together for a common goal. I
also appreciated a look into cultures I normally read little about.
I found Riebeckites a
refreshing thrill-a-minute rollercoaster ride full if twists and turns. This
tale should appeal to any sci-fi fan who enjoys an action-packed story with
some terrifying moments, suspense, and great character development. The highest
recommendations for this brilliantly written tale.
There are two more books coming in this tale. Book two is titled Torpor's End due out in November, 2022, and Camp Chelovek to be released in March, 2023.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
He is @orleaauthor on Twitter
and Instagram, and his website is orlea.co.uk.
Well, there it is...
Qapla!
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