By Sherrie Cronin
Publisher: Cinnabar Press
Published: Jan. 26, 2013
ASIN: B00B6LCV54
Amazon Synopsis:
Alex once walked away from a
rare ability to warp time, thinking it was only a young man's trick to play
basketball better. Now, as a father and teacher, he needs to relearn the skill
quickly before the past begins to destroy his own future. To protect his
daughter and his most promising student, he must stop the school at which he
teaches from turning the clock backwards to an era of white supremacy.
An old high school friend is in desperate need of Alex's unique gifts to help solve an ancient Maya mystery. As the puzzling artifact offers a rare chance to bridge the past and the future, its story begins to intertwine
with the growing tensions at Alex's school. As both situations take dangerous turns, Alex knows that he must learn to control his temporal talents before he runs out of time.
An old high school friend is in desperate need of Alex's unique gifts to help solve an ancient Maya mystery. As the puzzling artifact offers a rare chance to bridge the past and the future, its story begins to intertwine
with the growing tensions at Alex's school. As both situations take dangerous turns, Alex knows that he must learn to control his temporal talents before he runs out of time.
Book Links
My Thoughts:
Z Squared is a
multi-faceted novel not only about a teacher with the ability to manipulate the
speed of time, but about the mystery of the treasure related to a Mayan
artifact and racism with overtones of the Klu Klux Klan.
There was definitely more to this novel than the synopsis
implied. To be honest I thought that the book was really more about the Mayan
mystery and the racism/immigration issues than about the time warping. I did
enjoy how that ability that Alex had fit into the story however as it did help
to play a role in the solution of events.
I also thought that Z
Squared was educational too as it included some factual “asides” where the
author told us about events in history regarding US history regarding
immigration related to how Americans felt about people of nationalities of
people not considered “white” or “Aryan”, and how those laws changed right up
to the present day. The novel helped us see that even today in the US there are
still people who are prejudiced against non-white individuals, and likely
non-white individuals prejudiced against white individuals too.
I liked the way that the author took us back several times
to the event where the Mayan box was found and then lost again several times,
each time from the point of view of a different person on the team. Each
version of the story was correct, but each story on its own was unhelpful.
I don’t know how realistic it is that there would be
teachers like Ms. Johnson in the school system (I teach in Canada) but I would
hope that anyone as prejudiced as her would not be allowed anywhere near
impressionable youth anywhere. Obviously the author did an excellent job of
creating a very unlikable character.
Z Squared unique
novel, with a lot of potential for future sequels, particularly with a family
full of such distinctive talents. Telepathy, shape-shifting and possibly prescience;
these will make interesting topics for future books. I gave Z Squared 4 stars out of 5.
Thank you to publisher who provided a copy of the book in
exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All
thoughts are my own.
About the Author:
Sherrie Roth grew up in Western Kansas thinking that there
was no place in the universe more fascinating than outer space. After her
mother vetoed astronaut as a career ambition, she went on to study journalism
and physics in hopes of becoming a science writer.She published her first science fiction short story in 1979. She is married and she and her husband have three wonderful children whom they love dearly. Mr. Cronin is warm-hearted and encourages her to write.
Author Links
This blog tour was brought to you by:
No comments :
Post a Comment