TITLE: Marigold
AUTHOR: William G. Howard
ISBN: 978-1-6657-0260-7 (sc); ISBN: 978-1-6657-0261-4 (e)
ASIN: B08ZSDF3NQ
PUBLISHER: Archway Publishing, March 11. 2021
PURCHASE AT AMAZON
If you like your reads fast-paced, non-stop, wall-to-wall action adventure, William G. Howard’s Marigold just might be your ticket to ride. That’s especially true if you’re an aficionado of video games as so much of this novel reminds me of a multi-layered game with a wide cast of characters always on the move. They’re either chasing or being chased, constantly escaping from perilous situations with clever if often implausible gimmicks to get out of harm’s way, and it’s often difficult to know who are the good guys, who are the baddies.
Howard’s unique vision is set in the year 2270, a time in which eastern countries dominate planet earth, so Howard presents his canvas with a considerable amount of imagery drawn from the mythology of Egypt and India. But this is a world full of dangerous if useful futuristic technology, multi-layered political power struggles, and world threatening dangers ranging from viruses to nuclear bombs.
With all these moving parts and sub-plots, we get so many characters we don’t get to know any of them in any depth. All the publicity for the book focuses on “Marigold,” a half-human, half-android called an “inorganic” woman on the run as she’s suspected of murder she didn’t commit. She was created in the Lyceum Mechaniska laboratory, an inorganic built to assist individuals who have experienced emotional or physical trauma. But she’s now on the run, in danger of being terminated while being on a mission to stop a virus from being released and find the mysterious “Pink Bunny.” She’s being chased by, among others, Detective Chabox Brignadoc, who thinks Marigold might be the victim of a high-level conspiracy.
Marigold’s saga is, however, just one thread of a complex tapestry that never quits. You can’t let your attention lag for a second if you want to keep up with this adventure-on-adventure-on-adventure.
I had to admire howard’s futuristic world-building which is extremely vivid and colorful. You might be a tad disconcerted by just how all the dialogue is so formal and verbose. Still, that is a small quibble in this flood of thrills and chills and surprises, lots of surprises.
More About The Reviewer
Wesley Britton, an author in his own right, is a regular review for #TheNewBookReview as well as other websites like BookPleasures.com:
