Book Review: Crescent City Rhapsody

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Crescent City Rhapsody     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Kathleen Ann Goonan
Class/Genre:   Science Fiction   Futuristic
Avon Eos, Feb 2000, $24.00, 430 pp.

In 2012, the electromagnetic impulse that shuts down worldwide communications makes the Northeast blackout of four plus decades ago seems like a blown light bulb. Computers become silent. Studying that void, DC astrophysicist Zeb Aberly concludes that the impulse was not a freak of nature, but a signal from an intelligent ET source. Instead of accolades and kudos, Zeb is forced to run for his life, ultimately ending up in New Orleans.

While the pulses continue to wreck havoc, infants born after the disaster start showing strange physical and mental abilities. In New Orleans, someone assassinates mob chieftain Marie Laveau, her spouse, and child. Nanotechnology brings Marie back to life, but her family was beyond repair. Marie vows revenge. She also tries to build a safe haven with the help of outlawed technological geniuses like Zeb, but time is running out as the new world order plans to stop her and her Crescent City.

CRESCENT CITY RHAPSODY, the third novel in Kathleen Ann Goonan’s “Nanotech” series (see QUEEN CITY JAZZ and MISSISSIPPI BLUES) is a wonderful futuristic tale. The story line speculates on the path science and technology may take mankind down in the next decade or so. The action is non-stop in this bleak but fascinating novel. The charcaters are fully developed, but what makes this tale and its predecessors so good is the author’s ability to paint a grim landscape that feels genuinely possible.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner