Heroes in The Past Tense
4 Out of 5 Stars
Those of you unfamiliar with Tim Kring's TV series "Heroes" will probably think this is a fresh and interesting book. However, those of us who were enthralled by most of "Heroes" run will find Kring's book with Dale Peck, "Shift," to be familiar territory.
A mere mortal everyman (Chandler Forrester) is bestowed unconventional powers. A dark and malevolent man (Melchoir) wants to claim those powers for himself, and will do anything to get them. And between them is a secret agent trying to track down both of them, unsure of who the bad guy is or what exactly he is trying to find. And while no cheerleader is around to save the world, Forrester has a woman that he is drawn to in an almost supernatural fashion. Sound familiar?
That said, Kring and Peck have still written a compelling and complex work. There's a multitude of colorful characters moving back and forth through "Shift," to where you really need to pay attention to the players. Plus, Kring and Peck have tapped into the Holy Grail of Conspiracy Junkies, The Kennedy Assassination, as their alternative history platform. (Alternative History being a genre that the authors themselves take a cheeky poke at early in the book.) The period and theories are all teased out; there's Cubans, Mafiosi, Nazis, J Edgar Hoover, Timothy Leary, covert ops, etc. If I missed any here, trust me, they eventually make an appearance. It keeps readers of "Shift" on their toes throughout. Given this is the start of a trilogy, I am once again hooked on Kring.
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