orensic detective Phil D'Amato's good friend, Mo Buhler, invites him
to visit Pennsylvania's Amish country. But it's more than a social visit. Mo wants to show
Phil something he's discovered about the Amish. When they arrive at the
farm of Joseph Stoltzfus, they encounter a man
claiming to be Joseph's brother who informs them that Joseph has died of a
heart attack. Mo suspects foul play, but since they're not allowed to
inspect the scene, they have no proof.
Mo talks Phil into going with him to Philadelphia. On the way, he
explains that the Stoltzfus family was more accepting of technology than
many Amish families, especially with regard to medicine. Mo thinks Joseph
was murdered because he was trying to prevent the deaths of people who succumbed to strange allergic reactions. Just as he's telling Phil, however, he has his own
reaction, which turns out to be fatal. Phil meets with the person he
thinks Mo was planning to meet, who turns out to be a Stoltzfus relative,
Sarah Fischer. The mystery becomes even more complex as hints emerge of an
ages-old battle between the Stoltzfus faction of the Amish and another
similar group, a battle that uses biological weapons. Sarah and Joseph's son, Amos, each accuse the other of joining the opposing side.
Back in New York, a strange corpse is discovered, one which
appears to be a mummified Neanderthal. Tests show he's only been dead a
few days, but carbon dating places his age at 30,000 years. Two more
corpses appear soon after, in London and Toronto. Phil teams up with forensic detectives Michael Mallory in England and Gerry Moses in Canada to
investigate. The leads point to a bizarre significance of silk and
an eighth century Tocharian manuscript found in western China, and Phil begins
to suspect a connection between the Neanderthal corpses and the Amish
incidents.
A time too seldom explored
The Silk Code, Paul Levinson's first novel, is an ambitious book that doesn't quite deliver
all it promises but that is still an impressive work. Levinson
creates a complex and compelling mystery that remains baffling throughout,
to both the readers and the characters. Throughout most of the novel, it's difficult to be sure if the people Phil is working with aren't
themselves involved in the conspiracy. Levinson complements this intricate
construction with smooth, precise writing that evokes both
the scientific approach to the mystery and the difficulty of tying the
divergent pieces of evidence together.
A substantial section of the novel tells the story of the author of the
Tocharian manuscript, a member of a tribe of Caucasians who lived in the Tarim
Basin on the Silk Road in western China around 750 A.D. The author, a young man named Gwellyn, becomes fascinated by the legends of
the singers (a mysterious, possibly extinct race)
after finding the mummified corpse of one. Despite his family's
objections, he sets off on a quest to find living singers. Gwellyn's quest
reveals a time in history and a confluence of cultures seldom explored,
and Levinson's treatment is rich enough to be worth a whole novel
itself.
The main problems with The Silk Code relate to the resolution of the
mystery, which is quite a letdown in both its apparent simplicity and its
failure to address a lot of the more interesting plot threads. Obviously, some
of these loose ends leave room for sequels, in which case they're probably
not flaws at all, but it's far from clear if Levinson plans future books
in the series.
Nevertheless, Levinson shows here that he has the talent to be one of
SF's best writers, and this is far more than simply an entertaining science
fiction mystery. It's a book that intelligently explores ideas of major
ethical significance.
I think Levinson has hit upon a really big and compelling idea, and that to
really do it justice, he needs to expand upon what he has done here. And,
perhaps, to move from the realm of mystery to the realm of modern
myth.
-- Clint
y Merrick is a District Marshal, charged with enforcing the law. It is
a
job she excels at, despite being plagued by a bizarre seizure disorder. In
the polluted and superstitious world of the 21st century, Ty's
illness has been diagnosed as lycanthropy, and though it sometimes gives
her
keen insights into her cases, it also makes her vulnerable to the
machinations of bureaucrats, criminals, mystics and even the health care
system.
In The Radon File, Ty's troubles begin when she and her partner,
Larue, fail their annual mental health exam. Ominous changes have occurred in
the civil service, and someone high up has seen an opportunity to get rid
of
the unorthodox pair. Ty and Larue are given one chance to save their
jobs--solve the politically sensitive murder of an opera singer. To make
matters worse, the partners are expected to share information with a pair
of
tax collectors who are actively interfering with the investigation.
Research shows the murdered man's life was a morass of secret allegiances
and corrupt dealings. Nobody they talk to can agree on anything, not even
the extent of the victim's operatic talent. The key to solving the mystery
is in the bowels of a radioactive mine that is now used for the treatment
of arthritic disorders. Hospital staff have reported seeing aliens in the
mine, people from the center of the earth. The murdered man believed he had
been abducted by aliens. It's a hazardous crime scene, and the mine shafts exacerbate Ty's illness.
Will the partners manage to uncover the truth before their many enemies
bury it completely?
Pleasantly weird
The Radon File is intended to offer readers both a solid SF novel
and a traditional police procedural mystery. It functions admirably
on
the first count. Ty and Larue live in a bleak but vividly imagined world,
and the plethora of superstitious beliefs and half-remembered scientific
truths that surround them make for a fascinating setting. They are likable and well-rounded, and the court-intrigue feel of the
bureaucracy with which they are in constant conflict is uncomfortably
true to life. As the story moves along and potential revolution approaches,
the suspense builds. Readers will be keen to see if the fragile and corrupt
system can survive.
As a mystery, the book is far less successful. Its plot is convoluted
and
complex, with new secret societies and fresh conspiracies emerging on every
page. Ty's lycanthropy makes her an unreliable narrator. This creates a
mystery novel that few readers have any hope of solving. The milieu
is
too chaotic and it is hard to separate important clues from the great mass
of red herrings and extraneous detail. The ending is fuzzy, with many of
the
tangential storylines left unresolved.
Fans of Vitola's earlier Ty Merrick books may have a leg up on other
readers, as Ty's history with some of the other characters is crucial
and only partially explained. For those who are starting with The Radon
File, this back-history creates a distracting element. As Ty's old
psychiatrist becomes increasingly important to the action, this sense of
withheld information grows, making the novel one that barely functions as
a
stand-alone.
But for readers who like darkness, edge and ambiguity, The Radon
File is a good choice.
If you don't care about trying to solve the puzzle, this book is pleasantly
weird.
-- Alyx
orensic detective Phil D'Amato's good friend, Mo Buhler, invites him
to visit Pennsylvania's Amish country. But it's more than a social visit. Mo wants to show
Phil something he's discovered about the Amish. When they arrive at the
farm of Joseph Stoltzfus, they encounter a man
claiming to be Joseph's brother who informs them that Joseph has died of a
heart attack. Mo suspects foul play, but since they're not allowed to
inspect the scene, they have no proof.
y Merrick is a District Marshal, charged with enforcing the law. It is
a
job she excels at, despite being plagued by a bizarre seizure disorder. In
the polluted and superstitious world of the 21st century, Ty's
illness has been diagnosed as lycanthropy, and though it sometimes gives
her
keen insights into her cases, it also makes her vulnerable to the
machinations of bureaucrats, criminals, mystics and even the health care
system.
