Chimera

by Rob Thurman

Reviewed by Ruby

Stefan feels responsible for his younger brother’s kidnapping. So much so that ten years after he is still looking for him, despite the fact that everyone else, including their father, has given up on Lukas. But his determination paid off when he finally finds his brother. The only problem is that he is being held in what is possibly a government funded research facility where they are doing experiments on children and turning them into the perfect assassins. But he didn’t spend ten years searching to let a little thing like maximum security stop him.

Now on the run with a genetically altered teenager, Stefan finds himself being hunted not only by the men from the Institute but also the Russian mob Stefan used to work for and abandoned to rescue Lukas.

I enjoyed reading this book. It was nothing special, but it was a good light read. The unfortunate part is that it is extremely similar to one of Rob Thurman’s other series. In both there are two brothers alone in a hostile world, on the run from an seemingly endless and faceless enemy; one is violent and sarcastic (but with a heart) the other is stoic and has a vast wealth of knowledge; they have a friend helping them with mad flirting skills and endless fashion advise; the love interest for the narrator is a kind and loving redhead with freckles and of course the younger brother is not quite human, which is something he has come to terms with but the older one mostly refuses to acknowledge. It was just really annoying to read something that was basically a retelling of another book written by the same author just with a few minor differences.

There was a twist at the end that I wasn’t expecting but other than that there was nothing new about this book.

Grade: C

Coral's Review:

This book felt very familiar. The characters were familiar, the themes were familiar. Everything felt like a retread of the Leandros’ books. Nothing felt original. It honestly felt more like an alternate universe Niko and Cal story, where Cal’s disappearance lasted longer than a few days, than a new series. Which is definitely a problem; Lukas/Michael and Stefan should be able to stand as characters in their own right, not just as repetitions of characters we’ve read before.

Considering that he is a Russian mobster, son of the head of one Russian mobster syndicate, Stefan makes some pretty inexcusable mistakes. Honestly, there were parts of the book where it was hard to suspend disbelief at the actions – or inactions – that he took at some points.

The book was a little thin on plot.

There were a couple of twists that I didn’t see coming. One of the twists is pretty much the only reason I will be reading the second book at some point, because it was so unexpected. I am interested to see what happens.

Grade: B