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The Furies
For centuries, the Furies have lived among us. Long ago they were called witches and massacred by the thousands. But they're human just like us, except for a rare genetic mutation that they've hidden from the rest of the world for hundreds of years.
Now, a chance encounter with a beautiful woman named Ariel has led John Rogers into the middle of a secret war among the Furies. Ariel needs John's help in the battle between a rebellious faction of the clan and their elders. The grand prize in this war is a chance to remake the human race.
Mark Alpert's The Furies weaves cutting-edge science into an ingenious thriller, showing how a simple genetic twist could have inspired tales of witchcraft and sorcery, and how the paranormal could indeed be possible.
Now, a chance encounter with a beautiful woman named Ariel has led John Rogers into the middle of a secret war among the Furies. Ariel needs John's help in the battle between a rebellious faction of the clan and their elders. The grand prize in this war is a chance to remake the human race.
Mark Alpert's The Furies weaves cutting-edge science into an ingenious thriller, showing how a simple genetic twist could have inspired tales of witchcraft and sorcery, and how the paranormal could indeed be possible.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published April 22, 2014
20 people are currently reading
1130 people want to read
About the author
Mark Alpert
17 books195 followersMark Alpert, author of Final Theory, The Omega Theory, Extinction, The Furies, and The Six, is a contributing editor at Scientific American. In his long journalism career he has specialized in explaining scientific ideas to readers, simplifying esoteric concepts such as extra dimensions and parallel universes. And now, in his novels, Alpert weaves cutting-edge science into high-energy thrillers that elucidate real theories and technologies.
A lifelong science geek, Alpert majored in astrophysics at Princeton University and wrote his undergraduate thesis on the application of the theory of relativity to Flatland, a hypothetical universe with only two spatial dimensions. (The resulting paper was published in the Journal of General Relativity and Gravitation and has been cited in more than 100 scholarly articles.) After Princeton, Alpert entered the creative writing program at Columbia University, where he earned an M.F.A. in poetry in 1984. He started his journalism career as a small-town reporter for the Claremont (N.H.) Eagle Times, then moved on to the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser. In 1987 he became a reporter for Fortune Magazine and over the next five years he wrote about the computer industry and emerging technologies. During the 1990s Alpert worked freelance, contributing articles to Popular Mechanics and writing anchor copy for CNN's Moneyline show. He also began to write fiction, selling his first short story ("My Life with Joanne Christiansen") to Playboy in 1991.
In 1998 Alpert joined the board of editors at Scientific American, where he edited feature articles for the magazine and wrote a column on exotic high-tech gadgets. With his love for science reawakened, he wrote his first novel, Final Theory, about Albert Einstein and the historic quest for the holy grail of physics, the Theory of Everything. Published by Touchstone in 2008, Final Theory was hailed as one of the best thrillers of the year by Booklist, Borders and the American Booksellers Association. Foreign rights to the novel were sold in more than twenty languages, and the movie rights were acquired by Radar Pictures, a Los Angeles production company. Alpert continued the saga of the Theory of Everything in his second book, The Omega Theory, a gripping story about religious fanatics who try to trigger Doomsday by altering the laws of quantum physics. His next thriller, Extinction, focused on brain-computer interfaces and a collective intelligence that decides to exterminate the human race. His fourth novel, The Furies, told the story of an ancient clan who share a genetic mutation so shocking that its discovery could change the course of history. And his first Young Adult novel, The Six, is about six dying teenagers whose lives are “saved” when their minds are downloaded into U.S. Army robots.
Alpert lives in Manhattan with his wife and two non-robotic teenagers. He's a proud member of Scientific American's softball team, the Big Bangers.
A lifelong science geek, Alpert majored in astrophysics at Princeton University and wrote his undergraduate thesis on the application of the theory of relativity to Flatland, a hypothetical universe with only two spatial dimensions. (The resulting paper was published in the Journal of General Relativity and Gravitation and has been cited in more than 100 scholarly articles.) After Princeton, Alpert entered the creative writing program at Columbia University, where he earned an M.F.A. in poetry in 1984. He started his journalism career as a small-town reporter for the Claremont (N.H.) Eagle Times, then moved on to the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser. In 1987 he became a reporter for Fortune Magazine and over the next five years he wrote about the computer industry and emerging technologies. During the 1990s Alpert worked freelance, contributing articles to Popular Mechanics and writing anchor copy for CNN's Moneyline show. He also began to write fiction, selling his first short story ("My Life with Joanne Christiansen") to Playboy in 1991.
In 1998 Alpert joined the board of editors at Scientific American, where he edited feature articles for the magazine and wrote a column on exotic high-tech gadgets. With his love for science reawakened, he wrote his first novel, Final Theory, about Albert Einstein and the historic quest for the holy grail of physics, the Theory of Everything. Published by Touchstone in 2008, Final Theory was hailed as one of the best thrillers of the year by Booklist, Borders and the American Booksellers Association. Foreign rights to the novel were sold in more than twenty languages, and the movie rights were acquired by Radar Pictures, a Los Angeles production company. Alpert continued the saga of the Theory of Everything in his second book, The Omega Theory, a gripping story about religious fanatics who try to trigger Doomsday by altering the laws of quantum physics. His next thriller, Extinction, focused on brain-computer interfaces and a collective intelligence that decides to exterminate the human race. His fourth novel, The Furies, told the story of an ancient clan who share a genetic mutation so shocking that its discovery could change the course of history. And his first Young Adult novel, The Six, is about six dying teenagers whose lives are “saved” when their minds are downloaded into U.S. Army robots.
Alpert lives in Manhattan with his wife and two non-robotic teenagers. He's a proud member of Scientific American's softball team, the Big Bangers.
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January 29, 2014
When John Rogers meets a pretty girl in a bar, he has no idea what he's getting into, a clan war between two factions of mutant humans called Furies. Can John and Ariel escape the clan on their trail?
I got this from Netgalley.
First off, I see a lot of reviews that complain about the rest of the book not going very well with the prologue. Well, read the summary. The main story takes place in the present and the prologue takes place in 1645. Yeah, they're probably not going to have the same tone.
That being said, this book was mostly a thriller with some urban fantasy and sf sprinkled around the edges. I like the idea of a secret, long-lived race living among us composed mostly of hot redheads that need an outsider's seed... Wait, what was I talking about again?
Right. For a book that mentions a race burned as witches in the past, there's not a hell of a lot distinguishing this from your paint by numbers thriller in the first 40% of the book, complete with specific models of firearms and the instalove/forced hookup. It almost reads like someone dusted off a thriller novel they had in a trunk and said "You know, urban fantasy is very popular these days..." Arthur C. Clarke's quote about sufficiently advanced science being indistinguishable from magic at the beginning is very apt and pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the book.
Gripes aside, it is an engaging read, though. Lots of twists and turns, shooting, running, etc. The Fury society seemed fairly well thought out. It was interesting to read about a society where women have most of the power and all the men are infertile. I have to mention that there are a few infodumps about genetics, though, and I did find some characters' motivations questionable given the Fury society.
Once the book hit the 75% mark, the manure hit the windmill and cats and dogs started living together. The Furies had their world turned upside down quite a few times but it was an odd number of times so it was still upside down when the book ended. One thing I loved was that it didn't feel like Alpert was gunning for a sequel or neverending series, a rarity in this day and age.
That's about all I wanted to say. Oh, the one sex scene was surprisingly dirty. I think I covered everything now.
The final grade is going to have to be a 3. I wasn't cuckoo for cocoa puffs over it but I liked it more than I was indifferent toward it. It wasn't awesome but I didn't dislike it. Isn't that what the three stars are for?
I got this from Netgalley.
First off, I see a lot of reviews that complain about the rest of the book not going very well with the prologue. Well, read the summary. The main story takes place in the present and the prologue takes place in 1645. Yeah, they're probably not going to have the same tone.
That being said, this book was mostly a thriller with some urban fantasy and sf sprinkled around the edges. I like the idea of a secret, long-lived race living among us composed mostly of hot redheads that need an outsider's seed... Wait, what was I talking about again?
Right. For a book that mentions a race burned as witches in the past, there's not a hell of a lot distinguishing this from your paint by numbers thriller in the first 40% of the book, complete with specific models of firearms and the instalove/forced hookup. It almost reads like someone dusted off a thriller novel they had in a trunk and said "You know, urban fantasy is very popular these days..." Arthur C. Clarke's quote about sufficiently advanced science being indistinguishable from magic at the beginning is very apt and pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the book.
Gripes aside, it is an engaging read, though. Lots of twists and turns, shooting, running, etc. The Fury society seemed fairly well thought out. It was interesting to read about a society where women have most of the power and all the men are infertile. I have to mention that there are a few infodumps about genetics, though, and I did find some characters' motivations questionable given the Fury society.
Once the book hit the 75% mark, the manure hit the windmill and cats and dogs started living together. The Furies had their world turned upside down quite a few times but it was an odd number of times so it was still upside down when the book ended. One thing I loved was that it didn't feel like Alpert was gunning for a sequel or neverending series, a rarity in this day and age.
That's about all I wanted to say. Oh, the one sex scene was surprisingly dirty. I think I covered everything now.
The final grade is going to have to be a 3. I wasn't cuckoo for cocoa puffs over it but I liked it more than I was indifferent toward it. It wasn't awesome but I didn't dislike it. Isn't that what the three stars are for?
February 23, 2014
Last night I was reading this book and halfway through a paragraph, at 47% of the way through the book, I quit. I am a champion of muscling through books I'm not into, I will typically say, well I like this one character, the world is interesting, I like the technology...whatever.
First off, I feel grossly misled by the netgalley page. This book is compared to Michael Crichton, as was praised for its scientific merit. As a biologist, using words like "squamous cells" and "genetic mutations in the X chromosome" doesn't just give you science street cred. Maybe somewhere in the next 53% there will be a large explanation that I'm sure sounds like it was based on a blog article about a mouse study from 2004 that hasn't actually panned out into anything in the last 10 years. My money on telomeres. If you look at the cover, you think that a majority of the book takes place over a large period of time. Absolutely not, it's 2014, with a random prologue paragraph.
The first 30% of this book is GUNS! RUNNNING! PEOPLE SHOOTING PEOPLE! DRIVE FAST! Which I made it through. The second we hit the land of the furies was when I was done. The random insertion of the word "Nay", the way too many resemblances to Stephen Baxter's Coalescent series (minus the rape, plus awkward sex scene), the guarding of my "Treasure" (which because super awkward when its all women who have really specific sexual selection criteria talking about guarding their Treasures), I just couldn't go any further.
First off, I feel grossly misled by the netgalley page. This book is compared to Michael Crichton, as was praised for its scientific merit. As a biologist, using words like "squamous cells" and "genetic mutations in the X chromosome" doesn't just give you science street cred. Maybe somewhere in the next 53% there will be a large explanation that I'm sure sounds like it was based on a blog article about a mouse study from 2004 that hasn't actually panned out into anything in the last 10 years. My money on telomeres. If you look at the cover, you think that a majority of the book takes place over a large period of time. Absolutely not, it's 2014, with a random prologue paragraph.
The first 30% of this book is GUNS! RUNNNING! PEOPLE SHOOTING PEOPLE! DRIVE FAST! Which I made it through. The second we hit the land of the furies was when I was done. The random insertion of the word "Nay", the way too many resemblances to Stephen Baxter's Coalescent series (minus the rape, plus awkward sex scene), the guarding of my "Treasure" (which because super awkward when its all women who have really specific sexual selection criteria talking about guarding their Treasures), I just couldn't go any further.
March 1, 2014
******Spoilers ahead******
I have never read a book where I loved the prologue, got all excited for what was to come, and ended up with a major fucktastrophy. But, I digress.
The Furies opens up with a massacre occurring in the past. A mother desperate to hide her child while at the same time hearing the agony of her husband being killed. It was a great beginning. Then the story started.
John is a 30-something unemployed ex-gangbanger who winds up in a bar in NY. Into the bar walks a 20-something girl and John begins to think with his other head. Her name is Arielmy apologies to The Little Mermaid. She approaches John (much to his astonishment). They drink, they flirt, he becomes all enamored, they head back to her hotel. Before they can consummate their sudden lust affair, a random shooting occurs, people die, and Ariel gets shot and breaks her legs.
Does John call the police? NO.
Does John take Ariel to the hospital and dump her ass? NO.
Does John think this whole thing is completely crazy? YES. He doesn't care because Ariel is speshul and he has speshul feelings for her now.
John decides to take her to his friend who is a former doctor, now heroin addict. Oh, yes. Let's take our new "love" to a doctor who is high. Good move. While holing up hiding from the dudes that just tried to kill them, Ariel asks John to get her a few things from the store. For example, cat tails and some other assorted witchy sounding things. What does John do and does he think this is seriously bizarre? FUCK, YES. Yet, he runs right out and gets them.
Long story short, the bad dudes are coming. John and Ariel flee. (Remember she has two broken legs). Ariel tells him they need to head to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She tells him they cannot take the bridge because there will be a trap. They must take the ferry to Mackinac Island and then another ferry to the UP. This is where shit becomes so utterly ridiculous.
John and Ariel take the ferry to the island but realize the bad guys are there waiting for them. They run back onto the ferry and hijack it. Yes, you heard me correctly. How is this possible? It's really fucking not. I have been on that particular ferry as well as others. The crew does not just bail off the ferry the minute the passengers do. They stay, cleaning, making sure everything is fine, or are getting ready for the return trip. Not to mention, the control room is not simply that easily accessible. That part was beyond fucking ridiculous, bordering on annoying.
I'm not going to go through the whole book. I'll give you the highlights of fuckery. The bad guys are men that have broken off from Ariel's group. Turns out that Ariel is a witch (although one is not allowed to use such a derogatory term). The women in her group are blessed with longevity and healing abilities due to an extra gene. Oooooooh, and they all have red beautiful hair and green eyes.
The men are shit out of luck. They get the red hair and green eyes, but are sterile and don't have the longevity. They want a cure, they want Ariel to develop one, and blah blah blah. I must mention that this break-away group is led by Ariel's half brother. Darling brother has a thing for Ariel and won't allow her to have any other man. Yep, pulling the incest card. Always a winner.
Since the men are all sterile, the women have to either artificially inseminate themselves or the alternative. Going out into the real world and sleeping with some random dude until they get pregnant. Ariel chose John pretty much based on a google search to father her child.
Did I mention that the cure uses aborted baby fetuses? I am totally pro-choice. I enjoy gore and blood, creepy and twisted. Yet, there is a line into the disgusting that perhaps should never be crossed. This is one of them.
I was going to write more, but to be honest, I don't feel like it. I am boring myself rehashing this book, and therefore, probably boring you.
1 Ninja-Bunneh-SHDH
(ARC received in exchange for an honest review)
I have never read a book where I loved the prologue, got all excited for what was to come, and ended up with a major fucktastrophy. But, I digress.
The Furies opens up with a massacre occurring in the past. A mother desperate to hide her child while at the same time hearing the agony of her husband being killed. It was a great beginning. Then the story started.
John is a 30-something unemployed ex-gangbanger who winds up in a bar in NY. Into the bar walks a 20-something girl and John begins to think with his other head. Her name is Ariel
Does John call the police? NO.
Does John take Ariel to the hospital and dump her ass? NO.
Does John think this whole thing is completely crazy? YES. He doesn't care because Ariel is speshul and he has speshul feelings for her now.
John decides to take her to his friend who is a former doctor, now heroin addict. Oh, yes. Let's take our new "love" to a doctor who is high. Good move. While holing up hiding from the dudes that just tried to kill them, Ariel asks John to get her a few things from the store. For example, cat tails and some other assorted witchy sounding things. What does John do and does he think this is seriously bizarre? FUCK, YES. Yet, he runs right out and gets them.
Long story short, the bad dudes are coming. John and Ariel flee. (Remember she has two broken legs). Ariel tells him they need to head to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She tells him they cannot take the bridge because there will be a trap. They must take the ferry to Mackinac Island and then another ferry to the UP. This is where shit becomes so utterly ridiculous.
John and Ariel take the ferry to the island but realize the bad guys are there waiting for them. They run back onto the ferry and hijack it. Yes, you heard me correctly. How is this possible? It's really fucking not. I have been on that particular ferry as well as others. The crew does not just bail off the ferry the minute the passengers do. They stay, cleaning, making sure everything is fine, or are getting ready for the return trip. Not to mention, the control room is not simply that easily accessible. That part was beyond fucking ridiculous, bordering on annoying.
I'm not going to go through the whole book. I'll give you the highlights of fuckery. The bad guys are men that have broken off from Ariel's group. Turns out that Ariel is a witch (although one is not allowed to use such a derogatory term). The women in her group are blessed with longevity and healing abilities due to an extra gene. Oooooooh, and they all have red beautiful hair and green eyes.
The men are shit out of luck. They get the red hair and green eyes, but are sterile and don't have the longevity. They want a cure, they want Ariel to develop one, and blah blah blah. I must mention that this break-away group is led by Ariel's half brother. Darling brother has a thing for Ariel and won't allow her to have any other man. Yep, pulling the incest card. Always a winner.
Since the men are all sterile, the women have to either artificially inseminate themselves or the alternative. Going out into the real world and sleeping with some random dude until they get pregnant. Ariel chose John pretty much based on a google search to father her child.
Did I mention that the cure uses aborted baby fetuses? I am totally pro-choice. I enjoy gore and blood, creepy and twisted. Yet, there is a line into the disgusting that perhaps should never be crossed. This is one of them.
I was going to write more, but to be honest, I don't feel like it. I am boring myself rehashing this book, and therefore, probably boring you.
1 Ninja-Bunneh-SHDH
(ARC received in exchange for an honest review)
April 21, 2014
The Furies first starts out like it may be supernatural but quickly corrects the reader's assumption and reveals itself to be science fiction. It reminds me of Arthur C. Clarke's famous adage that says "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Yet to call it science fiction may be a stretch too. After all the author Mark Alpert makes it clear on the cover that this is primarily a thriller and that is how it should be read.
That's a good thing because it isn't a very good science fiction novel. As a thriller, it is enjoyable and holds it own. John Rogers is a troubled young man who meets Ariel in a "chance" encounter and hopefully a one night stand for our usually luckless hero. Of course, it doesn't work out that way and soon guns are blazing and John inexplicably is following Ariel into almost sure death instead of running for his life which any sane man would do, raging hormones or not. We find that Ariel isn't who she appears to be but is a member of a long standing and mysterious group who have plenty of secrets of their own. In fact, the best thing about this novel is how the author describes and builds Ariel's community and the secrets it holds. The Furies have all the ingredients of an exciting thriller and, aside from the creation of an interesting "cult", some nice bio-technical voodoo for the sci-fi freaks. But it never really gels together and eventually gets overrun by the predictable trappings of a mainstream thriller. Part of the problem is that I found the dialogue rather stilted and on the melodramatic side. But overall, Alpert's cast of characters just never came to life for me. They felt pat and pasted into unbelievable situations and actions. Most importantly, I never quite understood John's instant devotion to Ariel except that it must of been one hell of a one night stand. The best I can say for The Furies is that it is enjoyable in a generic thriller way and it show some promise for its intriguing scenario. However I doubt that it will stand out in my mind a few hours after I post this review.
That's a good thing because it isn't a very good science fiction novel. As a thriller, it is enjoyable and holds it own. John Rogers is a troubled young man who meets Ariel in a "chance" encounter and hopefully a one night stand for our usually luckless hero. Of course, it doesn't work out that way and soon guns are blazing and John inexplicably is following Ariel into almost sure death instead of running for his life which any sane man would do, raging hormones or not. We find that Ariel isn't who she appears to be but is a member of a long standing and mysterious group who have plenty of secrets of their own. In fact, the best thing about this novel is how the author describes and builds Ariel's community and the secrets it holds. The Furies have all the ingredients of an exciting thriller and, aside from the creation of an interesting "cult", some nice bio-technical voodoo for the sci-fi freaks. But it never really gels together and eventually gets overrun by the predictable trappings of a mainstream thriller. Part of the problem is that I found the dialogue rather stilted and on the melodramatic side. But overall, Alpert's cast of characters just never came to life for me. They felt pat and pasted into unbelievable situations and actions. Most importantly, I never quite understood John's instant devotion to Ariel except that it must of been one hell of a one night stand. The best I can say for The Furies is that it is enjoyable in a generic thriller way and it show some promise for its intriguing scenario. However I doubt that it will stand out in my mind a few hours after I post this review.
January 29, 2014
I received a copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
John Parker meets a beautiful women and their one-night stand turns into a middle of a gunfight when strangers appear to kill her. After saving Ariel’s life, he soon finds there is much more to this woman than striking green eyes and long red hair.
Despite being in the science fiction/fantasy section, I found the Furies to be much more a thriller. All the hype of witches dissolved into scientific explanation which involved no magic and little fantasy. That said, I did enjoy the read which had a fast pace and many locations. Plenty of action mixed with guns, fast boats, and even the Amazon jungle.
I think the weak point for me was the beginning when some of the talk of drugs and gangs made the story a little darker than I prefer. Also John was rather passive at times, doing whatever Ariel instructed him to do, instead of taking the initiative. Like a lot of action movies, this is a read for the thrill and not for the attachment to the characters.
I gave it three stars because it kept my attention and never got tedious, but it never quite had me hanging off my seat either.
John Parker meets a beautiful women and their one-night stand turns into a middle of a gunfight when strangers appear to kill her. After saving Ariel’s life, he soon finds there is much more to this woman than striking green eyes and long red hair.
Despite being in the science fiction/fantasy section, I found the Furies to be much more a thriller. All the hype of witches dissolved into scientific explanation which involved no magic and little fantasy. That said, I did enjoy the read which had a fast pace and many locations. Plenty of action mixed with guns, fast boats, and even the Amazon jungle.
I think the weak point for me was the beginning when some of the talk of drugs and gangs made the story a little darker than I prefer. Also John was rather passive at times, doing whatever Ariel instructed him to do, instead of taking the initiative. Like a lot of action movies, this is a read for the thrill and not for the attachment to the characters.
I gave it three stars because it kept my attention and never got tedious, but it never quite had me hanging off my seat either.
July 28, 2014
The description was intriguing, the first chapter was interesting (even if the author's use of "thy" and "thou" bugged me - it felt forced), but... the next chapter? I immediately and forever shut the book after their horribly awkward and creepy sexual encounter was interrupted by a gun shot.
This book felt like it was written by a 15 year old boy. The dialog was stilted. Being inside the mind of the main character, John, was tedious... and the fact that he tried to justify his interest in the stunning red head as anything other than shallow was laughable. All the twenty-somethings in the bar were silly, but *this* twenty-something was different because "red hair" and "she likes me."
I don't hate myself, so I'm not going to finish the book. I'm disappointed that a great premise was lost in awful writing, but I'm so relieved I checked the book out of the library and didn't actually buy it.
This book felt like it was written by a 15 year old boy. The dialog was stilted. Being inside the mind of the main character, John, was tedious... and the fact that he tried to justify his interest in the stunning red head as anything other than shallow was laughable. All the twenty-somethings in the bar were silly, but *this* twenty-something was different because "red hair" and "she likes me."
I don't hate myself, so I'm not going to finish the book. I'm disappointed that a great premise was lost in awful writing, but I'm so relieved I checked the book out of the library and didn't actually buy it.
June 10, 2014
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: Based on its synopsis, The Furies sounded like the kind of sci-fi/paranormal match-up stories I typically enjoy. Unfortunately, getting to the last page was more a matter of grueling determination than enjoyment thanks to detestable characters and a poorly executed plot.
Opening Sentence: She was smart and sexy and beautiful, but all that didn’t matter.
The Review:
Books about witches usually fall into one of two categories. The “double, double, toil and trouble” one most associated within the paranormal genre features women (or male warlocks) with magical or spell-related powers. The other uses the label for women who don’t quite fit into the mold that society cast for them or who have an “abnormal” knowledge of the world. In this category, it’s easier for male-dominated societies to attribute a woman’s intelligence to a demonic power than to think a female could be a male’s intellectual equal. To label a woman a witch was a way to balance the scales, to condemn her knowledge of which plants healed which injuries or illnesses as unnatural and reestablish the comfortable paternal rule. The Furies very firmly fits into the second category.
The female descendants of the Fury family are gifted not with paranormal magic, but with a genetic mutation that allows them to live for centuries without appearing to age. The intelligence these women exhibit thanks to decades of collective knowledge, as well as their seemingly eternal youth, has made them perfect targets for witch hunts throughout their long history. Which is definitely a good reason to be wary of outsiders. They’ve gone to exceptional lengths to hide from the others, accumulating wealth and building secret homes around the world.
They’d be perfectly content to never interact with strangers…with one very important exception. The genetic mutation that allows the Fury women to live a semi-immortal life seems to be abnormally fickle when it comes to producing offspring. Turns out that baby making for Fury women is a tad more complicated than for other women. Fury men are at the bottom of the genetic jackpot. Not only do the males not inherit the gift of living beyond the normal lifespan, but they’re also infertile. (A fact that is for the best since they’re all related to every woman in their family, but I digress.) What this lack of man meat means is that the Fury women must find a paramour, the Fury family version of a sperm donator, in the outside world.
Only specially trained members of the family are allowed to interact with strangers but women seeking their paramours are allowed the contact under very specific rules. A paramour is never allowed to know the truth about the Fury family, not even the real name of the woman he’s sleeping with, and he’s never to know if a child comes from their one night stand. A paramour who discovers any of these things, regardless of the circumstances, will be killed. Which is truly unfortunate for John Rogers, Ariel Fury’s chosen paramour. What’s even worse is that Ariel’s brother has declared open war against his female relatives. He’s dead set on getting the formula Ariel has been working on to transfer the genetic mutation to the males of the family – and John is right in the middle of the fight.
Besides being a cautionary tale for any guy who has unprotected sex with a stranger, The Furies is also an example of how to turn a so-called “thriller” into a story about as exciting as a three-hour wait in the doctor’s office. Alpert didn’t come close to delivering on his interesting idea thanks to his horrible characterization.
From the moment he’s introduced, John’s internal dialogue was as grating to read as listening to nails on a chalkboard. Despite only being thirty-three, his character’s mentality seemed to fluctuate between that of a fifty-year-old man and a teenage adolescent. He’s too old, too slow, too woe-is-me one moment; madder than hell but a slave to Ariel’s beauty in the next. He allows a woman he just met to completely destroy his life and all he focuses on is how pretty she is. Every time I think John has finally reached his limit with Ariel’s crap, he asks for another helping.
And Ariel. Ugh! She asks him to deliver her to her family home in the Upper Peninsula knowing that he’ll be killed once they get there because he helped her. She doesn’t stand up for him, doesn’t try to protect him. She uses his obvious infatuation with no regard for his feelings and gets angry with him when he tries to stand up for himself. I kept waiting for things to turn around, for either John or Ariel to show some redeemable quality that would make me root for their survival. I was woefully disappointed.
It’s sadly telling when the homicidal incestuous brother is the most sympathetic character in the entire story.
Notable Scene:
She slipped off her shoes as they sat on the edge of the bed. Then she looked John in the eye and squeezed his hand. “Are you okay with this?” she asked.
Amazing, he thought. She was ten years younger than him, and she was asking if he was okay. “Oh, I’m more than okay with it. I’m freakin’ ecstatic. You’re wonderful, you know that?” He lifted her hand and kissed her smooth knuckles. “But what about you? How do you feel?”
“I don’t do this very often. Almost never, in fact. I guess you made a big impression on me.” She reached for the lapels of his jacket and peeled them over his shoulders. John wriggled his arms out of the sleeves and let the thing drop to the carpet.
“I feel the same way,” he said. “I was bowled over the minute I saw you. I didn’t think I had a chance.”
“Why not?” She grasped the knot of his tie and loosened it.
“You’re so beautiful. And smart. I’m just a regular guy.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, John Rogers.” She undid his tie and threw it across the room. Then she started unbuttoning his shirt. “You’re special.
Don’t ever forget that. You’re one in a million.”
FTC Advisory: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press/Macmillan provided me with a copy of The Furies. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Quick & Dirty: Based on its synopsis, The Furies sounded like the kind of sci-fi/paranormal match-up stories I typically enjoy. Unfortunately, getting to the last page was more a matter of grueling determination than enjoyment thanks to detestable characters and a poorly executed plot.
Opening Sentence: She was smart and sexy and beautiful, but all that didn’t matter.
The Review:
Books about witches usually fall into one of two categories. The “double, double, toil and trouble” one most associated within the paranormal genre features women (or male warlocks) with magical or spell-related powers. The other uses the label for women who don’t quite fit into the mold that society cast for them or who have an “abnormal” knowledge of the world. In this category, it’s easier for male-dominated societies to attribute a woman’s intelligence to a demonic power than to think a female could be a male’s intellectual equal. To label a woman a witch was a way to balance the scales, to condemn her knowledge of which plants healed which injuries or illnesses as unnatural and reestablish the comfortable paternal rule. The Furies very firmly fits into the second category.
The female descendants of the Fury family are gifted not with paranormal magic, but with a genetic mutation that allows them to live for centuries without appearing to age. The intelligence these women exhibit thanks to decades of collective knowledge, as well as their seemingly eternal youth, has made them perfect targets for witch hunts throughout their long history. Which is definitely a good reason to be wary of outsiders. They’ve gone to exceptional lengths to hide from the others, accumulating wealth and building secret homes around the world.
They’d be perfectly content to never interact with strangers…with one very important exception. The genetic mutation that allows the Fury women to live a semi-immortal life seems to be abnormally fickle when it comes to producing offspring. Turns out that baby making for Fury women is a tad more complicated than for other women. Fury men are at the bottom of the genetic jackpot. Not only do the males not inherit the gift of living beyond the normal lifespan, but they’re also infertile. (A fact that is for the best since they’re all related to every woman in their family, but I digress.) What this lack of man meat means is that the Fury women must find a paramour, the Fury family version of a sperm donator, in the outside world.
Only specially trained members of the family are allowed to interact with strangers but women seeking their paramours are allowed the contact under very specific rules. A paramour is never allowed to know the truth about the Fury family, not even the real name of the woman he’s sleeping with, and he’s never to know if a child comes from their one night stand. A paramour who discovers any of these things, regardless of the circumstances, will be killed. Which is truly unfortunate for John Rogers, Ariel Fury’s chosen paramour. What’s even worse is that Ariel’s brother has declared open war against his female relatives. He’s dead set on getting the formula Ariel has been working on to transfer the genetic mutation to the males of the family – and John is right in the middle of the fight.
Besides being a cautionary tale for any guy who has unprotected sex with a stranger, The Furies is also an example of how to turn a so-called “thriller” into a story about as exciting as a three-hour wait in the doctor’s office. Alpert didn’t come close to delivering on his interesting idea thanks to his horrible characterization.
From the moment he’s introduced, John’s internal dialogue was as grating to read as listening to nails on a chalkboard. Despite only being thirty-three, his character’s mentality seemed to fluctuate between that of a fifty-year-old man and a teenage adolescent. He’s too old, too slow, too woe-is-me one moment; madder than hell but a slave to Ariel’s beauty in the next. He allows a woman he just met to completely destroy his life and all he focuses on is how pretty she is. Every time I think John has finally reached his limit with Ariel’s crap, he asks for another helping.
And Ariel. Ugh! She asks him to deliver her to her family home in the Upper Peninsula knowing that he’ll be killed once they get there because he helped her. She doesn’t stand up for him, doesn’t try to protect him. She uses his obvious infatuation with no regard for his feelings and gets angry with him when he tries to stand up for himself. I kept waiting for things to turn around, for either John or Ariel to show some redeemable quality that would make me root for their survival. I was woefully disappointed.
It’s sadly telling when the homicidal incestuous brother is the most sympathetic character in the entire story.
Notable Scene:
She slipped off her shoes as they sat on the edge of the bed. Then she looked John in the eye and squeezed his hand. “Are you okay with this?” she asked.
Amazing, he thought. She was ten years younger than him, and she was asking if he was okay. “Oh, I’m more than okay with it. I’m freakin’ ecstatic. You’re wonderful, you know that?” He lifted her hand and kissed her smooth knuckles. “But what about you? How do you feel?”
“I don’t do this very often. Almost never, in fact. I guess you made a big impression on me.” She reached for the lapels of his jacket and peeled them over his shoulders. John wriggled his arms out of the sleeves and let the thing drop to the carpet.
“I feel the same way,” he said. “I was bowled over the minute I saw you. I didn’t think I had a chance.”
“Why not?” She grasped the knot of his tie and loosened it.
“You’re so beautiful. And smart. I’m just a regular guy.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, John Rogers.” She undid his tie and threw it across the room. Then she started unbuttoning his shirt. “You’re special.
Don’t ever forget that. You’re one in a million.”
FTC Advisory: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press/Macmillan provided me with a copy of The Furies. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
April 14, 2020
The whole synopsis for this story drew me in. A Sci-Fi Thriller about witches and genetic mutations. Now it starts off promising with a flash back to the original witch colony and a small massacre, then goes to modern day (2014) with Ariel (🙄 she has red hair and green eyes) and John who meet in a bar go back for a romp but doesn’t happen due to people after her. The mutation is the red hair green eyes and men born with it don’t get magical powers and they’re made about it. Idk.. I really don’t know. It really grabbed my attention and then just dumped. I mean it took a big swan dive of mind boringness. I don’t like writing reviews like this, but when a book starts off great and has a promising opening and then gets real stupid in the story.. yeah.
May 17, 2020
This book has a beautiful cover and a great prologue. And then the story happens and I don’t have anything more nice things to say about it.
Honestly, I don’t know how I acquired this book. But as I read the synopsis I thought “Sure, this might be fun.” And of course on the back it’s blurbed to be comparable to Michael Crichton—whose books I’ve read some of and enjoyed for the most part. But I must tell you, other than the “science-y” bits I’m really not sure how they’re comparable.
The characters lacked personality and the dialogue was clunky, and the motivations questionable. And I’ll stop there because I don’t want to leave spoilers or go on a massive rant of *all* the reasons I disliked this book.
To be fair, I’m sure there are some out there that will love this. It’s fairly fast-paced.
Honestly, I don’t know how I acquired this book. But as I read the synopsis I thought “Sure, this might be fun.” And of course on the back it’s blurbed to be comparable to Michael Crichton—whose books I’ve read some of and enjoyed for the most part. But I must tell you, other than the “science-y” bits I’m really not sure how they’re comparable.
The characters lacked personality and the dialogue was clunky, and the motivations questionable. And I’ll stop there because I don’t want to leave spoilers or go on a massive rant of *all* the reasons I disliked this book.
To be fair, I’m sure there are some out there that will love this. It’s fairly fast-paced.
January 26, 2014
Note: The Furies was an Advanced Reader Copy I received from NetGalley in exchange for a review.
I found the premise of this book to be very interesting which is the very reason why I requested it from NetGalley. The blurb explained that there are a set of people called Furies who, once upon a time, were called witches and were burned at the stake, etc. but instead of really having magical powers or anything there is actually just a genetic mutation that sets them apart from “regular” humans. Sounds interesting and unique, right?
The prologue started off strong in 1645 England with a woman named Elizabeth Fury hiding from the men who was on a witch hunt for her. It was clear from the start that the focus would be on the power of the women because she notes that she fears for her daughters and her sisters. I was excited to see how powerful these women really were.
But then the story switched over to modern day times where a man named John Rogers and a woman named Ariel in a bar and the two eventually become immersed in what kind of appears to be a gang war. At this point I figured the author was just trying to build up anticipation for the “big reveal” (aka the link between the part of the story set in 1645 and the modern day one). And of course a little bit of anticipation was a good thing but other than a strange anomaly with Ariel’s tooth there wasn’t even a hint of what the reveal as until I got 28% into the book. By that point I almost didn’t care anymore.
The major issue I had with the whole genetic mutation thing was in how it was handled. In the prologue Elizabeth made it very clear that she knew her fellow villagers cried “witch” whenever something was off and that she knew exactly how she was “special” and “different.” Then why in the world would she have risked living so close to town for over twenty years? Why wouldn’t she have done the logical thing and kept the family moving or better hidden? There had to have been a way to do that.
Then once we learn more about the why the Fury women are so special I was confused (because first of all it really wasn’t even that big of a deal, it wasn’t even remotely “magical” just very convenient.) You want to stay hidden but you still send people out to get pregnant and further the family to the point where it’s getting ridiculously difficult to hide? At this point I’d think it far more likely for the family to have split up into different smaller colonies all around the world or for them to have come out into the open and have the Fury women basically running the whole damn world.
Now let me touch on the characters a bit. We have Ariel the researcher who wants the answers to everything but won’t give answers to anyone else. She doesn’t make any sense at all but is one of the of the only people with a motivation that I could even remotely empathize with, i.e. wanting to know exactly what she was dealing with before proceeding with the experiments. Then we had John Rogers who from the get go had a sad past and wouldn’t let the reader forget it. Yes his past was sad but all I got out of it was that the reason he hangs onto Ariel through thick and thin is because he was attracted to her and then they are thrown into a situation where he feels he needs to save/protect her. Yeah, that’s a good reason for a love story.
And the antagonist Sullivan. Oh dear. He’s about as stupid as they come. I can understand how the men in this Fury family feel like they’ve gotten the shaft. But he’s all upset because Ariel wants to research a formula instead of just injecting it all willy nilly. Really, that’s his whole motivation. He wants to be more like the women and thinks the women are being all selfish when basically they’re just trying to make sure that one: they don’t cause harm with their experiments and two: that they don’t expose the Fury family. Basically his motivation is that he doesn’t understand common sense. Oh and he likes to torture people.
There are just so many things that were wrong with this story: the characters motivations, the lack of common sense, the pacing (it took nearly 30% of the book to reach the big reveal and less than 10% to reach a resolution).
All I have to say is that I find obligated to read this book since I was granted an advanced copy from NetGalley. If it wasn’t for that I would never have finished the thing.
I found the premise of this book to be very interesting which is the very reason why I requested it from NetGalley. The blurb explained that there are a set of people called Furies who, once upon a time, were called witches and were burned at the stake, etc. but instead of really having magical powers or anything there is actually just a genetic mutation that sets them apart from “regular” humans. Sounds interesting and unique, right?
The prologue started off strong in 1645 England with a woman named Elizabeth Fury hiding from the men who was on a witch hunt for her. It was clear from the start that the focus would be on the power of the women because she notes that she fears for her daughters and her sisters. I was excited to see how powerful these women really were.
But then the story switched over to modern day times where a man named John Rogers and a woman named Ariel in a bar and the two eventually become immersed in what kind of appears to be a gang war. At this point I figured the author was just trying to build up anticipation for the “big reveal” (aka the link between the part of the story set in 1645 and the modern day one). And of course a little bit of anticipation was a good thing but other than a strange anomaly with Ariel’s tooth there wasn’t even a hint of what the reveal as until I got 28% into the book. By that point I almost didn’t care anymore.
The major issue I had with the whole genetic mutation thing was in how it was handled. In the prologue Elizabeth made it very clear that she knew her fellow villagers cried “witch” whenever something was off and that she knew exactly how she was “special” and “different.” Then why in the world would she have risked living so close to town for over twenty years? Why wouldn’t she have done the logical thing and kept the family moving or better hidden? There had to have been a way to do that.
Then once we learn more about the why the Fury women are so special I was confused (because first of all it really wasn’t even that big of a deal, it wasn’t even remotely “magical” just very convenient.) You want to stay hidden but you still send people out to get pregnant and further the family to the point where it’s getting ridiculously difficult to hide? At this point I’d think it far more likely for the family to have split up into different smaller colonies all around the world or for them to have come out into the open and have the Fury women basically running the whole damn world.
Now let me touch on the characters a bit. We have Ariel the researcher who wants the answers to everything but won’t give answers to anyone else. She doesn’t make any sense at all but is one of the of the only people with a motivation that I could even remotely empathize with, i.e. wanting to know exactly what she was dealing with before proceeding with the experiments. Then we had John Rogers who from the get go had a sad past and wouldn’t let the reader forget it. Yes his past was sad but all I got out of it was that the reason he hangs onto Ariel through thick and thin is because he was attracted to her and then they are thrown into a situation where he feels he needs to save/protect her. Yeah, that’s a good reason for a love story.
And the antagonist Sullivan. Oh dear. He’s about as stupid as they come. I can understand how the men in this Fury family feel like they’ve gotten the shaft. But he’s all upset because Ariel wants to research a formula instead of just injecting it all willy nilly. Really, that’s his whole motivation. He wants to be more like the women and thinks the women are being all selfish when basically they’re just trying to make sure that one: they don’t cause harm with their experiments and two: that they don’t expose the Fury family. Basically his motivation is that he doesn’t understand common sense. Oh and he likes to torture people.
There are just so many things that were wrong with this story: the characters motivations, the lack of common sense, the pacing (it took nearly 30% of the book to reach the big reveal and less than 10% to reach a resolution).
All I have to say is that I find obligated to read this book since I was granted an advanced copy from NetGalley. If it wasn’t for that I would never have finished the thing.
July 15, 2014
John an unemployed, ex-gang member, meets a beautiful woman in a bar. They spend the night talking, and connecting, leading up to what was suppose to be a night of lust. It ends much differently than expected. This novel is full of action, secret societies, genetic mutations, biker gangs, and betrayal. The Furies has such potential to be a great novel, but there were things that just didn't work for me in this book. The first and most important thing that would have helped me to connect with the story is the introduction. The novel wholly takes place in the present; do not put something from the Elizabethan area, when the reader will never be brought back to that time period. Everything that is shown in the introductory chapter is explained later in the book. I would really drive the mystery of the story if the introduction were cut out of the book. The second thing that was confusing to me was creating God, or 'birthing' God into the world. I can understand wanting to make the world a better place, or creating heaven on earth, but how exactly would this group of people 'create God', it just didn't make sense to me. Also if this group of people doesn't believe in a God or a deity, then why are they always thanking a 'Mother' or asking a 'Mother' for help. It seems to me that they do believe in God, just a female representation of God. Also, I'm not wholly buying into an FBI agent being as gullible as Agent Larson was in this book. The last thing that bothered me was the second sex scene, it was downright clinical. Maybe, I didn't get it because I am a woman and it was written with a male audience in mind, but it made me uncomfortable reading it. I have read books with a lot of sex in them, so it's not that I am shy and feel ashamed reading about sex, it wasn't unconventional dirty sex either... I guess I am going to have to stick with it being too clinical. I really hope that a second addition of this book is released, maybe with some rewrites, because I really like the idea behind the book, and I really enjoyed the science fiction aspect of it.
This was originally published on:
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This was originally published on:
http://cozycornerandcafebookreviews.b...
February 6, 2014
This is an original book review from http://bookedandloaded.com I received this book via NetGalley and all opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.
The Furies: A Thriller by Mark Alpert is a stand alone thriller/sci-fi type of paranormal. I flipped pages. I consumed the words. This book made me think and discuss the contents, history, and story. What more can one ask for?
I am going to have a little confessional first. I kind of broke my own rule about reading reviews on this book before writing my own. I couldn’t help it! I am just a weak individual. OK. Cut me some slack! Before discussing this further I am going to tell you that I come from a Stephen King, Christopher Pike, and all around weird background as a VERY young adult. These were my go-tos for entertainment. Don’t judge me, I already know how strange I was….or…am. The Furies reminded me of this pastime. That background and original spark for storytelling and literature is where my passion lies. I think many of the reviews expected a much higher romance and paranormal themed story. Although many elements did exist, I think the overall execution was just more of a King kind of feel.
Yes, romance might have been threaded through the story, albeit in not the traditional manner. Paranormal might have been threaded through the story..again..not in the traditional matter. However, what The Furies: A Thriller brought to the table was a complete thought provoking experience. The threads of true history weaved into the story of a race of “witches” not defined by our conventional terms brought hours of thought and personal dialog that was enjoyable and unique. The background and history of both Ariel Fury and John Rogers came together with a beautiful mix of how two completely separate shapings of ones environment can lead to a common thread. An intense thread that could possibly effect the course of many people.
Redefine witches with a complete scientific explanation and invoke your imagination in how someone could influence our history if so inclined…is a very fascinating concept. I think sci-fi and thriller lovers with love this title and not be disappointed!
The Furies: A Thriller by Mark Alpert is a stand alone thriller/sci-fi type of paranormal. I flipped pages. I consumed the words. This book made me think and discuss the contents, history, and story. What more can one ask for?
I am going to have a little confessional first. I kind of broke my own rule about reading reviews on this book before writing my own. I couldn’t help it! I am just a weak individual. OK. Cut me some slack! Before discussing this further I am going to tell you that I come from a Stephen King, Christopher Pike, and all around weird background as a VERY young adult. These were my go-tos for entertainment. Don’t judge me, I already know how strange I was….or…am. The Furies reminded me of this pastime. That background and original spark for storytelling and literature is where my passion lies. I think many of the reviews expected a much higher romance and paranormal themed story. Although many elements did exist, I think the overall execution was just more of a King kind of feel.
Yes, romance might have been threaded through the story, albeit in not the traditional manner. Paranormal might have been threaded through the story..again..not in the traditional matter. However, what The Furies: A Thriller brought to the table was a complete thought provoking experience. The threads of true history weaved into the story of a race of “witches” not defined by our conventional terms brought hours of thought and personal dialog that was enjoyable and unique. The background and history of both Ariel Fury and John Rogers came together with a beautiful mix of how two completely separate shapings of ones environment can lead to a common thread. An intense thread that could possibly effect the course of many people.
Redefine witches with a complete scientific explanation and invoke your imagination in how someone could influence our history if so inclined…is a very fascinating concept. I think sci-fi and thriller lovers with love this title and not be disappointed!
February 26, 2014
Publication Date: 22nd April by St Martin’s Press.
Thank you to the author/publisher for the review copy via netgalley.
For centuries, the Furies have lived among us. Long ago they were called witches and massacred by the thousands. But they’re human just like us, except for a rare genetic mutation that they’ve hidden from the rest of the world for hundreds of years.
Now, a chance encounter with a beautiful woman named Ariel has led John Rogers into the middle of a secret war among the Furies. Ariel needs John’s help in the battle between a rebellious faction of the clan and their elders. The grand prize in this war is a chance to remake the human race.
Right this one is a funny one for me. I’ve marked it as a Thriller but I guess you could tag it Science Fiction/Fantasy as well – this is why I hate genre boxes! To be fair I’d say this is a bit of a mish mash.
The premise is fairly intriguing – what if “Witchcraft” were a simple gene mutation away. On top of that what if living amongst us were people who had this gene mutation. The “Furies” of the title.
I liked the idea and I also liked the first part of the book which was action action action – it was what I was in the mood for and I was right there – ok a bit far fetched but still a lot of fun, as John meets Ariel, bad guys arrive and they have to run.
After that it lost me a bit. It lacked cohesion for me – the science didnt seem too likely if I’m honest although I’m no scientist. And certainly I think there is a fair bit of a different kind of “fantasy” going on when you have red haired green eyed beauties everywhere who happen to have “magical” qualities. One for the guys perhaps?
I didnt really connect to any of the characters enough to feel motivated to care what happened to them. Which was sad because on paper this looked like just my sort of thing but ultimately, whilst the action portions were well executed the rest of it fell a bit flat.
A solid 3 stars, a fairly pleasant distraction but nothing to write home about.
Happy Reading Folks!
Thank you to the author/publisher for the review copy via netgalley.
For centuries, the Furies have lived among us. Long ago they were called witches and massacred by the thousands. But they’re human just like us, except for a rare genetic mutation that they’ve hidden from the rest of the world for hundreds of years.
Now, a chance encounter with a beautiful woman named Ariel has led John Rogers into the middle of a secret war among the Furies. Ariel needs John’s help in the battle between a rebellious faction of the clan and their elders. The grand prize in this war is a chance to remake the human race.
Right this one is a funny one for me. I’ve marked it as a Thriller but I guess you could tag it Science Fiction/Fantasy as well – this is why I hate genre boxes! To be fair I’d say this is a bit of a mish mash.
The premise is fairly intriguing – what if “Witchcraft” were a simple gene mutation away. On top of that what if living amongst us were people who had this gene mutation. The “Furies” of the title.
I liked the idea and I also liked the first part of the book which was action action action – it was what I was in the mood for and I was right there – ok a bit far fetched but still a lot of fun, as John meets Ariel, bad guys arrive and they have to run.
After that it lost me a bit. It lacked cohesion for me – the science didnt seem too likely if I’m honest although I’m no scientist. And certainly I think there is a fair bit of a different kind of “fantasy” going on when you have red haired green eyed beauties everywhere who happen to have “magical” qualities. One for the guys perhaps?
I didnt really connect to any of the characters enough to feel motivated to care what happened to them. Which was sad because on paper this looked like just my sort of thing but ultimately, whilst the action portions were well executed the rest of it fell a bit flat.
A solid 3 stars, a fairly pleasant distraction but nothing to write home about.
Happy Reading Folks!
January 28, 2014
Having been granted an arc through netgalley, I finished the novel even though I was scratching my head often. I had high hopes from the blurb of magical happenings and I expected the mystery of the Furies to be mind-blowing or at least interesting. But the reveal inspired more of an 'eh' for me. I did not like John Rogers and that is a bad thing unless the reason you dislike a particular character is because they stir conflict in you (think of villainous characters that you don't like but are fascinated by). From the start when he is lusting over the girl at the bar I wasn't going to think much of him.
Too many silly things happen here to suspend belief, and I am not talking about supernatural occurrences. Without giving away everything, I have to say that I don't think things would run so smoothly stealing from a hospital, or running around shooting off a gun. There has to be believable moments in a novel, at the very least we have to see some realistic reactions.
I cannot say I like it just because I think the ideas were good. Having a genetic mutation explain why the Furies were accused of witchery is a very solid explanation. There were times when illnesses were seen as evil and myths blossomed from them. But this novel isn't really true science fiction nor magical realism and to call it that will disappoint people who really love novels of either genre. I was expecting far more magic, and was let down. I think this novel would have been better if I had liked the characters. You have to have a connection to one character, at the very least, in order to really enjoy the journey. I am sure there are people out there who will like this quick read and can overlook the details. I am not one of them. Wanted to like it but it was just okay.
Too many silly things happen here to suspend belief, and I am not talking about supernatural occurrences. Without giving away everything, I have to say that I don't think things would run so smoothly stealing from a hospital, or running around shooting off a gun. There has to be believable moments in a novel, at the very least we have to see some realistic reactions.
I cannot say I like it just because I think the ideas were good. Having a genetic mutation explain why the Furies were accused of witchery is a very solid explanation. There were times when illnesses were seen as evil and myths blossomed from them. But this novel isn't really true science fiction nor magical realism and to call it that will disappoint people who really love novels of either genre. I was expecting far more magic, and was let down. I think this novel would have been better if I had liked the characters. You have to have a connection to one character, at the very least, in order to really enjoy the journey. I am sure there are people out there who will like this quick read and can overlook the details. I am not one of them. Wanted to like it but it was just okay.
August 21, 2015
[See the full review at thoughts and afterthoughts.]
Rating: 3/5
Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr spoiler-less version:
- A "chase-thriller" with a variety of fast-paced action sequences involving guns and explosives, a ferryboat, and many bullet ants.
- Despite romance driving the protagonists actions and the synopsis sounding as if it's a paranormal romance... it's not.
- Speculative-fiction that considers a variant genome which has caused disparity and civil unrest between the genders of the Furies.
- Generally immaculate world building that gives nod to historical timelines and paints a realistic landscape of various settings.
- Narrative pacing is a hit or miss as perspectives change between major and minor characters.
Initial Thoughts:
Sooooo...the Salem Witch Trials lay the groundwork for this mixed grab bag of witchy woo-woo speculative fiction which isn’t as paranormal as I initially thought. To be frank, I thought the Furies were the name for a species or something. Nope, it’s actually a family lineage. With the tagline of being a thriller, its success is a toss-up erring on the side of being flat through the course of its journey. While not a disastrous read by any means, there is a considerable nod given toward historical attributions emphasized by differing societies concerning the unordinary superstitious behaviours of [insert-your-religion-of-choice-here]. With this in mind, it isn’t executed to the potential that I thought it could have been. But the cover is kind of rad though.
Full disclosure: I received an advanced reader copy of The Furies: A Thriller through NetGalley for an honest review. I extend my thanks to St. Martin’s Press for providing me the opportunity to review this book.
Disclaimer: Potential spoilers inherent to this review from here onward.
Rating: 3/5
Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr spoiler-less version:
- A "chase-thriller" with a variety of fast-paced action sequences involving guns and explosives, a ferryboat, and many bullet ants.
- Despite romance driving the protagonists actions and the synopsis sounding as if it's a paranormal romance... it's not.
- Speculative-fiction that considers a variant genome which has caused disparity and civil unrest between the genders of the Furies.
- Generally immaculate world building that gives nod to historical timelines and paints a realistic landscape of various settings.
- Narrative pacing is a hit or miss as perspectives change between major and minor characters.
Initial Thoughts:
Sooooo...the Salem Witch Trials lay the groundwork for this mixed grab bag of witchy woo-woo speculative fiction which isn’t as paranormal as I initially thought. To be frank, I thought the Furies were the name for a species or something. Nope, it’s actually a family lineage. With the tagline of being a thriller, its success is a toss-up erring on the side of being flat through the course of its journey. While not a disastrous read by any means, there is a considerable nod given toward historical attributions emphasized by differing societies concerning the unordinary superstitious behaviours of [insert-your-religion-of-choice-here]. With this in mind, it isn’t executed to the potential that I thought it could have been. But the cover is kind of rad though.
Full disclosure: I received an advanced reader copy of The Furies: A Thriller through NetGalley for an honest review. I extend my thanks to St. Martin’s Press for providing me the opportunity to review this book.
Disclaimer: Potential spoilers inherent to this review from here onward.
May 27, 2024
I'm really torn.
First off, in the beginning, Ariel felt one hundred percent like she belonged on r/MenWritingWomen. She did become decently well done by the end, but you can’t come back from that.
John was rather simple, but got the job done. I don't think I'll remember him in a week, but he wasn't grating. Except for how he seemed to describe every attractive female character (again, r/menwritingwomen), and how he felt like a blank slate for projection.
Cordelia, Elizabeth, and Claudia fell into a similar pit. Simple, but served their roles. I can’t name a single character trait that isn't archetypal. Octavia was just wasted potential.
Basil/Sullivan was a one-note cackling, uninteresting, unintimidating villain. Again, boring.
The worldbuilding was compelling, but underbaked. We needed more time to see the nuances of the society, especially when I found myself siding with (what the book said was) Sullivan's idea of having the men live as long as the women. Sully was too busy being a supervillain to live up to his own motive, though. Every Fury girl but Cordelia and Ariel were either insane or sexist.
And that ending.
First off, in the beginning, Ariel felt one hundred percent like she belonged on r/MenWritingWomen. She did become decently well done by the end, but you can’t come back from that.
John was rather simple, but got the job done. I don't think I'll remember him in a week, but he wasn't grating. Except for how he seemed to describe every attractive female character (again, r/menwritingwomen), and how he felt like a blank slate for projection.
Cordelia, Elizabeth, and Claudia fell into a similar pit. Simple, but served their roles. I can’t name a single character trait that isn't archetypal. Octavia was just wasted potential.
Basil/Sullivan was a one-note cackling, uninteresting, unintimidating villain. Again, boring.
The worldbuilding was compelling, but underbaked. We needed more time to see the nuances of the society, especially when I found myself siding with (what the book said was) Sullivan's idea of having the men live as long as the women. Sully was too busy being a supervillain to live up to his own motive, though. Every Fury girl but Cordelia and Ariel were either insane or sexist.
And that ending.
December 29, 2017
I'm slightly disappointed that this book has such a low score from my other fellow readers. I guess I'll be one of the few to say "I really enjoyed this book!" I must admit, I did read a few other reviews prior to actually reading the book, which is something I typically don't do. So right from the beginning I was a little hesitant based on what my fellow readers said. Do I think the story runs along the line of Stephen King or Michael Crichton? I certainly think not. However, I did enjoy the plot and the action was kept at a steady pace. I will say, there were moments where I found myself drifting off to sleep. For example, the entire chromosome talk. I'm not a scientific person, so those kinds of conversations tend to fly right over my head sometimes. I also thought the "secret" Rogers was hiding in connection to the death of his daughter was extremely anti-climatic. Let's be honest, I was expecting something a lot bigger than what was actually revealed. The ending was just okay. I honestly wanted more than what we ended up with. However, without revealing too much, I was quite entertained with the outcome of Sullivan and his accomplices.
April 29, 2020
A unique thriller which I appreciated both for the characters, as well as a complex and well paced storyline, and a backstory the likes of which I've not read in a while. I really enjoyed the interplay of history, the witch burnings, science, and good old gunfights and chase sequences. I like the ethos of (paraphrasing wildly here) "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic to those unfamiliar". Extrapolating genetic mutation and longevity from a phenomenon of persecution of independent and intelligent women in history and then using that backstory for a thriller is quite clever. There's just enough science to make it seem plausible no doubt due to the author's work as an editor for Scientific American. Sadly seems to be garnering poor reviews from those who are upset the contents of the book don't match the cover or a marketing blurb. I found it to be a quick fun read.
October 25, 2017
The mutated gene idea behind the Furies is cool, and this story certainly is entertaining. I had a hard time accepting John's motivation for sticking with the Furies. The way all of them, including Ariel, treat him throughout the story, it's hard to believe he would still be on their side. I would have expected John to side with Archibald and to team up with Gower and Archie to modernize the Fury family and improve the way the Fury men lived. His ending up in a sort of Eden with Ariel makes for a nice, romantic ending, but seems too contrived. Oh well. It's still a fun book, and the genetics in this book, while dated, is at least based on real, modern science.
February 2, 2018
The Furies was a pretty good and interesting book. It's about a man named John Roberts and a mysterious woman named Ariel. John at first just thinks that Ariel's a normal girl that you would meet at a bar but soon finds out that she has a secret past that no one knows about. She's a fury and her older brother is trying to kill her. They both end up falling in love with each other and trying to figure out a way to defeat Ariel's older brother. This book is filled with romance, violence, and fantasy and it is very well written
July 9, 2025
This was hands down one of my favorite books I have read so far. It was actioned packed until the very end. There were moments that I would wonder if anyone would make it out the same. The twist and turns just continued to happen with each turn of the page. I also love the take on what the Furies are and what they stand for. It make it almost feel like this is something that can definitely happen in society today without anyone ever knowing. I would recommend this book to anyone who ask. I love it from the very first page. 5 out of 5.
January 29, 2018
I don't mark many books DNF - in fact this may be only the second one ever, but I just can't read any more of this book. It just made me angry. Halfway through the book and there is still only ONE female character - and she has to rely on the maine (male) protagonist to transport her/keep her safe. Between that and several other very unplausible incidents I just had to put it down or I would have thrown it against the wall.
June 29, 2021
Great story and I always learn so many things from Mark such as how he incorporated real world scientific ideas and technologies into this book!! I wish that he would write more about these people and their lives. I really like that Mark got the idea for this book from one of his son's term papers for middle school and I have always been fascinated by the Salem Witch Trials. Thanks for a most interesting story!! Hint, hint Mark, it is not too late to write a sequel to this!!
April 9, 2024
This book was interesting and made me wanna know how the author would pull off an awesome ending. There were a lot of details that could have been used to wrap up the ending but instead it felt as if the author was rushed to finish. I was a little thrown off by the part where she wanted to become an angel and yadda yadda. I was so disappointed when such a good story took such a quick dive to a stop.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2018
I liked the book enough to finish it. I liked the idea of a family living through history; I just wish the author didn't describe every woman in the book by her breasts. Like I get it for the romantic lead but when you're also describing how the romantic leads mothers/aunts breasts are it kinda weirded me out.
November 23, 2017
When I read the synopsis it sounded intriguing. I was really hoping to like this book, but I didn't. There were too many, "Really??" moments for me. I couldn't get attached or get invested in the story because I got annoyed most of the time.
June 15, 2018
This book just didn’t do it for me. Some of my favorite historical stories are about witches and their trials and magic. So to mix that with modern day issues such as gangs, meth conspiracies and Harley riding enemies....it just did not mix well.
June 28, 2023
Enjoyed the read. A lot of chasing, but a different premiss on an old theme of witches.
Thought it was going to degenerate into a typical shoot'em up novel when the end happened. That's what you get when reading on a kindle and you don't pay attention to the page numbers.
Nice ending
Thought it was going to degenerate into a typical shoot'em up novel when the end happened. That's what you get when reading on a kindle and you don't pay attention to the page numbers.
Nice ending
June 3, 2017
Creative and original. There are some scientific explanations that some may not like, but I felt it added to the story. I would recommend and would read this author, again.
December 3, 2017
How on earth did this book get published? It should be burned.
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