The Archetypes Shockwaves

by Susan Buffum

Benjamin "Beans" and Amanda Rex are plunged back into the complicated webs of lies and deceit that her megalomaniac late father left behind. While trying to find answers, they area under attack from the Renfield family, archenemies of the Rex family. Together they try to deal with a devastating loss, injuries, shocking revelations about what the late Leonard Pennington did when he created them and how it could destroy everything they have accomplished if Amanda can't develop a serum that will save them all. Their marriage is strained, their close bond tested as the showdown approaches that could mean the end of Benjamin and a future spent in hiding for Amanda, who must protect their children from a truly evil man.

295 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2015

About the author

Susan Buffum was born in Northampton, MA and grew up in Easthampton and Westfield, MA. She currently resides in western Massachusetts. Her daughter, Kelly, also writes. Susan works as a medical secretary and writes as a hobby in her spare time. Her sister, Lynnmarie May, writes children's stories and short plays. Her grandfather was a great oral storyteller. She has been writing since she was thirteen years old, starting out as a poet, then moving on to prose and short stories and now novels. She is active in the world of vintage and antique button collecting and was the editor of the Massachusetts State Button Society Bulletin from 2007-2016. She also wasa contributing writer for the Bulletin. She collects Steiff teddy bears and big cats, camels, Eiffel towers, antique and vintage playing cards and charmstrings. Writers who have influenced her include Hemingway, Shirley Jackson, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and others.

Reviews

[Gerald McFarland · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this fast-paced science-fiction thriller Susan Buffum puts her medical knowledge to good use by describing how the Rexes, archetype creations of Amanda Rex's father, have to deal with tendencies that are preprogrammed in them. Some are positive, such as sexual passion between Amanda and her husband Benjamin that literally sets off sparks when they make love, but others, most notably being programmed to murder family members, are definitely negative and dangerous. To add to Amanda's troubles, even as she works to create a serum that will prevent these genetic flaws from kicking in, her family is under attack from their enemies, members of the Renfield family. The subtheme of family conflict, both within the Rex family and with the Renfields, adds a dramatic dimension to the novel.