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Captain Chase #1
Quantum
International bestselling author Patricia Cornwell delivers pulse-pounding thrills in a series featuring a brilliant and unusual new heroine, cutting-edge cybertechnology, and stakes that are astronomically high.
On the eve of a top secret space mission, Captain Calli Chase detects a tripped alarm in the tunnels deep below a NASA research center. A NASA pilot, quantum physicist, and cybercrime investigator, Calli knows that a looming blizzard and government shutdown could provide the perfect cover for sabotage, with deadly consequences.
As it turns out, the danger is worse than she thought. A spatter of dried blood, a missing security badge, a suspicious suicide—a series of disturbing clues point to Calli’s twin sister, Carme, who’s been MIA for days.
Desperate to halt the countdown to disaster and to clear her sister’s name, Captain Chase digs deep into her vast cyber security knowledge and her painful past, probing for answers to her twin’s erratic conduct. As time is running out, she realizes that failure means catastrophe—not just for the space program but for the safety of the whole nation.
On the eve of a top secret space mission, Captain Calli Chase detects a tripped alarm in the tunnels deep below a NASA research center. A NASA pilot, quantum physicist, and cybercrime investigator, Calli knows that a looming blizzard and government shutdown could provide the perfect cover for sabotage, with deadly consequences.
As it turns out, the danger is worse than she thought. A spatter of dried blood, a missing security badge, a suspicious suicide—a series of disturbing clues point to Calli’s twin sister, Carme, who’s been MIA for days.
Desperate to halt the countdown to disaster and to clear her sister’s name, Captain Chase digs deep into her vast cyber security knowledge and her painful past, probing for answers to her twin’s erratic conduct. As time is running out, she realizes that failure means catastrophe—not just for the space program but for the safety of the whole nation.
355 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2019
22036 people are currently reading
14312 people want to read
About the author
Patricia Cornwell
195 books19.7k followersPatricia Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, in 1990 while working as a computer analyst at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. Postmortem, was the first bona fide forensic thriller. It paved the way for an explosion of entertainment featuring in all things forensic across film, television and literature.
Postmortem would go on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity awards as well as the French Prix du Roman d’Aventure prize – the first book ever to claim all these distinctions in a single year. To date, Cornwell’s books have sold some 100 million copies in thirty-six languages in over 120 countries. She’s authored twenty-nine New York Times bestsellers.
Patricia’s novels center primarily on medical examiner Kay Scarpetta along with her tech-savvy niece Lucy and fellow investigator Pete Marino. Celebrating 25 years, these characters have grown into an international phenomenon, winning Cornwell the Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author, the Gold Dagger Award, the RBA Thriller Award, and the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contributions to literary and artistic development.
Fox 2000 bought the rights to Kay Scarpetta. Working with producer Liz Friedman, Marvel’s Jessica Jones and fellow Marvel EP and Twilight Saga scribe Melissa Rosenberg to develop the film and find Scarpetta a home on the big screen.
After earning her degree in English from Davidson College in 1979, she began working at the Charlotte Observer.
Cornwell received widespread attention and praise for her series of articles on prostitution and crime in downtown Charlotte. From the Charlotte Observer, Cornwell moved to a job with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia – a post she would later bestow upon the fictional Kay Scarpetta.
When not writing from her Boston home, Patricia tirelessly researches cutting-edge forensic technologies to include in her work. Her interests span outside the literary: Patricia co-founded of the Conservation Scientist Chair at the Harvard University Art Museums. She appears as a forensic consultant on CNN and serves as a member of Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital’s National Council, where she advocates for psychiatric research. She’s helped fund the ICU at Cornell’s Animal Hospital, the scientific study of a Confederate submarine, the archaeological excavation of Jamestown, and a variety of law enforcement charities. Patricia is also committed to
funding scholarships and literacy programs. Her advice to aspiring authors: “Start writing. And don’t take no for an answer.”
Social and Digital Outlets
http://www.patriciacornwell.com
https://www.facebook.com/patricia.cor...
https://twitter.com/1pcornwell
https://instagram.com/1pcornwell/
Other areas of expertise & interests
Forensics | Forensic Technologies | Ballistics | Weapons | Explosives | Pathology & Autopsies | Crime | Historical and Unsolved Criminal Cases | Jack The Ripper | Helicopter Piloting | Suba Diving | Archaeological Excavation Experience |
Postmortem would go on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity awards as well as the French Prix du Roman d’Aventure prize – the first book ever to claim all these distinctions in a single year. To date, Cornwell’s books have sold some 100 million copies in thirty-six languages in over 120 countries. She’s authored twenty-nine New York Times bestsellers.
Patricia’s novels center primarily on medical examiner Kay Scarpetta along with her tech-savvy niece Lucy and fellow investigator Pete Marino. Celebrating 25 years, these characters have grown into an international phenomenon, winning Cornwell the Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author, the Gold Dagger Award, the RBA Thriller Award, and the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contributions to literary and artistic development.
Fox 2000 bought the rights to Kay Scarpetta. Working with producer Liz Friedman, Marvel’s Jessica Jones and fellow Marvel EP and Twilight Saga scribe Melissa Rosenberg to develop the film and find Scarpetta a home on the big screen.
After earning her degree in English from Davidson College in 1979, she began working at the Charlotte Observer.
Cornwell received widespread attention and praise for her series of articles on prostitution and crime in downtown Charlotte. From the Charlotte Observer, Cornwell moved to a job with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia – a post she would later bestow upon the fictional Kay Scarpetta.
When not writing from her Boston home, Patricia tirelessly researches cutting-edge forensic technologies to include in her work. Her interests span outside the literary: Patricia co-founded of the Conservation Scientist Chair at the Harvard University Art Museums. She appears as a forensic consultant on CNN and serves as a member of Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital’s National Council, where she advocates for psychiatric research. She’s helped fund the ICU at Cornell’s Animal Hospital, the scientific study of a Confederate submarine, the archaeological excavation of Jamestown, and a variety of law enforcement charities. Patricia is also committed to
funding scholarships and literacy programs. Her advice to aspiring authors: “Start writing. And don’t take no for an answer.”
Social and Digital Outlets
http://www.patriciacornwell.com
https://www.facebook.com/patricia.cor...
https://twitter.com/1pcornwell
https://instagram.com/1pcornwell/
Other areas of expertise & interests
Forensics | Forensic Technologies | Ballistics | Weapons | Explosives | Pathology & Autopsies | Crime | Historical and Unsolved Criminal Cases | Jack The Ripper | Helicopter Piloting | Suba Diving | Archaeological Excavation Experience |
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,377 reviews
September 18, 2019
Years ago I was a huge Patricia Cornwell fan. I read every book the moment they hit the shelves and still have many of the earlier ones on my library shelf today. However, after time, I grew to dislike the characters in the series. They never grew, changed, worked on their flaws to the point that they became unbelievable and, really, horribly boring. SO, when I saw that Cornwell had a new series, one not aimed at teens, I thought I would give it a shot. After all, it was her writing that I liked so many years ago, right? After a few chapters I realized that the characters were the same but with different names, different locations, different jobs - but still exactly the same! The cop who was terribly flawed. The genius, workaholic who was so gifted that no one "got them." Yeah, I've read their stories before, I didn't want to read them again. So I won't and I suggest that you not bother with it either. So sad.
September 5, 2019
Last year I read the last Sue Grafton in the alphabet series and was disappointed. Turns out she had a terminal illness so I feel bad for my critical review. I don’t think Cornwell has that excuse. It’s been a long time since I read a Patricia Cornwell mystery, but I remember them as fast-paced with interesting characters. Quantum has none of those qualities.
This story centers on a pair of twin sisters, narrated by one of them, both of whom are clearly on the autism spectrum. The whole book is a mishmash of technobabble and paranoia with a few mysteries that barely kept my interest. The narrator’s suspicions and traumas from her past are offered as very poor substitutes for social interaction. Every single character was either hostile and damaged or else totally lacking in any distinguishing characteristics.
Maybe Cornwell was trying to show off what she had learned in her 2 years of research, but she could surely have gotten the number of calories in a doughnut right (200, not 100) Meanwhile she portrayed the winter temperatures in the Langley/ Wallops Island region of Virginia as if it were Saskatchewan. She may have needed frigid temperatures to advance her plot, but it made the whole story suspect.
All in all, this book had no redeeming qualities. I can see why it was offered for free. To add insult to injury, the underlying mystery wasn’t even solved, but if you think I am coming back for the conclusion in Book 2, you are mistaken. Even for free.
This story centers on a pair of twin sisters, narrated by one of them, both of whom are clearly on the autism spectrum. The whole book is a mishmash of technobabble and paranoia with a few mysteries that barely kept my interest. The narrator’s suspicions and traumas from her past are offered as very poor substitutes for social interaction. Every single character was either hostile and damaged or else totally lacking in any distinguishing characteristics.
Maybe Cornwell was trying to show off what she had learned in her 2 years of research, but she could surely have gotten the number of calories in a doughnut right (200, not 100) Meanwhile she portrayed the winter temperatures in the Langley/ Wallops Island region of Virginia as if it were Saskatchewan. She may have needed frigid temperatures to advance her plot, but it made the whole story suspect.
All in all, this book had no redeeming qualities. I can see why it was offered for free. To add insult to injury, the underlying mystery wasn’t even solved, but if you think I am coming back for the conclusion in Book 2, you are mistaken. Even for free.
October 9, 2019
We’ll say 3.75 stars for a sluggish start.
After a hiatus from her successful forensic series, Patricia Cornwell returns with a novel that will have readers reaching for the stars in the middle of this impactful crime thriller. Captain Callisto ‘Calli’ Chase gave up a promising career in the military to help her family. She was able to land on her feet, serving within the NASA police in Virginia. While out investigating an alarm within the facility, Callie comes across some forensic material that leaves her baffled. When one of NASA’s scientific contractors is found dead in her room from an apparent suicide, Calli takes notice. What starts out looking like a simple cry for help does not make sense, the more pieces come together. The note left for others to find, the state of the body, even the last meal laid out on the table. It all points to something that’s been staged. While she is trying to juggle her workplace situation, Calli is brought up to speed that her twin sister, Carme, is wanted for questioning in the disappearance of a man she was seen to have had words with not too long before. Unable to locate Carme, Calli struggles as she remembers the key event in their past that drove a wedge between them as twins and sisters. While Calli is certain there is a killer on the loose within the NASA facility, she must remain calm and do all she can in order not to show her hand, while inside the terror mounts. An interesting return by Cornwell with an entirely new concept. While many did not enjoy this novel, the concept grew on me by the end and I am ready to recommend it to those who enjoy something scientific alongside their crime thrillers.
I have long been a fan of Cornwell and her Scarpetta series. While those novels did begin to lag after a time, I could see a great deal of effort went into their creation. When I heard that Cornwell was going to try her hand at something new, I was a little surprised, as Scarpetta was not yet tied off. This space-themed crime thriller novel has all the ingredients for the author to reinvent herself, with a curious cast of characters and a great deal of research having gone into the narrative. Calli Chase proves to be an worthwhile character and serves well in the role of protagonist. Her strong belief in the law and order resonated with me, as did her mathematical quirks that surface throughout the novel. However, there were times that I felt a significant disconnect. I am not sure what it is, as I do not remember having this issue with Kay Scarpetta, but realise that it may take me some time to connect properly with Calli. Her backstory and character development were both present throughout, offering some early tidbit on which Cornwell can build. I hope for more reveals to ensure Callisto Chase is not just another character whose unique name is the sole reason she stands out. Other characters grace the pages of this book and prove to be entertaining, though they also proved to be lukewarm at times. The multiple plots are strong and the ideas are there, but the delivery though the characters was significantly lacking. As a story, there was a great deal of potential here, though things fell flat early. I scanned Goodreads and noticed others felt the same way. Thankfully I held on, as things did get better and I was able to feel confident in finishing this piece. Such class and past success as an author should not deter Patricia Cornwell, though I would hope that this is just a rut and not the new face of a talented writer I have enjoyed for a long time.
Kudos, Madam Cornwell, for trying something new. Not sure if it worked, though some of my other favourites are stumbling these days. Perhaps it is just a phase.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
After a hiatus from her successful forensic series, Patricia Cornwell returns with a novel that will have readers reaching for the stars in the middle of this impactful crime thriller. Captain Callisto ‘Calli’ Chase gave up a promising career in the military to help her family. She was able to land on her feet, serving within the NASA police in Virginia. While out investigating an alarm within the facility, Callie comes across some forensic material that leaves her baffled. When one of NASA’s scientific contractors is found dead in her room from an apparent suicide, Calli takes notice. What starts out looking like a simple cry for help does not make sense, the more pieces come together. The note left for others to find, the state of the body, even the last meal laid out on the table. It all points to something that’s been staged. While she is trying to juggle her workplace situation, Calli is brought up to speed that her twin sister, Carme, is wanted for questioning in the disappearance of a man she was seen to have had words with not too long before. Unable to locate Carme, Calli struggles as she remembers the key event in their past that drove a wedge between them as twins and sisters. While Calli is certain there is a killer on the loose within the NASA facility, she must remain calm and do all she can in order not to show her hand, while inside the terror mounts. An interesting return by Cornwell with an entirely new concept. While many did not enjoy this novel, the concept grew on me by the end and I am ready to recommend it to those who enjoy something scientific alongside their crime thrillers.
I have long been a fan of Cornwell and her Scarpetta series. While those novels did begin to lag after a time, I could see a great deal of effort went into their creation. When I heard that Cornwell was going to try her hand at something new, I was a little surprised, as Scarpetta was not yet tied off. This space-themed crime thriller novel has all the ingredients for the author to reinvent herself, with a curious cast of characters and a great deal of research having gone into the narrative. Calli Chase proves to be an worthwhile character and serves well in the role of protagonist. Her strong belief in the law and order resonated with me, as did her mathematical quirks that surface throughout the novel. However, there were times that I felt a significant disconnect. I am not sure what it is, as I do not remember having this issue with Kay Scarpetta, but realise that it may take me some time to connect properly with Calli. Her backstory and character development were both present throughout, offering some early tidbit on which Cornwell can build. I hope for more reveals to ensure Callisto Chase is not just another character whose unique name is the sole reason she stands out. Other characters grace the pages of this book and prove to be entertaining, though they also proved to be lukewarm at times. The multiple plots are strong and the ideas are there, but the delivery though the characters was significantly lacking. As a story, there was a great deal of potential here, though things fell flat early. I scanned Goodreads and noticed others felt the same way. Thankfully I held on, as things did get better and I was able to feel confident in finishing this piece. Such class and past success as an author should not deter Patricia Cornwell, though I would hope that this is just a rut and not the new face of a talented writer I have enjoyed for a long time.
Kudos, Madam Cornwell, for trying something new. Not sure if it worked, though some of my other favourites are stumbling these days. Perhaps it is just a phase.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
August 9, 2023
Patricia Cornwell's long-running 'Kay Scarpetta' series is about a talented medical examiner who helps catch sadistic killers. Kay works with a thorny detective; has a brilliant niece; and experiences angst about her man.
Cornwell's new book Quantum goes in a different direction, but has a similar vibe. The main character - Air Force Captain Calli Chase - is a talented scientist and NASA security expert who's trying to catch a possible saboteur. Calli works with a phobic detective; has a brilliant sister; and experiences angst about a man.
*****
Calli and her identical twin sister Carme are geniuses who whizzed through school and began college at the age of fifteen. Both girls have an interest in aerospace science and aspire to be astronauts.
Right now Calli - who works for NASA as a pilot, physicist, and cop - is concerned about a piece of hardware about to be installed on the International Space Station (ISS). In nine hours, astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer will deploy a Low Earth Atmospheric Reader (LEAR) that was developed by a group of Iowa high school students.
To witness the event, the students and their teacher have come to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia, where they'll watch the live feed and celebrate with the scientists.
Except the astronauts AREN'T REALLY installing the LEAR. Known only to Calli and a few other people, the astronauts are deploying a top secret quantum device that will place the United States at the apex of quantum computing, far ahead of other nations.
At about the same time as the installation of the quantum device, a rocket is being launched to the ISS. The rocket contains routine space station supplies as well as Christmas goodies for the astronauts.
In the midst of all these NASA activities, Calli's Spidey sense has been alerted by several alarming events.
- A couple of months ago an aeronautical engineer named Noah Bishop, who works for a NASA contractor called Pandora Space Systems, went missing. Moreover, his disappearance followed a public altercation with Calli's sister Carme, who told Noah off outside a Houston bar on Halloween night.
- Then yesterday, on the eve of the quantum device's deployment, an aerospace engineer named Vera Young - who ALSO works for Pandora Space Systems - reported her security badge stolen. The badge allows access to all parts of NASA, and a freak security alert leads Calli to believe that someone used the badge to access an off-limits tunnel at Langley.
- Afterwards, Vera Young was found dead - an apparent suicide. Calli and her claustrophobic detective friend Fran Lacey investigate Young's death and discover clues that points to murder. Furthermore, evidence demonstrates that someone tampered with the crime scene.
These occurrences, and the fact that Carme Chase has gone 'off grid' and can't be located, make Calli VERY uneasy. She fears that someone is trying to disrupt the deployment of the quantum device. In addition, she's afraid that Carme - a technology whiz and cyperspace expert who's always been something of a rebellious brat - might have gotten herself into some shady business.....perhaps even murder! 😨
Interspersed with this narrative are flashbacks to scenes where Calli and Carme are six-year-old children, and Carme has a frightening experience with a 'friend of the family.'
Calli blames herself for this incident, and it affects the sisters' relationship going forward. It may also explain some of Carme's bad behavior. Furthermore, we get hints that Calli has feelings for Carme's boyfriend, who may - on occasion - have mistaken one sister for the other.
As the story unfolds, Calli is anxious about the quantum device, worried about Carme, and disturbed by the secretiveness of her former boss and mentor. As it turns out, Calli has good reason to worry.
There's plenty of excitement as the story builds to a climax -after which the book ends on a HUGE CLIFFHANGER, which I didn't expect.
I learned afterwards that Cornwell planned Quantum as a two-book series, so readers who want to know the whole story will have to read both novels.
I have mixed feelings about this book. I'm glad that Cornwell is going in a new direction, and I like the space science/astronaut angle. However, Quantum has a thin plot with a lot of padding that's both unnecessary and tedious.
Leading up to the installation of the quantum device, for example, Calli counts down the nine hours to deployment while she frets about things that are bothering her, as detailed above.
Thus part of the book reads something like this (I'm paraphrasing). Time to deployment: 8 hours, 58 minutes, 4 seconds - Calli takes a shower and worries; 8 hours, 42 minutes, 30 seconds - Calli gets dressed and worries; 8 hours, 16 minutes, 19 seconds - Calli collects her backpack and worries; 8 hours, 6 minutes, 51 seconds - Calli gets into her SUV and worries; 7 hours, 55 minutes, 34 seconds - Calli drives to Langley and worries.....and so on.
In any case, I plan to give Cornwell a chance to develop this series, and I'll read the second book when it comes out. So stay tuned and give this book a shot if it sounds intriguing.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....
September 6, 2019
Charles van Buren
A thriller/mystery which quickly became tiresome
September 5, 2019
Verified Purchase
Format: Kindle Edition
Review of Kindle edition
Publication date: October 1, 2019
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Language: English
ASIN: B07BN2WGGJ
353 mostly dreary psges
I believe that this is but the third Patricia Cornwell book I've read. It is very different from the other two and, I suspect, from what most readers of her books are accustomed to. This one is very wordy with long passages which, if they advance the plot at all, do so minisculely. At 70 to 75% percent into the book, I still wasn't completely sure what was happening except that it had been built up to be something very bad and dramatic. Then the book stopped without real resolution. I suppose there will be a second volume but I won't be reading it. Cornwell has an excellent command of the language but that does not prevent tedium. The gimmick used in the Kindle edition can not dissipate the problems. Here is the quote from the beginning of the book about the gimmick: "Two Ways to Read This book features animation. On compatible devices, you can control this experience using the Show Media option in the Aa menu."
A thriller/mystery which quickly became tiresome
September 5, 2019
Verified Purchase
Format: Kindle Edition
Review of Kindle edition
Publication date: October 1, 2019
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Language: English
ASIN: B07BN2WGGJ
353 mostly dreary psges
I believe that this is but the third Patricia Cornwell book I've read. It is very different from the other two and, I suspect, from what most readers of her books are accustomed to. This one is very wordy with long passages which, if they advance the plot at all, do so minisculely. At 70 to 75% percent into the book, I still wasn't completely sure what was happening except that it had been built up to be something very bad and dramatic. Then the book stopped without real resolution. I suppose there will be a second volume but I won't be reading it. Cornwell has an excellent command of the language but that does not prevent tedium. The gimmick used in the Kindle edition can not dissipate the problems. Here is the quote from the beginning of the book about the gimmick: "Two Ways to Read This book features animation. On compatible devices, you can control this experience using the Show Media option in the Aa menu."
September 9, 2019
I can't believe Patricia Cornwell wrote this. I started reading this on Kindle Unlimited, and kept thinking I skipped a page, or missed a paragraph. NOTHING made sense - so choppy, purposefully vague and misleading, completely not engaging at all. I stopped reading after literally nothing had happened, literally spent pages on her walking thru the underground secret tunnel (ok, maybe that's a scene setter) walking in the parking lot, walking into her office, walking back to the car, etc. Don't bother - it's AWFUL.
October 5, 2019
I'm sorry to say this was a huge disappointment. I admit to never having read any Patricia Cornwell but her reputation as one of the foremost crime writers, especially via her Scarpetta series, had me very excited to pick this up as a First Reads selection. Sadly, that was the end of the excitement.
While it is evident Ms Cornwell is a very accomplished writer, this book left me frustrated and even bored throughout. There are lots and lots of veiled hints at past events that just become plain irritating. Some which seem significant turn out apparently trivial, and some which are barely mentioned seem to have been major events. None of them are explained properly, leaving them as just annoying little open questions by the end of the book.
Then there is Captain Chase and her circle of acquaintances. Our heroine is ridiculously intellectual and stupidly nerdy. Supposedly a woman with a triple career of astrophysicist (or something similar), NASA police investigator extraordinaire and astronaut-in-waiting, she persists in showing us, the readers, how much cleverer than us she is and to be frank it's just annoying and dull. Her friend the local hard-nosed chief of police with the irrational fear of enclosed spaces brought about by some monumental event of three years ago (about which we never learn a thing), is even less believable. And then there is her former mentor / commanding officer / weird daddy figure, who is far too devious and calculating by half.
I suppose I really should try Cornwell's best known series and see if it's just this book or her writing style I don't like. This one, though, I thought was a poor story with poor characters written in a very pedestrian style with far too much "geek speak", and it really is not for me at all.
While it is evident Ms Cornwell is a very accomplished writer, this book left me frustrated and even bored throughout. There are lots and lots of veiled hints at past events that just become plain irritating. Some which seem significant turn out apparently trivial, and some which are barely mentioned seem to have been major events. None of them are explained properly, leaving them as just annoying little open questions by the end of the book.
Then there is Captain Chase and her circle of acquaintances. Our heroine is ridiculously intellectual and stupidly nerdy. Supposedly a woman with a triple career of astrophysicist (or something similar), NASA police investigator extraordinaire and astronaut-in-waiting, she persists in showing us, the readers, how much cleverer than us she is and to be frank it's just annoying and dull. Her friend the local hard-nosed chief of police with the irrational fear of enclosed spaces brought about by some monumental event of three years ago (about which we never learn a thing), is even less believable. And then there is her former mentor / commanding officer / weird daddy figure, who is far too devious and calculating by half.
I suppose I really should try Cornwell's best known series and see if it's just this book or her writing style I don't like. This one, though, I thought was a poor story with poor characters written in a very pedestrian style with far too much "geek speak", and it really is not for me at all.
September 10, 2019
There are a few authors for whom I'll move heaven and earth to carve out enough time to read their latest efforts; Patricia Cornwell is among them. So when I got a chance to read a pre-publication copy free through the Amazon Early Access program, well, how fast can you say one-click? For years, you see, I've enjoyed the author's exploits of Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta This one isn't about her, although similarities to both the good doctor and her tech-savvy niece, Lucy, positively leaped out of the pages. Rather, this is the first in a new series featuring Captain Calli Chase, a NASA pilot, quantum physicist and cybercrime investigator (whew!).
The first thing that came to mind when I finished is that the amount of research that went into the writing of this book must have been staggering. But as a reader, aye, there's the rub: the subject matter was just too technical for my brain to fully understand the details of what was going on. Still, I "got" enough of the gist for it to be a good story - an exciting one, even - so in the end, it was an enjoyable experience and I won't hesitate to snap up the next entry (if only to see if and how the cliffhanger in this one is resolved).
Calli has an identical twin sister Carme, a fighter pilot; both come from scientifically gifted parents from whom they inherited their considerable abilities and with whom Calli still lives. As the story unfolds, Calli gets an alert of a possible cybersecurity breach, and she and partner Fran head to what seems like the bowels of the earth - a tunnel at NASA Langley in Hampton, Virginia (as an aside, having spent a fair amount of vacation time in the Hampton area, references to places I've been made the events even more interesting). The breach is doubly concerning because in a couple of days, a rocket is scheduled for launch on the same day as a spacewalk during which astronauts will attach a top-secret high-tech "node" that's expected to initiate a revolutionary quantum network (whatever that is). Should either event go wrong, the consequences could be dire.
In the secret underground room at NASA, Calli finds evidence that someone has somehow gained unauthorized entry - evoking questions of who, when and, perhaps most important, why. From that point on, things go from bad to worse; a NASA employee who earlier reported her badge stolen turns up dead, an apparent suicide, but Callie's sleuthing tells a very different story. As the time of the rocket launch and spacewalk grow ever closer, the more it becomes clear to Calli that something really bad is about to happen.The fact that her sister hasn't been seen or heard from in some time adds yet another dimension to the dilemma; where on earth (or beyond) has Carme gone? And is she somehow caught up in the potentially disastrous events about to unfold? These and other questions dog Calli, who constantly channels the angst of the always over-thinking Dr. Scarpetta (much to my dismay since it isn't a characteristic that endears either of them to me).
Oh yes - an animation feature called Kindle in Motion is an option for select Kindle versions, but that didn't interest me a whit so I can't speak to its effectiveness. In the end, I can't say I developed a real fondness for any of the characters here; but they're intriguing enough that, as I said at the beginning, I'll give the next one a try for sure.
The first thing that came to mind when I finished is that the amount of research that went into the writing of this book must have been staggering. But as a reader, aye, there's the rub: the subject matter was just too technical for my brain to fully understand the details of what was going on. Still, I "got" enough of the gist for it to be a good story - an exciting one, even - so in the end, it was an enjoyable experience and I won't hesitate to snap up the next entry (if only to see if and how the cliffhanger in this one is resolved).
Calli has an identical twin sister Carme, a fighter pilot; both come from scientifically gifted parents from whom they inherited their considerable abilities and with whom Calli still lives. As the story unfolds, Calli gets an alert of a possible cybersecurity breach, and she and partner Fran head to what seems like the bowels of the earth - a tunnel at NASA Langley in Hampton, Virginia (as an aside, having spent a fair amount of vacation time in the Hampton area, references to places I've been made the events even more interesting). The breach is doubly concerning because in a couple of days, a rocket is scheduled for launch on the same day as a spacewalk during which astronauts will attach a top-secret high-tech "node" that's expected to initiate a revolutionary quantum network (whatever that is). Should either event go wrong, the consequences could be dire.
In the secret underground room at NASA, Calli finds evidence that someone has somehow gained unauthorized entry - evoking questions of who, when and, perhaps most important, why. From that point on, things go from bad to worse; a NASA employee who earlier reported her badge stolen turns up dead, an apparent suicide, but Callie's sleuthing tells a very different story. As the time of the rocket launch and spacewalk grow ever closer, the more it becomes clear to Calli that something really bad is about to happen.The fact that her sister hasn't been seen or heard from in some time adds yet another dimension to the dilemma; where on earth (or beyond) has Carme gone? And is she somehow caught up in the potentially disastrous events about to unfold? These and other questions dog Calli, who constantly channels the angst of the always over-thinking Dr. Scarpetta (much to my dismay since it isn't a characteristic that endears either of them to me).
Oh yes - an animation feature called Kindle in Motion is an option for select Kindle versions, but that didn't interest me a whit so I can't speak to its effectiveness. In the end, I can't say I developed a real fondness for any of the characters here; but they're intriguing enough that, as I said at the beginning, I'll give the next one a try for sure.
October 19, 2019
(No storyline spoilers) I just finished this book and am unhappy that I wasted a few hours reading it. I feel that the author was a little arrogant because of the success of her other series and forgot she was telling a new story. It seems that the comma button on Ms. Corwell’s typewriter was broken when she wrote this book. As the entire thing was written with sentence fragments. And so annoying. That I was beyond distracted. Having to keep reading the each sentence repeatedly. Because I was unsure if I had missed something. And I couldn’t stop rereading. Since it made no sense. I can’t even do it the way she did. But it drove me crazy.
The other big thing that really ticked me off is that the book had no ending and the next one doesn’t come out until October 2020. Again, this feels arrogant. This wasn’t book 172 of the Kay Scarpetta series that I don’t mind waiting a year for. If your going to introduce a new story and want people to care when book 2 comes out don’t wait a year. She should have held this one back so they would come out closer together. But I guess she can count on sales because of who she is so it doesn’t matter to her. Luckily I only paid $1.99 from Kindle. I would be furious if I’d paid full price and I won’t be buying the next one without reading reviews first.
The book was quite boring until the last 40 pages. The author drilled on and on about quantum physics, trying to explain things I don’t ever want to understand, things that turned out not to be particularly relevant to the book. I found learning about forensics interesting but there’s no real excitement in math. Next, after reading over 200 pages, I still knew nothing about the characters which made them very uninteresting. (Do people with a doctorate in quantum physics and work on making spacecraft safe at NASA, who design advanced telecommunications and want to be astronauts also work as NASA police and crime investigators, both full time? Really? There were flashbacks, written in italics throughout the book, telling 3 different stories. One about the protagonist and her twin, which was interesting and probably relevant to the next book, a year from now. One about her alone, a way too long story about cutting her finger so we know why she has a scar on her finger tip, and the third about a friend/coworker which the author never finished telling. Lastly, the book has no ending. It finally gets a little exciting in the last few pages, then boom, it’s over. The things that were wrapped up were things that had just happened at the end and all I could think was who cares?
The other big thing that really ticked me off is that the book had no ending and the next one doesn’t come out until October 2020. Again, this feels arrogant. This wasn’t book 172 of the Kay Scarpetta series that I don’t mind waiting a year for. If your going to introduce a new story and want people to care when book 2 comes out don’t wait a year. She should have held this one back so they would come out closer together. But I guess she can count on sales because of who she is so it doesn’t matter to her. Luckily I only paid $1.99 from Kindle. I would be furious if I’d paid full price and I won’t be buying the next one without reading reviews first.
The book was quite boring until the last 40 pages. The author drilled on and on about quantum physics, trying to explain things I don’t ever want to understand, things that turned out not to be particularly relevant to the book. I found learning about forensics interesting but there’s no real excitement in math. Next, after reading over 200 pages, I still knew nothing about the characters which made them very uninteresting. (Do people with a doctorate in quantum physics and work on making spacecraft safe at NASA, who design advanced telecommunications and want to be astronauts also work as NASA police and crime investigators, both full time? Really? There were flashbacks, written in italics throughout the book, telling 3 different stories. One about the protagonist and her twin, which was interesting and probably relevant to the next book, a year from now. One about her alone, a way too long story about cutting her finger so we know why she has a scar on her finger tip, and the third about a friend/coworker which the author never finished telling. Lastly, the book has no ending. It finally gets a little exciting in the last few pages, then boom, it’s over. The things that were wrapped up were things that had just happened at the end and all I could think was who cares?
September 13, 2019
What a difficult book! I give it 1.5 stars. It was an exhausting read, and I used it to help me fall asleep, which was effective.
Written in first person, the story is continuously interrupted by the character's chaotic thoughts. I think the book could have been cut in half with just one chapter containing past events and experiences that shape the character. Instead, the reader is constantly bombarded with the repetitive unfinished flashbacks, bits of memories, feelings, manias, and otherwise annoying monologues about her past that interrupt what could have been a good story.
At first I thought it would calm down, but it didn't. As a result, not only did I not like the main character, Calli, but often wondered if the twin was an alternate personality, until the scar confirmed otherwise. Then, to add insult to injury, after making the reader work for every bit of the story, the author doesn't even have the decency to finish it! I will not read the next installment because, frankly, I couldn't care less about Calli and her twin, and why she was doing what she did.
I am just glad it's over and now will search for some really great literature that delights my emotions and senses--something this novel failed miserably to deliver.
Written in first person, the story is continuously interrupted by the character's chaotic thoughts. I think the book could have been cut in half with just one chapter containing past events and experiences that shape the character. Instead, the reader is constantly bombarded with the repetitive unfinished flashbacks, bits of memories, feelings, manias, and otherwise annoying monologues about her past that interrupt what could have been a good story.
At first I thought it would calm down, but it didn't. As a result, not only did I not like the main character, Calli, but often wondered if the twin was an alternate personality, until the scar confirmed otherwise. Then, to add insult to injury, after making the reader work for every bit of the story, the author doesn't even have the decency to finish it! I will not read the next installment because, frankly, I couldn't care less about Calli and her twin, and why she was doing what she did.
I am just glad it's over and now will search for some really great literature that delights my emotions and senses--something this novel failed miserably to deliver.
January 1, 2021
Quantum is very wordy and I start losing interest at 2%. Nothing is happening accept what's going on in Captain Calli Chase's head.
There's a major problem was the main character; SUPER strong female character; quantum physicist, cybercrime investigator and a NASA pilot to boot, but she freaks out and lost her cool with everything that's going on. It's so unbelievable.
I read other reviews and found out you won't get any conclusion at the end of this book, so no thank you...
1 star for the book, 1 star for the cool "kindle in motion".
This book was part of Kindle First.
There's a major problem was the main character; SUPER strong female character; quantum physicist, cybercrime investigator and a NASA pilot to boot, but she freaks out and lost her cool with everything that's going on. It's so unbelievable.
I read other reviews and found out you won't get any conclusion at the end of this book, so no thank you...
1 star for the book, 1 star for the cool "kindle in motion".
This book was part of Kindle First.
September 15, 2019
The only thing at all notable about this half of a book (and no, it’s not an entire book, in spite of what you may have heard) is that it is one of the worst offerings I’ve read in a long time. Good golly, Miss Calli, it was torture being trapped in your pretentious, boring little brain.
Please do yourself a favor and give this a hard pass. I got it for free and I still feel as if I was ripped off. It’s bad my friends, it’s bad.
Please do yourself a favor and give this a hard pass. I got it for free and I still feel as if I was ripped off. It’s bad my friends, it’s bad.
September 19, 2019
Got this free as Amazon Prime First Reads choice for September. I had got fed up with Scarpetta so was keen to read about this different character. A pity. She is such an annoying character - I have given up after 20% - I hate not finishing books but life is really too short for this one
September 3, 2019
The story, while 'OK', is unfortunately marred by one of the most insufferable characters I've encountered in a book. The protagonist is the very epitome of an 'iamverysmart' who has studied or developed every field of science, every technology implementation and suffers from every conventional quirk that they can think of, and who has the habit of pointless extemporizations and diatribes for no real reason other than to demonstrate their 'iamverysmart'ness. Captain Calli is an action hero as well, of course, with a quick wit, a beauty queen, and has the ability to use phrases as answers and a varied knowledge of car makes and models.
September 7, 2019
This book was so awful! If you don't have ADD before reading this, it might give it to you! She's all over the place with this mess of a story, using way too many words to say not much of anything. One example is her using pages and pages to describe the contents of a person's office - a place the story never revisits, so why bother? Characters are introduced who never show up again and don't serve to move the narrative further, or clarify the chaos that's been created so far. To add insult to injury, the ending isn't an ending at all, but an abrupt stop, with nothing resolved and instructions to read the next book to find out what happens. This was a complete waste of time.
I'd read some Patricia Cornwell novels years ago (her Kay Scarpetta series) and found them entertaining. She's lost her way.
I'd read some Patricia Cornwell novels years ago (her Kay Scarpetta series) and found them entertaining. She's lost her way.
September 29, 2019
00:00:00:00:0 means nothing
Oh my gosh, where to begin? First, Calle cut her fingertip of her right hand cutting bagels...she's right handed, how did that happen? Two, she's supposed to be a logical thinker and one of the top candidates as an astronaut but her mind is all over the place and never on the task at hand! I'd fire her in a heart beat. Third, she's contradictory with herself and others. Fourth, those blasted numbers mark separations within the chapters and they're so annoying! I wish she would use them to mark the myriad of diverging side trails she takes us on even while in the middle of a conversation. The only reason I gave it a two is some screenwriter can probably turn this into a good show minus all the "noise".
Oh my gosh, where to begin? First, Calle cut her fingertip of her right hand cutting bagels...she's right handed, how did that happen? Two, she's supposed to be a logical thinker and one of the top candidates as an astronaut but her mind is all over the place and never on the task at hand! I'd fire her in a heart beat. Third, she's contradictory with herself and others. Fourth, those blasted numbers mark separations within the chapters and they're so annoying! I wish she would use them to mark the myriad of diverging side trails she takes us on even while in the middle of a conversation. The only reason I gave it a two is some screenwriter can probably turn this into a good show minus all the "noise".
October 15, 2019
It feels like Patricia Cornwell read The Martian by Andy Weir and then whinged to her publisher that it’s not fair that Andy can write a book that’s all science and math but she has to keep releasing books in a series that’s 25 books long published over 30 years and she’s sick of writing about a forensic examiner and wants to write about NASA, maths and science, (probably just to show off her intelligence) and if Andy can do it, why not her? And that’s how it feels like this book was born.
The problem is that all the science in the The Martian was balanced with the phenomenal character Mark Watney and a heavy dose of humour. Sure, the maths was there and complex and I didn’t get it, but I got the gist and it was kind of funny. In this book, there’s just maths for no real reason. At one point she’s calculating how much energy is consumed by the Christmas lights, but why?! It was mildly important to the plot, which just shows how boring of a plot it was!
I was interested in reading this book because I did like the Kay Scarpetta series back when I was reading it as a teenager in the nineties (what librarian was letting me check those books out?!) but I lost touch with the series during a seven year reading hiatus in my 20’s and with so many books out now, it’s just too intimidating to pick up. So when I saw Patricia coming out with a new series, I thought it was perfect to get back to her writing but with less commitment.
I’m also a little bit into Quantum Physics, I saw a movie years ago called What the The Bleep Do We Know that attempts to explain Quantum Physics. I watched it during a time when I had attempted suicide a few times, and this movie moved me and Quantum Physics became part of my personal spirituality in that all things are connected and we are all just energy and our thoughts can affect our universe. I thought this book would touch into that side of Quantum Physics, but instead I don’t even really know why the book is called Quantum. The word Quantum was used, but I was zoning out so much from boredom that I can’t tell you why. Maybe it’s some machine?
I listened to the audiobook and I restarted it like 5 times because I could just not understand what was happening and in the end gave up and just went with the flow. The narrator did a great job actually, she did really emotional distressed sounding voice when needed. It was actually the book and the writing that was bad. I zoned out so much that I can’t even spoil the end if I wanted too. I strongly recommend reading this book not listening to it. I looked at the ebook on Kindle Unlimited after I finished the audiobook to have a look at structure and there are paragraphs in italic and other sections separated by a series of zeroes, kind of like a nerdy squiggly line. The problem is that on the audio version, the narrator can’t talk in italics and didn’t say the zeros and the production didn’t put a very long pause between to indicate a new section. So it meant it was very confusing! We would jump back and forward in time but I didn’t realise and I was just very confused. But then the pauses at the end of the chapters were extraordinarily long so much so that I checked to see if it was still playing! The production quality really let this book down.
I thought the book was about NASA and space and astronauts. Nope. Captain Chase is basically a security guard and we follow drama on the ground mostly about tunnels and security access and whose in what buildings etc. It’s not about Astronauts and Space travel. It’s like a cop crime book but more like a mall cop and instead of the mall it’s the NASA buildings. Not the cool like control room NASA stuff you see in movies, but like just the shitty kitchen and tunnels underground and shit like that. Can you say boring?
The main character is this super smart educated twin from NASA scientist parents whose a total badass but she still lives at home...um what? I’m sorry that doesn’t mesh in my head. Also her twins name is Carme, pronounced Karma, and then there were all these comments about good and bad karma and it was just cringe worthy.
Overall this is a very weak book and a terrible translation into audiobook. Would only recommend to read with your eyes, and probably only for people who really like cop books with a smidge of crime in them and love maths.
The problem is that all the science in the The Martian was balanced with the phenomenal character Mark Watney and a heavy dose of humour. Sure, the maths was there and complex and I didn’t get it, but I got the gist and it was kind of funny. In this book, there’s just maths for no real reason. At one point she’s calculating how much energy is consumed by the Christmas lights, but why?! It was mildly important to the plot, which just shows how boring of a plot it was!
I was interested in reading this book because I did like the Kay Scarpetta series back when I was reading it as a teenager in the nineties (what librarian was letting me check those books out?!) but I lost touch with the series during a seven year reading hiatus in my 20’s and with so many books out now, it’s just too intimidating to pick up. So when I saw Patricia coming out with a new series, I thought it was perfect to get back to her writing but with less commitment.
I’m also a little bit into Quantum Physics, I saw a movie years ago called What the The Bleep Do We Know that attempts to explain Quantum Physics. I watched it during a time when I had attempted suicide a few times, and this movie moved me and Quantum Physics became part of my personal spirituality in that all things are connected and we are all just energy and our thoughts can affect our universe. I thought this book would touch into that side of Quantum Physics, but instead I don’t even really know why the book is called Quantum. The word Quantum was used, but I was zoning out so much from boredom that I can’t tell you why. Maybe it’s some machine?
I listened to the audiobook and I restarted it like 5 times because I could just not understand what was happening and in the end gave up and just went with the flow. The narrator did a great job actually, she did really emotional distressed sounding voice when needed. It was actually the book and the writing that was bad. I zoned out so much that I can’t even spoil the end if I wanted too. I strongly recommend reading this book not listening to it. I looked at the ebook on Kindle Unlimited after I finished the audiobook to have a look at structure and there are paragraphs in italic and other sections separated by a series of zeroes, kind of like a nerdy squiggly line. The problem is that on the audio version, the narrator can’t talk in italics and didn’t say the zeros and the production didn’t put a very long pause between to indicate a new section. So it meant it was very confusing! We would jump back and forward in time but I didn’t realise and I was just very confused. But then the pauses at the end of the chapters were extraordinarily long so much so that I checked to see if it was still playing! The production quality really let this book down.
I thought the book was about NASA and space and astronauts. Nope. Captain Chase is basically a security guard and we follow drama on the ground mostly about tunnels and security access and whose in what buildings etc. It’s not about Astronauts and Space travel. It’s like a cop crime book but more like a mall cop and instead of the mall it’s the NASA buildings. Not the cool like control room NASA stuff you see in movies, but like just the shitty kitchen and tunnels underground and shit like that. Can you say boring?
The main character is this super smart educated twin from NASA scientist parents whose a total badass but she still lives at home...um what? I’m sorry that doesn’t mesh in my head. Also her twins name is Carme, pronounced Karma, and then there were all these comments about good and bad karma and it was just cringe worthy.
Overall this is a very weak book and a terrible translation into audiobook. Would only recommend to read with your eyes, and probably only for people who really like cop books with a smidge of crime in them and love maths.
September 5, 2019
I did not really care for her new book. I will not read the continued story. It’s not as good as her other book in my opinion. I had a hard time keeping interested
September 5, 2019
I really enjoyed Cornwell's early books, and keep hoping that she'll return to form. So I continue to read each new book, and continue to be disappointed. Quantum was possibly her worst ever.
October 13, 2019
I never thought I would write a negative (really just a so-so) review about a Patricia Cornwell story but, alas, here it goes. In all fairness, my lukewarm feelings about the book may come from my love of her past forensic series books. They were engaging, informative and, for the most part, had a beginning, a climax and an end. I must confess that I don't read series books. And I did not realize that this was an actual "series" style story. As her usual writing style, it had a beginning and a climax but never ended. I finished the book with a "What? That's it? No closure? No - there you have it?"
Let me state that science has never been my area of expertise and quantum physics is NOT something that I am going to sit around and chit chat about at dinner parties, in fact, I would probably avoid the subject altogether. I felt the book delved into scientific jargon and theory a bit too much at the beginning instead of delving into the personalities of the characters - which I never felt a connection to nor did I truly understand. It almost felt like this was book #2 in a series and I forgot to read book #1 that introduced and described in depth the characters with whom I would spend years with in print.
The book picked up for me about half way through and I felt I was back on familiar ground with Cornwell's writing technique and story line only to find that the mystery was never solved and the reader was left hanging until "Captain Chase #2" comes along.
What was the best feature about this book? I have a book challenge for 2019 to read a book that starts with each letter of the alphabet. Once I closed the cover on Quantum (or at least turned the last screen shot on my Kindle app), I could mark off "Q" from my list.
Don't let my negative opinion of the story sway a scientific mind from reading -- it just was NOT my cup of tea. I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I wish I could have been more positive in my comments but honesty you asked for -- and honesty you received.
Let me state that science has never been my area of expertise and quantum physics is NOT something that I am going to sit around and chit chat about at dinner parties, in fact, I would probably avoid the subject altogether. I felt the book delved into scientific jargon and theory a bit too much at the beginning instead of delving into the personalities of the characters - which I never felt a connection to nor did I truly understand. It almost felt like this was book #2 in a series and I forgot to read book #1 that introduced and described in depth the characters with whom I would spend years with in print.
The book picked up for me about half way through and I felt I was back on familiar ground with Cornwell's writing technique and story line only to find that the mystery was never solved and the reader was left hanging until "Captain Chase #2" comes along.
What was the best feature about this book? I have a book challenge for 2019 to read a book that starts with each letter of the alphabet. Once I closed the cover on Quantum (or at least turned the last screen shot on my Kindle app), I could mark off "Q" from my list.
Don't let my negative opinion of the story sway a scientific mind from reading -- it just was NOT my cup of tea. I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I wish I could have been more positive in my comments but honesty you asked for -- and honesty you received.
October 20, 2019
Captain Chase Callie to her friends is unbelievable, those of you who are familiar with the Scarpetta series she makes Lucy look like a slacker and an underachiever. Callie has not one but two jobs as a Cybercrime investigator she is investigating a staged suicide of an employee whose badge went missing. As a quantum physicist she has to save a top secret space mission all while trying to unravel what her identical twin Carme (pronounced Karma) has to do with the mess. We haven't meet Carme in person yet but according to Callie she is even more impressive.
The characters all seem unbelievable and unlikable. I rate this series an epic fail and will skip it. I couldn't find even one character in the book to connect with Fran (Callie's boss @ NASA Protective Services) suffers from paranoia and a fear of enclosed spaces, supposedly stemming from an incident that happened years ago when she and her son were broke down in a deserted location. Carme was apparently molested when she was six and Callie left her alone with a family friend, and Carme's boyfriend Rush felt Callie up supposedly when he mistook her for Carme. Callie and Carme's Dad always lets someone else do the tough stuff including letting them know bad news and her Mom seems to be a Pollyanna obsessed with lights and Dick sounds well like a Dick.
The characters all seem unbelievable and unlikable. I rate this series an epic fail and will skip it. I couldn't find even one character in the book to connect with Fran (Callie's boss @ NASA Protective Services) suffers from paranoia and a fear of enclosed spaces, supposedly stemming from an incident that happened years ago when she and her son were broke down in a deserted location. Carme was apparently molested when she was six and Callie left her alone with a family friend, and Carme's boyfriend Rush felt Callie up supposedly when he mistook her for Carme. Callie and Carme's Dad always lets someone else do the tough stuff including letting them know bad news and her Mom seems to be a Pollyanna obsessed with lights and Dick sounds well like a Dick.
September 22, 2019
I went into this blind, having been somewhat down on this authors last few Scarpetta books but despite being dubious at first at the rather rambly nature once again of the prose suddenly I found that I was in it and from that point on I banged through it- the science was fascinating, main protagonist Callie was odd yet compelling so I do feel somewhat vindicated in my previous comments that Patricia Cornwell really needed to move onto something new.
Granted this won't be for everyone. The nature of it is a little round the houses and back again, there's a lot of information thrown in via the main protagonist's very random thought processes. It is almost existential in nature but the subject matter is highly intriguing all done within a claustrophobic and often quite creepy setting and I found myself caught up in it almost without even noticing.
It does have a cliffhanger ending that resolves very little but this actually didn't annoy me at all given that I'm now fully immersed in Callie's world and will be along for the whole of the ride.
I do think Quantum mechanics will probably always remain beyond me but the descriptive sense of this is very accessible and therefore compelling and there's plenty of mystery to keep me happy.
Yes. Ok then. I'll look forward to the next and as that's something I never thought I'd say about this author again I'm extremely happy to be proved wrong. Bring it on.
Granted this won't be for everyone. The nature of it is a little round the houses and back again, there's a lot of information thrown in via the main protagonist's very random thought processes. It is almost existential in nature but the subject matter is highly intriguing all done within a claustrophobic and often quite creepy setting and I found myself caught up in it almost without even noticing.
It does have a cliffhanger ending that resolves very little but this actually didn't annoy me at all given that I'm now fully immersed in Callie's world and will be along for the whole of the ride.
I do think Quantum mechanics will probably always remain beyond me but the descriptive sense of this is very accessible and therefore compelling and there's plenty of mystery to keep me happy.
Yes. Ok then. I'll look forward to the next and as that's something I never thought I'd say about this author again I'm extremely happy to be proved wrong. Bring it on.
September 15, 2019
Not the usual high standard of Cornwell’s work, I found this frustratingly slow.
Maybe my expectations were too high, or maybe it’s because I’ve never read one of her books before which wasn’t brilliant, but this was barely pushing 2 stars.
Disappointing.
Maybe my expectations were too high, or maybe it’s because I’ve never read one of her books before which wasn’t brilliant, but this was barely pushing 2 stars.
Disappointing.
September 3, 2019
Decent police procedural, so far. Not a stand-alone. THIS BOOK HAS NO ENDING.
I enjoy reading mystery/police procedurals, especially if there are science-fiction elements. That said, “Quantum” starts glacially slow, with two female security personnel searching a NASA Langley basement/tunnel. After much exploring, complaining about claustrophobia, and monologuing about . . . well, about a lot of stuff, protagonist Captain Calli Chase and Major Fran Lacey discover a possible, low-intensity crime scene. Then back to the tunnel search. No, no zombies. Or supernatural creatures. Happily, the mystery elements increase at about 15% Kindle mark.
If this weren’t a science-fiction mystery/police procedural—not to mention one written by Patricia Cornwall—I would’ve started skimming early in the book. However, I do read a lot of British mysteries and police procedurals, which sometimes start very slowly.
The premise is unique in many ways and the police procedural is well-conceived. I liked the strong female characters, especially Calli who seems to have some paranormal senses, if not paranormal powers. However, the execution is middling, with many domestic/personal side-plots, plus interspersed vignettes. There are many what-appears-to-be flashbacks, which are clearly marked and are happily short. However, POV characters of flashbacks are unclear to unknown.
There is a Kindle In Motion video-animation option to this book, but the few, brief sequences—which are non-space-centered—are not satisfying. Plus, the default background is white, which I don’t particularly like.
IMHO, 2 stars is generous, because this book ends with threads untied, the story barely half told, and all character-arcs are TBC.
I enjoy reading mystery/police procedurals, especially if there are science-fiction elements. That said, “Quantum” starts glacially slow, with two female security personnel searching a NASA Langley basement/tunnel. After much exploring, complaining about claustrophobia, and monologuing about . . . well, about a lot of stuff, protagonist Captain Calli Chase and Major Fran Lacey discover a possible, low-intensity crime scene. Then back to the tunnel search. No, no zombies. Or supernatural creatures. Happily, the mystery elements increase at about 15% Kindle mark.
If this weren’t a science-fiction mystery/police procedural—not to mention one written by Patricia Cornwall—I would’ve started skimming early in the book. However, I do read a lot of British mysteries and police procedurals, which sometimes start very slowly.
The premise is unique in many ways and the police procedural is well-conceived. I liked the strong female characters, especially Calli who seems to have some paranormal senses, if not paranormal powers. However, the execution is middling, with many domestic/personal side-plots, plus interspersed vignettes. There are many what-appears-to-be flashbacks, which are clearly marked and are happily short. However, POV characters of flashbacks are unclear to unknown.
There is a Kindle In Motion video-animation option to this book, but the few, brief sequences—which are non-space-centered—are not satisfying. Plus, the default background is white, which I don’t particularly like.
IMHO, 2 stars is generous, because this book ends with threads untied, the story barely half told, and all character-arcs are TBC.
November 11, 2019
I'm a longtime fan of Cornwell's Scarpetta series, so when Amazon offered me a free, early look at this first book in the new Captain Chase series, I was over the moon. Thanks go to Amazon First Reads, and I am sorry not to provide the kind of review that I expected to write, but this one doesn't work for me. It's for sale now, but hang onto your money.
Whereas her earlier series was the original forensic thriller genre, Calli Chase, our protagonist, is a cop for NASA. Perhaps I should have seen this problem coming. I am generally not interested in the sciences, at least to any detail. I don't mean to sound like a Luddite: I maintain the practical knowledge necessary to raise plants, provide quick home-medical treatment when called upon, and carry off other every day, practical matters. But physics? Chemistry? That whooshing sound right now was me leaving the room. So all of the science chatter early in the narrative led me to close the book and read something else several times, until I realized we were past the pub date and I owed a review. Surely it would get better, once we got into the actual plot. We have heavy foreshadowing that lets us know that some big bad event is about to unfold, and more foreshadowing that tells us there are some great big ol' skeletons in Calli's closet and that of her twin, Carme.
But that's another matter. The foreshadowing used in the Scarpetta series is masterful stuff, suffusing me with a profound sense of dread that makes me turn the pages faster just to know what in the world is around the corner. This foreshadowing, on the other hand, is so heavily troweled on that it makes me impatient. This foreshadowing feels like filler by the 25 percent mark, and there are places in my notes where I say, Enough already. What. Just tell us and get on with it.
As Cornwell's Scarpetta became a long-running series, she did what great writers of the genre do, moving more deeply into character. After a certain point readers became jaundiced as our hero was once again knocked out, blindfolded, and stuffed in a car trunk or whatever--how many times can this happen to the same person?--and so she moved more toward a psychological thriller, where there were possible enemies within the fortress, so to speak. Could she really trust her Benton, her husband, who is keeping secrets from her? Could she trust her niece? What about her work partner? There was all sorts of scheming and things were not as they appeared. Some readers grew cranky at this point, but I found it fascinating, because I felt I knew her core characters so completely.
But with Captain Chase none of this works, because the author has basically created the same characters with different names and relationships. Perhaps wary of this inclination, the protagonist is unlike Scarpetta, but obnoxiously so, and Chase is not a character I believe. Every tenth word from this character is a euphemism, with copious amounts of the first person narrative explaining and re-explaining how much she hates vulgar language. But whereas I have no problem with most off-color language, I've had people in my life that avoided it on principle, usually due to a religious conviction, and not one of them used euphemisms like this character does. Most of them believe that a euphemism is wrong because it's a swear word dressed up as something else, and the best thing to do is omit them altogether. Instead of yelling 'Gosh darn,' they would say 'Oh no!' or, 'How did this happen?' But with Chase, it's one long eye-roll, and so when we get to our less-than-stirring climax and she actually says, "Shit!" (and then of course has to talk about having actually said that word) I let out a snort and closed the book. I quit at 85 percent and didn't stick around for the ending.
It's a sorry thing, having to write a review like this for an author I like, because of course I cannot help but wonder what personal circumstances would make a bestselling author write and publish something this unworthy. Money? Health? But I don't know, and ultimately my responsibility is not to the author but to my readers.
As for you, if you are fascinated with NASA, maybe you won't find this story as repellent as I do, but I would urge you not to spend big on it. Get it free or cheap unless your pockets are very, very deep.
Whereas her earlier series was the original forensic thriller genre, Calli Chase, our protagonist, is a cop for NASA. Perhaps I should have seen this problem coming. I am generally not interested in the sciences, at least to any detail. I don't mean to sound like a Luddite: I maintain the practical knowledge necessary to raise plants, provide quick home-medical treatment when called upon, and carry off other every day, practical matters. But physics? Chemistry? That whooshing sound right now was me leaving the room. So all of the science chatter early in the narrative led me to close the book and read something else several times, until I realized we were past the pub date and I owed a review. Surely it would get better, once we got into the actual plot. We have heavy foreshadowing that lets us know that some big bad event is about to unfold, and more foreshadowing that tells us there are some great big ol' skeletons in Calli's closet and that of her twin, Carme.
But that's another matter. The foreshadowing used in the Scarpetta series is masterful stuff, suffusing me with a profound sense of dread that makes me turn the pages faster just to know what in the world is around the corner. This foreshadowing, on the other hand, is so heavily troweled on that it makes me impatient. This foreshadowing feels like filler by the 25 percent mark, and there are places in my notes where I say, Enough already. What. Just tell us and get on with it.
As Cornwell's Scarpetta became a long-running series, she did what great writers of the genre do, moving more deeply into character. After a certain point readers became jaundiced as our hero was once again knocked out, blindfolded, and stuffed in a car trunk or whatever--how many times can this happen to the same person?--and so she moved more toward a psychological thriller, where there were possible enemies within the fortress, so to speak. Could she really trust her Benton, her husband, who is keeping secrets from her? Could she trust her niece? What about her work partner? There was all sorts of scheming and things were not as they appeared. Some readers grew cranky at this point, but I found it fascinating, because I felt I knew her core characters so completely.
But with Captain Chase none of this works, because the author has basically created the same characters with different names and relationships. Perhaps wary of this inclination, the protagonist is unlike Scarpetta, but obnoxiously so, and Chase is not a character I believe. Every tenth word from this character is a euphemism, with copious amounts of the first person narrative explaining and re-explaining how much she hates vulgar language. But whereas I have no problem with most off-color language, I've had people in my life that avoided it on principle, usually due to a religious conviction, and not one of them used euphemisms like this character does. Most of them believe that a euphemism is wrong because it's a swear word dressed up as something else, and the best thing to do is omit them altogether. Instead of yelling 'Gosh darn,' they would say 'Oh no!' or, 'How did this happen?' But with Chase, it's one long eye-roll, and so when we get to our less-than-stirring climax and she actually says, "Shit!" (and then of course has to talk about having actually said that word) I let out a snort and closed the book. I quit at 85 percent and didn't stick around for the ending.
It's a sorry thing, having to write a review like this for an author I like, because of course I cannot help but wonder what personal circumstances would make a bestselling author write and publish something this unworthy. Money? Health? But I don't know, and ultimately my responsibility is not to the author but to my readers.
As for you, if you are fascinated with NASA, maybe you won't find this story as repellent as I do, but I would urge you not to spend big on it. Get it free or cheap unless your pockets are very, very deep.
July 2, 2022
Faccio fatica a trovare qualcosa di positivo in questo libro, una grande delusione: visto il lento e lungo declino della serie con protagonista Kay Scarpetta, che libro dopo libro diventa sempre più ripetitiva, fine a sè stessa e immutabile, speravo in una ventata di aria fresca. Invece mi sono trovata di fronte ad un racconto ancor più ripetitivo e inverosimile. Ripetitivo: ogni 10 pagine circa la protagonista ribadisce che sta per iniziare uno shutdown amministrativo, che le previsioni del tempo annunciano una grande e pericolosa tempesta in arrivo di lì a breve e che lei non crede alle coincidenze. Inverosimile: siamo di fronte ad una protagonista onnipotente, onniscente, esperta tuttologa, brava solo lei. A 28 anni ha una laurea in ingegneria areonautica, sa pilotare aerei ed elicotteri, ha lasciato già da tre anni l'areonatica militare con il grado di capitano (facendo due conti, alla tenerà età di 25 anni non solo era già laureata in una materia banale come l'ingegneria aeronautica, ma aveva anche già fatto carriera nell'esercito fino a diventare capitano!), è a capo della sicurezza in un centro della Nasa, è esperta di cyber security ed investigatore informatico, mentre nel tempo libero sviluppa app di tracciamento usate niente meno che dal Governo, è esperta in psicologia, grafologia e profiling. Mentre faceva tutto questo, ripeto, a soli 28 anni, ha trovato anche il tempo di prepararsi fisicamente e mentalmente alla durissima selezione per diventare astronauta, piazzandosi tra i primi 50 su una rosa di 17.000 candidati. Vi ricorda qualcuno forse? Almeno Lucy Scarpetta si "limita" ad essere un genio dell'informatica e pilota di elicotteri (oltre che miliardaria, cosa che invece la nostra Calli non è...). Ah, come se tutto questo non bastasse, lei "percepisce la musica degli esseri viventi" (sic!) il che le permette di capire quando qualcuno la sta spiando. Mi chiedo come abbia fatto a specializzarsi in tutte queste materie in pochi anni, ma si sa, il tempo per i personaggi della Cornwell viaggia ad una velocità diversa che per il resto dei comuniu mortali, altrimenti non si spiega come Kay Scarpetta – che nel primo libro della saga ha da poco superato i 40 anni – possa averne a mala pena 60 negli ultimi libri, quando calcoli alla mano, dovrtebbe ormai aver superato l'ottantina. Passiamo alla trama, in oltre la metà del libro, non succede niente: al di là dell'elenco ripetuto più volte delle encomiabili qualità della protagonista, il tutto si riduce a sole tre scene: la prima, nel tunnel sotterraneo della Nasa, dove Calli si trova all'inizio della storia, per verificare i motivi di un allarme scattato poco prima; la seconda, un breve viaggio in auto con un generale suo amico di famiglia e suo ex comandante in aeronautica; la terza, l'esame della scena di un crimine. Il resto del libro è un insieme confuso e caotico di elucubrazioni della protagonista, che no naggiungono niente ad una trama di per sè già confusa e inconcludente.
***
I struggle to find something positive in this book, a great disappointment: given the slow and long decline of the series starring Kay Scarpetta, which book after book becomes more and more repetitive, an end in itself and immutable, I was hoping for a breath of air fresh. Instead I found myself faced with an even more repetitive and unlikely story. Repetitive: every 10 pages or so, the protagonist reiterates that an administrative shutdown is about to start, that the weather forecast announces a great and dangerous storm coming soon and that she does not believe in coincidences. Improbable: we are faced with an omnipotent, omniscient, expert all-rounder, only she is good at everything woman. At the age of 28, she has a degree in aeronautical engineering, knows how to fly airplanes and helicopters, has already left military aeronautics with the rank of captain for three years (doing the math, at the tender age of 25 she not only had a degree in a subject banal as aeronautical engineering, but he had also already made a career in the army to become captain!), she is head of security in a NASA center, is an expert in cyber security and computer investigator, while in her spare time she develops apps for tracing used by none other than the Government, she is also an expert in psychology, graphology and profiling. While she was doing all this, I repeat, at just 28 years old, she also found time to prepare herself physically and mentally for the tough selection to become an astronaut, placing herself in the top 50 out of a shortlist of 17,000 candidates. Does she remind you of anyone, perhaps? At least Lucy Scarpetta "limits herself" to being an IT genius and helicopter pilot (as well as a billionaire, which our Calli is not...). Ah, as if all this were not enough, she "perceives the music of living beings" (sic!), which allows her to understand when someone is spying on her. I wonder how she managed to specialize in all these subjects in a few years, but you know, timing for the Cornwell's characters moves at a different speed than for the rest of the common mortals, otherwise it is not explained how Kay Scarpetta - who in the first book of the saga is just over 40 years old - he may be barely 60 in the last few books, when you figure it out, he should be in his eighties by now. Let's move on to the plot, in more than half of the book, nothing happens: beyond the list repeated several times of the commendable qualities of the protagonist, everything is reduced to just three scenes: the first, in the underground tunnel of NASA, where Calli is located at the beginning of the story, to verify the reasons for an alarm triggered shortly before; the second, a short drive with a General, friend of her family and her former air force commander; the third, a crime scene examination. The rest of the book is a confused and chaotic set of the protagonist's ruminations, which add nothing to a plot which is already confused and inconclusive in itself.
***
I struggle to find something positive in this book, a great disappointment: given the slow and long decline of the series starring Kay Scarpetta, which book after book becomes more and more repetitive, an end in itself and immutable, I was hoping for a breath of air fresh. Instead I found myself faced with an even more repetitive and unlikely story. Repetitive: every 10 pages or so, the protagonist reiterates that an administrative shutdown is about to start, that the weather forecast announces a great and dangerous storm coming soon and that she does not believe in coincidences. Improbable: we are faced with an omnipotent, omniscient, expert all-rounder, only she is good at everything woman. At the age of 28, she has a degree in aeronautical engineering, knows how to fly airplanes and helicopters, has already left military aeronautics with the rank of captain for three years (doing the math, at the tender age of 25 she not only had a degree in a subject banal as aeronautical engineering, but he had also already made a career in the army to become captain!), she is head of security in a NASA center, is an expert in cyber security and computer investigator, while in her spare time she develops apps for tracing used by none other than the Government, she is also an expert in psychology, graphology and profiling. While she was doing all this, I repeat, at just 28 years old, she also found time to prepare herself physically and mentally for the tough selection to become an astronaut, placing herself in the top 50 out of a shortlist of 17,000 candidates. Does she remind you of anyone, perhaps? At least Lucy Scarpetta "limits herself" to being an IT genius and helicopter pilot (as well as a billionaire, which our Calli is not...). Ah, as if all this were not enough, she "perceives the music of living beings" (sic!), which allows her to understand when someone is spying on her. I wonder how she managed to specialize in all these subjects in a few years, but you know, timing for the Cornwell's characters moves at a different speed than for the rest of the common mortals, otherwise it is not explained how Kay Scarpetta - who in the first book of the saga is just over 40 years old - he may be barely 60 in the last few books, when you figure it out, he should be in his eighties by now. Let's move on to the plot, in more than half of the book, nothing happens: beyond the list repeated several times of the commendable qualities of the protagonist, everything is reduced to just three scenes: the first, in the underground tunnel of NASA, where Calli is located at the beginning of the story, to verify the reasons for an alarm triggered shortly before; the second, a short drive with a General, friend of her family and her former air force commander; the third, a crime scene examination. The rest of the book is a confused and chaotic set of the protagonist's ruminations, which add nothing to a plot which is already confused and inconclusive in itself.
May 12, 2020
Disjointed, nothing flowed, threads left open leaving the book feel unfinished. The book had way too much internal dialogue. Won't continue series.
August 15, 2021
I have been keeping track of authors and books I have read for more than 15 years in a spreadsheet. I realized I have not read any books in that time by PATRICIA CORNWELL, bestselling author of the Kay Scarpetta forensic mysteries. That is my loss because she is a terrific writer whose books will make you smarter. Before I started keeping track, I did read several of the Scarpetta books starting with the first. Recently, I saw a mention of a new series by her so I picked up a copy of the first book, QUANTUM.
This series features United States Air Force Captain Callie Chase who has transferred from the U.S. Space Force to the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) facility adjacent to Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia. She is in charge of cybersecurity for the base. Basically, Callie is in law enforcement but she is also a brilliant quantum physicist and a pilot. She is also an identical twin. Her sister is Carme (pronounced Karma) is an Air Force pilot with experience in a variety of aircraft. They had both just interviewed with NASA to become astronauts.
Their ancestors had been plantation slaves in Virginia. Their mother is a science teacher with a national reputation for innovative teaching methods. Their father works for NASA as well, as a designer/implementer of equipment.
Their mentor and close family friend is General Dick Melville commander of the Space Force. Callie left the Space Force for NASA when her mother was diagnosed with cancer and she returned to Hampton to help her and her father. She lives in a converted barn on her parents’ property.
NASA Police Major Fran Lacey is Callie’s “boss” but in reality, they are equals. Fran is also a member of the Hampton Police Department. (Do not worry, it is all explained clearly in the book.) Callie and Fran grew up together and are still neighbors. They are best friends as well as co-workers.
General Melville shows up unexpectedly at Callie’s office a couple of days before the launch of a resupply rocket for the International Space Station from Langley. At the same time as the launch, a top-secret spacewalk is going to be conducted by the ISS American crewmembers. Melville brings some disturbing news about Carme. While Callie is briefing General Melville about events at the base, she is notified of a break-in at one of the subterranean tunnels on the base. And the adventure begins.
Vera Young, a NASA private contractor employee, is found hanged and dead in her apartment. The day before, she reported to Callie that her base security pass had been stolen. It was her pass that was recorded at the break-in. Vera’s sister, Nera, is the C.E.O. of the private contractor. Nera shows up on the base just before the rocket launch. Why is she there? Mason Dixon, an obnoxious reporter and nephew of the Governor of Virginia, shows up at the crime scene. How did he find out about the crime?
As a reader, you will learn a little about science, NASA and human nature. The ending left me wanting more. Fortunately, there is more. I cannot wait to see more adventures of Callie Chase. RECOMMENDED!
GO! BUY! READ!
This series features United States Air Force Captain Callie Chase who has transferred from the U.S. Space Force to the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) facility adjacent to Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia. She is in charge of cybersecurity for the base. Basically, Callie is in law enforcement but she is also a brilliant quantum physicist and a pilot. She is also an identical twin. Her sister is Carme (pronounced Karma) is an Air Force pilot with experience in a variety of aircraft. They had both just interviewed with NASA to become astronauts.
Their ancestors had been plantation slaves in Virginia. Their mother is a science teacher with a national reputation for innovative teaching methods. Their father works for NASA as well, as a designer/implementer of equipment.
Their mentor and close family friend is General Dick Melville commander of the Space Force. Callie left the Space Force for NASA when her mother was diagnosed with cancer and she returned to Hampton to help her and her father. She lives in a converted barn on her parents’ property.
NASA Police Major Fran Lacey is Callie’s “boss” but in reality, they are equals. Fran is also a member of the Hampton Police Department. (Do not worry, it is all explained clearly in the book.) Callie and Fran grew up together and are still neighbors. They are best friends as well as co-workers.
General Melville shows up unexpectedly at Callie’s office a couple of days before the launch of a resupply rocket for the International Space Station from Langley. At the same time as the launch, a top-secret spacewalk is going to be conducted by the ISS American crewmembers. Melville brings some disturbing news about Carme. While Callie is briefing General Melville about events at the base, she is notified of a break-in at one of the subterranean tunnels on the base. And the adventure begins.
Vera Young, a NASA private contractor employee, is found hanged and dead in her apartment. The day before, she reported to Callie that her base security pass had been stolen. It was her pass that was recorded at the break-in. Vera’s sister, Nera, is the C.E.O. of the private contractor. Nera shows up on the base just before the rocket launch. Why is she there? Mason Dixon, an obnoxious reporter and nephew of the Governor of Virginia, shows up at the crime scene. How did he find out about the crime?
As a reader, you will learn a little about science, NASA and human nature. The ending left me wanting more. Fortunately, there is more. I cannot wait to see more adventures of Callie Chase. RECOMMENDED!
GO! BUY! READ!
September 25, 2019
This is a hard review for me. I'm used to reading Patricia's forensic books. I struggled reading a lot of this book as the main character would float into memory lane during a harrowing event that could have meant life or death at times. There were good points, the background of her actual career and how well she performed it; the closeness of her family and one particular friend that out ranked her. She also performed well under pressure.
January 28, 2020
This is getting two stars because I finished it. I honestly had no idea what was going on in this book and I am a science geek. Just saying. It was choppy, confusing and I didn't warm to the characters.
It's really a one and a half.
It's really a one and a half.
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