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Scorpion
Around the world, twenty-two people have been murdered. The victims fit no profile, the circumstances vary wildly, but one thing links them all: in every case the victim is branded with a number.
With police around the globe floundering and unable to identify any pattern, let alone find a killer, CIA Analyst Quinn Mitchell is called in to investigate.
Before long, Quinn is on the trail of an ice-hearted assassin with seemingly limitless resources - but she's prepared for that.
What she isn't prepared for is the person pulling the strings...
With police around the globe floundering and unable to identify any pattern, let alone find a killer, CIA Analyst Quinn Mitchell is called in to investigate.
Before long, Quinn is on the trail of an ice-hearted assassin with seemingly limitless resources - but she's prepared for that.
What she isn't prepared for is the person pulling the strings...
389 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 25, 2021
93 people are currently reading
3922 people want to read
About the author
Christian Cantrell
16 books207 followersChristian Cantrell is a writer and software developer living in Northern Virginia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 177 reviews
June 4, 2021
This is a techno thriller with liberal sprinklings of science, especially physics and it’s most certainly jargon driven. The storyline has multiple threads which involves nuclear attacks, a serial killer, coding, crypto currency and of that isn’t enough there’s a sci-fi element involving time travel. It’s busy! The central characters are Quinn Mitchell, a smart CIA analyst previously working on the Nuclear Terrorism Non-Proliferation Task Force and now out from behind her desk tasked with tracking down the Elite Assassin, a serial killer with 19 victims so far. There’s Ranveer, an Iranian who travels and stays in luxury and finally Henrietta Yi, a double PhD physicist originally from Korea and working on an ultra secret CIA project. The complex novel brings these three together in an action packed plot.
First of all, the characters are good, they have a lot of potential but because the plot is so crowded they are not as developed as they could be. I want more on all three as their backgrounds are interesting. The first two thirds whilst it’s not always easy to follow you can appreciate where it’s going and once that is resolved the last third becomes rushed and seems to me to be setting the scene for a follow up. I find this section particularly confusing and don’t ask me about the science because I couldn’t tell you! Head, over top of!
Whilst Quinn is undoubtably a sharp cookie, really? An analyst suddenly put to the field on her own to track a serial killer??? Absolutely not. Then there’s a scene where she cries when questioning a potential witness. Again - really?? It just does not ring true and I have a hard time buying that, despite liking her character.
For me, the biggest problem is the jargon and the over-detailing which gets in the way of what is undoubtedly a clever plot. A bit too clever???? It just ends up becoming too much for me and muddled. Or is that me?
Overall, the premise is excellent but the storytelling needs refining so it becomes a cohesive whole.
With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for the arc in return for an honest review.
First of all, the characters are good, they have a lot of potential but because the plot is so crowded they are not as developed as they could be. I want more on all three as their backgrounds are interesting. The first two thirds whilst it’s not always easy to follow you can appreciate where it’s going and once that is resolved the last third becomes rushed and seems to me to be setting the scene for a follow up. I find this section particularly confusing and don’t ask me about the science because I couldn’t tell you! Head, over top of!
Whilst Quinn is undoubtably a sharp cookie, really? An analyst suddenly put to the field on her own to track a serial killer??? Absolutely not. Then there’s a scene where she cries when questioning a potential witness. Again - really?? It just does not ring true and I have a hard time buying that, despite liking her character.
For me, the biggest problem is the jargon and the over-detailing which gets in the way of what is undoubtedly a clever plot. A bit too clever???? It just ends up becoming too much for me and muddled. Or is that me?
Overall, the premise is excellent but the storytelling needs refining so it becomes a cohesive whole.
With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for the arc in return for an honest review.
July 26, 2021
I don't generally give ratings on books, but I also rarely dislike books as much as I disliked this one.
This seems like it should've been right in my sweet spot. It's a near-future thriller about a CIA analyst grieving the loss of her daughter and breakup of her marriage who's tasked with hunting down a serial killer. For the most part, the plot was just interesting enough to keep me turning the pages. The problem is that the book shifts gears after about 2/3 of the way through, and the resolution is absolute nonsense. I'm absolutely baffled at how Kirkus and PW gave this book a starred review. The book attempts to blend genres but can't seem to figure out how. It's so unsatisfying on every level. If this was the first of a series, I could maybe see how the ending works, but as far as I can tell, this book is meant to stand alone.
Beyond just the plot, I found the writing bad. The first half of the book, the writing is stodgy, with the author avoiding contractions everywhere but in dialogue. And the use of present tense is so out of place here. Present tense, when done well, can be amazing. It was not done well here. It was basically past tense with the tenses changed.
If it'd just been the plot and writing that bothered me, I would've just let it go and moved on, but the list of things that pissed me off about this book were long. Here are a few things I hated:
*Women preoccupied with their own breasts
*We meet two gay characters one is the other is a sassy caricature. I'm shocked the character didn't break out jazz hands.
*We meet a Japanese adult woman who is immediately described as a little girl obsessed with Pokemon who simultaneously has multiple PhDs in physics. The way this character is infantilized is seriously gross.
*Use of the term "wife-beater" to describe a shirt when there are plenty of perfectly inoffensive ways to describe the shirt.
*SO MANY offensive racial and ethnic stereotypes.
It was painful. The only reason I gave it two stars was because there were glimmers of an interesting plot in there. But there are way better books in this vein to read. I'm sure there's an audience for this book, but I'm not it.
This seems like it should've been right in my sweet spot. It's a near-future thriller about a CIA analyst grieving the loss of her daughter and breakup of her marriage who's tasked with hunting down a serial killer. For the most part, the plot was just interesting enough to keep me turning the pages. The problem is that the book shifts gears after about 2/3 of the way through, and the resolution is absolute nonsense. I'm absolutely baffled at how Kirkus and PW gave this book a starred review. The book attempts to blend genres but can't seem to figure out how. It's so unsatisfying on every level. If this was the first of a series, I could maybe see how the ending works, but as far as I can tell, this book is meant to stand alone.
Beyond just the plot, I found the writing bad. The first half of the book, the writing is stodgy, with the author avoiding contractions everywhere but in dialogue. And the use of present tense is so out of place here. Present tense, when done well, can be amazing. It was not done well here. It was basically past tense with the tenses changed.
If it'd just been the plot and writing that bothered me, I would've just let it go and moved on, but the list of things that pissed me off about this book were long. Here are a few things I hated:
*Women preoccupied with their own breasts
*We meet two gay characters one is the other is a sassy caricature. I'm shocked the character didn't break out jazz hands.
*We meet a Japanese adult woman who is immediately described as a little girl obsessed with Pokemon who simultaneously has multiple PhDs in physics. The way this character is infantilized is seriously gross.
*Use of the term "wife-beater" to describe a shirt when there are plenty of perfectly inoffensive ways to describe the shirt.
*SO MANY offensive racial and ethnic stereotypes.
It was painful. The only reason I gave it two stars was because there were glimmers of an interesting plot in there. But there are way better books in this vein to read. I'm sure there's an audience for this book, but I'm not it.
May 17, 2021
This is a fairly interesting techno-thriller filled with echoes of Minority Report, Alias, and a long line of other modern spycraft/cop dramas.
I expect that a lot of people will enjoy it for what it is: tech and geek driven; game-friendly, cryptocurrency-friendly, and, when we get to it, the joys of one of the oldest SF tropes which I won't mention here because it's spoilery and late-game in the novel.
That being said, it was fun for the ride even if it never absolutely blew me away.
Little things did get on my nerves, for example, such as a desk-jockey getting into the field with relatively little supervision, but that didn't bother me so much because the entire genre seems to be rife with it. Regardless, it did seem to be on par, with more empahasis on all our modern obsessions. :)
Definitely worth the read.
I expect that a lot of people will enjoy it for what it is: tech and geek driven; game-friendly, cryptocurrency-friendly, and, when we get to it, the joys of one of the oldest SF tropes which I won't mention here because it's spoilery and late-game in the novel.
That being said, it was fun for the ride even if it never absolutely blew me away.
Little things did get on my nerves, for example, such as a desk-jockey getting into the field with relatively little supervision, but that didn't bother me so much because the entire genre seems to be rife with it. Regardless, it did seem to be on par, with more empahasis on all our modern obsessions. :)
Definitely worth the read.
August 23, 2021
I guess you'd call this a techno thriller, even though it was a little short on thrills. Quinn Mitchell is a CIA analyst who's tasked with tracking down an international serial killer. Her superpowers are that she's good with computers, is less likeable than a serial killer, and cries constantly without getting dehydrated. Seriously, she cries every other chapter. A couple of times the tears are warranted, but they lose all effect after all the times she cried because she got yelled at or she felt fat or she got yelled at. Also, not sure I see the logic of sending a computer geek after a ruthless serial killer without any kind of backup. I'm pretty sure her boss couldn't fire her and was just trying to get her killed.
There's also a whole lot of bad time travel stuff going on in this book. There are some pretty major paradoxes happening that will really give you a headache if you think about them too hard. It basically amounts to sending a message back in time to kill baby Hitler. Now Hitler is dead and you avoid World War 2, but you still have to send the message back in time to kill baby Hitler, but since Hitler never grew up, you're taking the original message's word for it that Hitler is bad and not just someone who insulted the original sender's mom in a game of Call of Duty. Of course, the original sender has a foolproof way of authenticating the message by including something that only the younger version of themselves know about. Oh, and anyone else that read the message knows about it now too and can use it in a future message.
I assume that the author is planning on this being a series (or they just hate tying up loose ends), but I'll be skipping any future books.
There's also a whole lot of bad time travel stuff going on in this book. There are some pretty major paradoxes happening that will really give you a headache if you think about them too hard. It basically amounts to sending a message back in time to kill baby Hitler. Now Hitler is dead and you avoid World War 2, but you still have to send the message back in time to kill baby Hitler, but since Hitler never grew up, you're taking the original message's word for it that Hitler is bad and not just someone who insulted the original sender's mom in a game of Call of Duty. Of course, the original sender has a foolproof way of authenticating the message by including something that only the younger version of themselves know about. Oh, and anyone else that read the message knows about it now too and can use it in a future message.
I assume that the author is planning on this being a series (or they just hate tying up loose ends), but I'll be skipping any future books.
June 13, 2021
Around the world, twenty two people have been murdered, The victims fit no profile, the circumstances vary wildly, but one thing links them all: in every case the victim is branded with a number. With police all around the globe floundering and unable to identify any pattern, let alone find the killer, CIA Analyst Quinn Mitchell is called in to investigate.
I quite liked this book. This sci-fi thriller is set in the near future. The book starts off with CIA Analyst Quinn Mitchell hunting down a serial killer, but a twist in the book takes an unforeseeable turn.
The characters are complex with motives that are never completely explained. The pace is steady and the second half is action packed. It's quite hard to review this book without giving away any spoilers. There's plenty of twists, but some were predictable. This is a fascinating read.
I would like to thank #NetGalley #PenguinMichaelJoseph and the author #ChristianCantrell for my ARC of #Scorpion in exchange for an honest review.
I quite liked this book. This sci-fi thriller is set in the near future. The book starts off with CIA Analyst Quinn Mitchell hunting down a serial killer, but a twist in the book takes an unforeseeable turn.
The characters are complex with motives that are never completely explained. The pace is steady and the second half is action packed. It's quite hard to review this book without giving away any spoilers. There's plenty of twists, but some were predictable. This is a fascinating read.
I would like to thank #NetGalley #PenguinMichaelJoseph and the author #ChristianCantrell for my ARC of #Scorpion in exchange for an honest review.
May 27, 2021
Stop and think awhile…. Anyone with ingenuity can kill almost anyone else in dozens of different ways with either an immediately available implement, such as a pencil, heavy object or even a coffee cup…. or with a myriad of actual weapons, such as knives, guns, poisons …. or even a push or trip, all before your brain can register the threat. “Scorpion” is an immersive near-future thriller involving the CIA’s attempt to apprehend a serial killer who has slaughtered nineteen victims across the globe, without apparent motive or linkage in the victims.
He has dispatched them all in various methods with extreme ingenuity and cunning …. and occasionally with a simple shove off a roof or a throat slit with reckless abandon. He continues to methodically kill in unique ways across the globe.
Cantrell weaves a masterful narrative, while intersecting three main characters …. CIA analyst, Quinn Mitchell … physicist extraordinaire, Henrietta Yi …. And the international serial killer, known as the Elite Assassin (eventually revealed as the Iranian born, Ranver). As their life experiences unfold, along with their resultant motivations, they intersect and collide with explosive revelations.
Quinn Mitchell is a much heralded senior data analyst, just completing a stint on the Nuclear Terrorism Nonproliferation Task Force. Which was initiated as a response to the heinous nuclear attack on Seoul, Korea six years previous. The goal being the safety and security of the United States and its allies. Inexplicably she is assigned the task of going from her comfortable cubicle out into the field to chase and investigate the Elite Assassin by using her analytical prowess. Unfortunately she brings with her extensive emotional baggage. After her four year old daughter, Molly drowned in a neighbor’s pool her life unravelled. Neither her husband or herself could stop blaming themselves and eventually each other leading to the dissolution of the marriage. With almost reckless abandon, she poured over extensive data using the CIA’S Structured Interactive Query Interface, hoping for a lead. Although there was no obvious correlation or pattern between the victims, the killer left on all, a four digit number, carved, branded or indelibly imprinted somewhere on all the bodies. Her investigation takes her to Sohar, Oman, where she quickly realizes how much she is over her head. Somewhere there has to be a motive. She is nudged into reality, that she has to “follow the money” if she hopes to catch the assassin before his next kill.
Henrietta Yi is a rather diminutive five foot tall Korean, who on first sight appears to be a K-pop fangirl…. however she possesses two PhDs in physics.. in both quantum and particle, and yet has a Pokemon fetish. Both of her parents perished in the nuclear attack on Seoul. Which might explain why a brilliant and promising young physicist would forgo the fortune from the private sector to devote her life to the “mission” of the CIA. Her work at the Large Hadron Collider (actually the largest machine in the world and highest-energy particle collider in existence) has borne fruit. Using AI, she trained neural networks to identify anomalous data. Amongst the plethora of data, an encrypted message was encountered …. deemed the Epoch Index it was claimed to be a packet of information from the future. Reportedly the source of an ongoing top secret project. The significance and intent of the Epoch Index is instrumental in the motivation of our protagonists.
And, lastly there is Ranver, the Elite Assassin…. physically a tall, slender specimen with a swarthy complexion and a distinct and fitting mustache, and black eyes which can portray both congeniality and malice simultaneously. Born in Iran, and initially raised as a Hindu, but now espouses no organized religion. His early years were forged by the Military Intelligence of Iran, against his father’s wishes. He now travels the globe in luxury, from jets to luxurious penthouse hotels, provided with personal concierge service everywhere. His agenda remains clouded in mystery, but his lethality is known by all international police organizations. His weaponry remains sophisticated and high tech, procured by clandestine methods.
Cantrell expertly weaves a complex narrative in which our three protagonists unexpectedly intersect and collide with multiple reveals utilizing carefully crafted prose and layered multi-dimensional characterization, escalating slowly in suspense and tension and culminating in an explosive and satisfying denouement. Cantrell incorporates science and possible cutting edge technology to keep the reader fully engaged in his cinematic narrative. Multiple themes are explored, not only murder, but the painful and ever present grief from the loss of your child, as well as love and friendship. Also considered is the possibility of disinformation campaigns. With the ability of manufacturing whatever reality that those in power find convenient, and thus eradicating the truth. But, more importantly, never lose sight of the importance of those you love and hold in friendship.
Overall, this is a riveting techno thriller utilizing near future technology resulting in a compelling page turner. A follow up novel featuring our three protagonists would definitely be a welcome addition to the oeuvre of Christian Cantrell. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review. This Review was published at Mystery and Suspense Magazine
He has dispatched them all in various methods with extreme ingenuity and cunning …. and occasionally with a simple shove off a roof or a throat slit with reckless abandon. He continues to methodically kill in unique ways across the globe.
Cantrell weaves a masterful narrative, while intersecting three main characters …. CIA analyst, Quinn Mitchell … physicist extraordinaire, Henrietta Yi …. And the international serial killer, known as the Elite Assassin (eventually revealed as the Iranian born, Ranver). As their life experiences unfold, along with their resultant motivations, they intersect and collide with explosive revelations.
Quinn Mitchell is a much heralded senior data analyst, just completing a stint on the Nuclear Terrorism Nonproliferation Task Force. Which was initiated as a response to the heinous nuclear attack on Seoul, Korea six years previous. The goal being the safety and security of the United States and its allies. Inexplicably she is assigned the task of going from her comfortable cubicle out into the field to chase and investigate the Elite Assassin by using her analytical prowess. Unfortunately she brings with her extensive emotional baggage. After her four year old daughter, Molly drowned in a neighbor’s pool her life unravelled. Neither her husband or herself could stop blaming themselves and eventually each other leading to the dissolution of the marriage. With almost reckless abandon, she poured over extensive data using the CIA’S Structured Interactive Query Interface, hoping for a lead. Although there was no obvious correlation or pattern between the victims, the killer left on all, a four digit number, carved, branded or indelibly imprinted somewhere on all the bodies. Her investigation takes her to Sohar, Oman, where she quickly realizes how much she is over her head. Somewhere there has to be a motive. She is nudged into reality, that she has to “follow the money” if she hopes to catch the assassin before his next kill.
Henrietta Yi is a rather diminutive five foot tall Korean, who on first sight appears to be a K-pop fangirl…. however she possesses two PhDs in physics.. in both quantum and particle, and yet has a Pokemon fetish. Both of her parents perished in the nuclear attack on Seoul. Which might explain why a brilliant and promising young physicist would forgo the fortune from the private sector to devote her life to the “mission” of the CIA. Her work at the Large Hadron Collider (actually the largest machine in the world and highest-energy particle collider in existence) has borne fruit. Using AI, she trained neural networks to identify anomalous data. Amongst the plethora of data, an encrypted message was encountered …. deemed the Epoch Index it was claimed to be a packet of information from the future. Reportedly the source of an ongoing top secret project. The significance and intent of the Epoch Index is instrumental in the motivation of our protagonists.
And, lastly there is Ranver, the Elite Assassin…. physically a tall, slender specimen with a swarthy complexion and a distinct and fitting mustache, and black eyes which can portray both congeniality and malice simultaneously. Born in Iran, and initially raised as a Hindu, but now espouses no organized religion. His early years were forged by the Military Intelligence of Iran, against his father’s wishes. He now travels the globe in luxury, from jets to luxurious penthouse hotels, provided with personal concierge service everywhere. His agenda remains clouded in mystery, but his lethality is known by all international police organizations. His weaponry remains sophisticated and high tech, procured by clandestine methods.
Cantrell expertly weaves a complex narrative in which our three protagonists unexpectedly intersect and collide with multiple reveals utilizing carefully crafted prose and layered multi-dimensional characterization, escalating slowly in suspense and tension and culminating in an explosive and satisfying denouement. Cantrell incorporates science and possible cutting edge technology to keep the reader fully engaged in his cinematic narrative. Multiple themes are explored, not only murder, but the painful and ever present grief from the loss of your child, as well as love and friendship. Also considered is the possibility of disinformation campaigns. With the ability of manufacturing whatever reality that those in power find convenient, and thus eradicating the truth. But, more importantly, never lose sight of the importance of those you love and hold in friendship.
Overall, this is a riveting techno thriller utilizing near future technology resulting in a compelling page turner. A follow up novel featuring our three protagonists would definitely be a welcome addition to the oeuvre of Christian Cantrell. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review. This Review was published at Mystery and Suspense Magazine
June 24, 2021
Scorpion is a riveting, exhilarating and rollicking science-fiction thriller set in the near future in which a mysterious serial killer keeps the world in suspense because the only trace is the strange numbers he leaves on the bodies of his victims. Quinn Mitchell is a nine-to-five spy—an intelligence analyst for the CIA during the day, and a suburban wife and mother on evenings and weekends. After her young daughter is killed in a tragic accident, sending her life into a tailspin, Quinn hopes to find a new start in her latest assignment: investigating a series of bizarre international assassinations whose victims have been found with numeric codes tattooed, burned, or carved into their flesh. As Quinn follows the killer’s trail across the globe, always one body behind, she begins uncovering disturbing connections between the murders and herself.
Every lead she tracks down in pursuit of the assassin brings Quinn one step closer to the Epoch Index, a mysterious encrypted message discovered in the archives of the Large Hadron Collider. Its origins are unknown and decrypting it is beyond even the CIA. Yet nothing else can possibly link together a slew of unsolvable murders, an enigmatic and sophisticated serial killer who always seems to be three steps ahead, a quirky young physics prodigy whose knowledge extends well beyond her years, and, underlying everything, the inescapable tragedy of Quinn’s own past. Discovering the meaning of the Epoch Index leads Quinn to a shocking twist that shatters everything she thought she knew about the past, the future, and the delicate balance of right and wrong that she must now fight to preserve.
This is a high octane, rapid-fire, all action-adventure thriller full of twists, high specification weaponry, double-crosses and a heart-stopping chase for an erudite assassin. What sets this apart from other espionage-based reads is that it is set in near future when new high tech gadgetry and weapons have appeared on the scene with new capabilities giving those on the intelligence scene a range of options to help them in their endeavours and made fully authentic by Cantrell’s employment as a software engineer. There's never a dull moment, and I found the pretty seamless fusing of sci-fi and spy worlds to work exceptionally well. It quickly becomes a fun, addictive and entertaining ride full of intelligently woven dialogue, scalpel-sharp observations and a compelling and intriguing cast of characters. Highly recommended.
Every lead she tracks down in pursuit of the assassin brings Quinn one step closer to the Epoch Index, a mysterious encrypted message discovered in the archives of the Large Hadron Collider. Its origins are unknown and decrypting it is beyond even the CIA. Yet nothing else can possibly link together a slew of unsolvable murders, an enigmatic and sophisticated serial killer who always seems to be three steps ahead, a quirky young physics prodigy whose knowledge extends well beyond her years, and, underlying everything, the inescapable tragedy of Quinn’s own past. Discovering the meaning of the Epoch Index leads Quinn to a shocking twist that shatters everything she thought she knew about the past, the future, and the delicate balance of right and wrong that she must now fight to preserve.
This is a high octane, rapid-fire, all action-adventure thriller full of twists, high specification weaponry, double-crosses and a heart-stopping chase for an erudite assassin. What sets this apart from other espionage-based reads is that it is set in near future when new high tech gadgetry and weapons have appeared on the scene with new capabilities giving those on the intelligence scene a range of options to help them in their endeavours and made fully authentic by Cantrell’s employment as a software engineer. There's never a dull moment, and I found the pretty seamless fusing of sci-fi and spy worlds to work exceptionally well. It quickly becomes a fun, addictive and entertaining ride full of intelligently woven dialogue, scalpel-sharp observations and a compelling and intriguing cast of characters. Highly recommended.
June 14, 2021
I really enjoyed Scorpion - a techno thriller with time travel elements plus a serial killer- it was great fun and plays out movie style with enough scifi geekery keeping it interesting and a group of characters who run around trying to sort out an ever evolving set of problems and all of whom have various agendas.
Speculative and randomly complex the plot fairly rocks along although action is more low key, this being a more cerebral thriller in a techno babble kind of way.
The ending suggests more to come. I liked the twisty sense of this so I'll happily come along for the ride.
Speculative and randomly complex the plot fairly rocks along although action is more low key, this being a more cerebral thriller in a techno babble kind of way.
The ending suggests more to come. I liked the twisty sense of this so I'll happily come along for the ride.
August 2, 2021
This sci-fi thriller is a veritable (and truly magnificent) puzzle box of plot stings and twists, and I cannot recommend this book enough. Ask me to name an underrated author? Christian Cantrell. If you love Blake Crouch — you’re going to love Cantrell. His newest thriller Scorpion hooks from page one, snapping tension into place and holding it taut until the very end. The suspense won’t give you a heart attack, but only just.
Scorpion is set in a near-future rife with technological advances. Readers quickly find their feet as much of the world looks and feels like our own, and the technology steers clear of anything outlandish. There’s more than one plot string unfolding at once, and I will give you the (spoiler-free) rundown here as succinctly as possible:
Quinn Mitchell is an analyst for the CIA. Not just any analyst, she’s the best CIA Deputy Director Townes has got — although she’s never recovered from the accidental death of her daughter or the splintering of her marriage from a CIA field agent. Henrietta Yi is a brilliant (one-in-a-billion) physicist. Driven by her father’s death in a nuclear attack, she is now working for the CIA (also under Deputy Director Townes) on a top (top!) secret project. What is she doing that could be more important than preventing the next nuclear attack? Attempting to decode messages that appear to have come from the future. Yes, the future. This is a SF thriller, bookies, and one of the best I’ve read. Right up there with Blake Crouch’s Recursion. Okay, final plot string: Ranveer is an assassin (aka the Elite Assassin) who enjoys the good life (swanky hotel suits, fancy cars, and private air travel) and marks his victims with (maddeningly random-seeming) four-digit numbers. CIA analyst Quinn Mitchell is tasked with finding a pattern in the Elite Assassin’s seeming madness. How Henrietta Yi is connected, we don’t yet know. Even Quinn Mitchell does not have the clearance. But it will all come together, and oh, how your MIND WILL BE BLOWN.
The characters here are complex. Quinn. Ranveer. Henrietta. They’ve all got their story arcs and come with layers of backstory. Neither of the three is on the page to serve the story’s forward motion as a mere plot device. Instead, they drive the action of the thriller with choices that feel at every point genuine and true to their natures. And, oh, how it elevates this suspense read to something truly spectacular.
Scorpion is going up there among my list of five-star reads and must-read books of 2021.
Bonus: heart-stopping plot twists; time travel (bookies, you know I’m a goner for anything time travel); technology that will make the hearts of physics nerds soar, yet is so flawlessly woven into the narrative that your high-school transcripts don’t need to boast AP physics to massively enjoy what’s happening on the page.
Scorpion is set in a near-future rife with technological advances. Readers quickly find their feet as much of the world looks and feels like our own, and the technology steers clear of anything outlandish. There’s more than one plot string unfolding at once, and I will give you the (spoiler-free) rundown here as succinctly as possible:
Quinn Mitchell is an analyst for the CIA. Not just any analyst, she’s the best CIA Deputy Director Townes has got — although she’s never recovered from the accidental death of her daughter or the splintering of her marriage from a CIA field agent. Henrietta Yi is a brilliant (one-in-a-billion) physicist. Driven by her father’s death in a nuclear attack, she is now working for the CIA (also under Deputy Director Townes) on a top (top!) secret project. What is she doing that could be more important than preventing the next nuclear attack? Attempting to decode messages that appear to have come from the future. Yes, the future. This is a SF thriller, bookies, and one of the best I’ve read. Right up there with Blake Crouch’s Recursion. Okay, final plot string: Ranveer is an assassin (aka the Elite Assassin) who enjoys the good life (swanky hotel suits, fancy cars, and private air travel) and marks his victims with (maddeningly random-seeming) four-digit numbers. CIA analyst Quinn Mitchell is tasked with finding a pattern in the Elite Assassin’s seeming madness. How Henrietta Yi is connected, we don’t yet know. Even Quinn Mitchell does not have the clearance. But it will all come together, and oh, how your MIND WILL BE BLOWN.
The characters here are complex. Quinn. Ranveer. Henrietta. They’ve all got their story arcs and come with layers of backstory. Neither of the three is on the page to serve the story’s forward motion as a mere plot device. Instead, they drive the action of the thriller with choices that feel at every point genuine and true to their natures. And, oh, how it elevates this suspense read to something truly spectacular.
Scorpion is going up there among my list of five-star reads and must-read books of 2021.
Bonus: heart-stopping plot twists; time travel (bookies, you know I’m a goner for anything time travel); technology that will make the hearts of physics nerds soar, yet is so flawlessly woven into the narrative that your high-school transcripts don’t need to boast AP physics to massively enjoy what’s happening on the page.
June 17, 2021
I enjoyed this book as it was a little different to some of the books I’ve read recently. This made a refreshing change. The story was well written and kept me interested all the way through. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.
May 10, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of
Scorpion.
I've never read any of this author's books before but the premise sounded thrilling so I was excited when my request was approved.
** Minor spoilers ahead **
The premise is intriguing; a skillful data analyst, Quinn, is tasked with locating an assassin who is targeting victims that are not associated with one another.
At the same time, a brilliant scientist, Henrietta, is on the verge of a scientific breakthrough that will affect her, Quinn and the assassin's lives in ways she could not have imagined.
Or did she already?
I love mysteries and thrillers but Scorpion is a techno thriller.
It's filled with sci-fi jargon, metaphysics, complicated jargon and language of a futuristic world. It makes up 95% of the narrative.
Character development is decent overall but poor for Quinn.
She's still grieving the loss of her only child in a tragic accident and the end of her marriage.
She's dedicated and good at her job, but there were certain traits about her that was stereotypically cliche , sexist and offensive.
There was a scene where she's trying to glean information about the assassin from a suspect and when she fails in her interrogation, Quinn cries.
Seriously. A middle-aged woman crying in front of a potential informant.
She's been working in the CIA for years and she hasn't grown a thick skin?
She has no idea how to really look for the assassin and the informant needs to give her guidance. Seriously.
I understand she's a pencil pusher, she's always say behind her desk, but come on! I lost respect for her at that point, but not her fault. It's the author's fault for not getting me to like Quinn, or, at least, admire her for her tech-y talents.
That leads me to another issue I had with Quinn being tasked to track the assassin.
She's given no guidance or direction from her superior. She uses all the tech at her disposal and processes gajillions of meta data to locate this elusive individual but no one instructs her on what to look for.
She has to flounder and fumble and bumble her way through the process; she's a office bee, not a field agent.
She doesn't ask anyone for help nor is anyone tasked to assist her?
I found this very hard to believe.
The twist in how Quinn and the assassin are connected is a small part of the narrative and one I guessed early on in the story.
The rest of the narrative about the fancy schmancy gadgets the world is connected to, what the feds use to track everyone and everything, science mumbo jumbo, multiverse mumbo jumbo, cryptocurrency, the clever ways an elite assassin dispatches his victims, the high life he enjoys, the hopscotching across the world he and Quinn partake in chasing one another or vice versa.
I find time travel and the multiverse fascinating and if the story had just focused on that, I would have been more interested in the story.
Scorpion was heavily focused on the technical details of science and technology with unnecessary long descriptions about each.
It got so lengthy I sometimes forgot what the narrative was about.
I don't like techno thrillers but it's okay to get out of your comfort zone sometimes. If you're looking for something different, give this a try but it wasn't for me.
I've never read any of this author's books before but the premise sounded thrilling so I was excited when my request was approved.
** Minor spoilers ahead **
The premise is intriguing; a skillful data analyst, Quinn, is tasked with locating an assassin who is targeting victims that are not associated with one another.
At the same time, a brilliant scientist, Henrietta, is on the verge of a scientific breakthrough that will affect her, Quinn and the assassin's lives in ways she could not have imagined.
Or did she already?
I love mysteries and thrillers but Scorpion is a techno thriller.
It's filled with sci-fi jargon, metaphysics, complicated jargon and language of a futuristic world. It makes up 95% of the narrative.
Character development is decent overall but poor for Quinn.
She's still grieving the loss of her only child in a tragic accident and the end of her marriage.
She's dedicated and good at her job, but there were certain traits about her that was stereotypically cliche , sexist and offensive.
There was a scene where she's trying to glean information about the assassin from a suspect and when she fails in her interrogation, Quinn cries.
Seriously. A middle-aged woman crying in front of a potential informant.
She's been working in the CIA for years and she hasn't grown a thick skin?
She has no idea how to really look for the assassin and the informant needs to give her guidance. Seriously.
I understand she's a pencil pusher, she's always say behind her desk, but come on! I lost respect for her at that point, but not her fault. It's the author's fault for not getting me to like Quinn, or, at least, admire her for her tech-y talents.
That leads me to another issue I had with Quinn being tasked to track the assassin.
She's given no guidance or direction from her superior. She uses all the tech at her disposal and processes gajillions of meta data to locate this elusive individual but no one instructs her on what to look for.
She has to flounder and fumble and bumble her way through the process; she's a office bee, not a field agent.
She doesn't ask anyone for help nor is anyone tasked to assist her?
I found this very hard to believe.
The twist in how Quinn and the assassin are connected is a small part of the narrative and one I guessed early on in the story.
The rest of the narrative about the fancy schmancy gadgets the world is connected to, what the feds use to track everyone and everything, science mumbo jumbo, multiverse mumbo jumbo, cryptocurrency, the clever ways an elite assassin dispatches his victims, the high life he enjoys, the hopscotching across the world he and Quinn partake in chasing one another or vice versa.
I find time travel and the multiverse fascinating and if the story had just focused on that, I would have been more interested in the story.
Scorpion was heavily focused on the technical details of science and technology with unnecessary long descriptions about each.
It got so lengthy I sometimes forgot what the narrative was about.
I don't like techno thrillers but it's okay to get out of your comfort zone sometimes. If you're looking for something different, give this a try but it wasn't for me.
June 10, 2021
I would desribe the book as Science Fiction Noir.
Let's meet some characters:
-Henryk "is bald, stocky, tatooed, and has a jaw that looks like it would shatter your fist long before it would succumb to dislocation or fracturing." "He also has a mouth of a sailor with a raging case of gonorrhea." And long drives make him, "stiff as a morning boner."
-Kira "does not even bother dressing beyond underwear, a tank top, and her aviator-style metaspecs." Like all women, I am sure. ;)
-Quinn "had a shape and perkiness to her that drew plenty of looks when she was out walking or bending down to scoop up a pile of leaves."
I wasn't expecting literary fiction, but the writing style is cringe worthy. I stopped keeping track of the lines that made me roll my eyes after 70 pages, there were just too many. Even if you are just looking for a light, page-turning beach read, it does not deliver. The pacing of the story is off. The book is in parts along with the chapters, but it does not help with the flow. The ending is well set up for a sequel which I surely will NOT read. I wish I hadn't read this one.
Let's meet some characters:
-Henryk "is bald, stocky, tatooed, and has a jaw that looks like it would shatter your fist long before it would succumb to dislocation or fracturing." "He also has a mouth of a sailor with a raging case of gonorrhea." And long drives make him, "stiff as a morning boner."
-Kira "does not even bother dressing beyond underwear, a tank top, and her aviator-style metaspecs." Like all women, I am sure. ;)
-Quinn "had a shape and perkiness to her that drew plenty of looks when she was out walking or bending down to scoop up a pile of leaves."
I wasn't expecting literary fiction, but the writing style is cringe worthy. I stopped keeping track of the lines that made me roll my eyes after 70 pages, there were just too many. Even if you are just looking for a light, page-turning beach read, it does not deliver. The pacing of the story is off. The book is in parts along with the chapters, but it does not help with the flow. The ending is well set up for a sequel which I surely will NOT read. I wish I hadn't read this one.
August 14, 2021
‘Quinn Mitchell is a nine-to-five spy—an intelligence analyst for the CIA during the day, and a suburban wife and mother on evenings and weekends. After her young daughter is killed in a tragic accident, sending her life into a tailspin, Quinn hopes to find a new start in her latest assignment: investigating a series of bizarre international assassinations whose victims have been found with numeric codes tattooed, burned, or carved into their flesh.’
If you’re a fan of In-Depth Mind-Bending Techno-Thrillers (Yes, Please!), then I think you’re going to like SCORPION, the first book that I have read by Christian Cantrell, and most definitely NOT the last.
I have to say; I really like how Henrietta is portrayed in the book—the childlike innocence coupled with a weeeeeeee bit more to her character (Sorry, no spoilers) that honestly had me glued to the pages.
Now, which Cantrell do I read next? Most likely, CONTAINMENT, though I am open to suggestions.
Thank you, NetGalley and Random House, for loaning me an eBook of SCORPION in the request of an honest review.
If you’re a fan of In-Depth Mind-Bending Techno-Thrillers (Yes, Please!), then I think you’re going to like SCORPION, the first book that I have read by Christian Cantrell, and most definitely NOT the last.
I have to say; I really like how Henrietta is portrayed in the book—the childlike innocence coupled with a weeeeeeee bit more to her character (Sorry, no spoilers) that honestly had me glued to the pages.
Now, which Cantrell do I read next? Most likely, CONTAINMENT, though I am open to suggestions.
Thank you, NetGalley and Random House, for loaning me an eBook of SCORPION in the request of an honest review.
January 11, 2023
Excellent techno-thriller with elements of sci-fi and time travel.
February 14, 2023
I enjoyed the ____ out of this. It's super complex and full of suspense. A really smart, original action-sciency-thriller.
July 18, 2022
i didn't really understand the ending but there were some enjoyable twists in here
June 2, 2021
6/1/2021 3.5 stars. Full review tk at TheFrumiousConsortium.net.
6/2/2021 What if Christopher Nolan's Tenet was less in love with itself and the magic of cinematography, and just decided to tell a more interesting story? That's basically what you have here with Christian Cantrell's Scorpion, as a CIA analyst discovers that a serial assassin she's been pursuing might have far stranger motivations than she'd ever dreamed.
Quinn Mitchell is one of American intelligence's finest minds, but her personal life has gone to hell. After the death of her young daughter and the subsequent implosion of her marriage, her entire life is devoted to work, seeking to protect the world from the nuclear terrorism that, in this novel, wiped out Seoul some years earlier. As is the way with government-funded agencies, her taskforce has become so successful that it's no longer deemed necessary. Thus Quinn is given a brand new assignment: analyze the data behind a string of bizarre murders worldwide, all differing in method and type of victim but linked by the presence of a 4-digit number marked on each corpse by the killer.
In this she's aided by her new boss' main Tech Guy, the brilliant if complicated Henrietta Yi. Henrietta left academia after making a major discovery at the Large Hadron Collider, and joined the CIA out of a desire to use what she found to help prevent more of the disasters that claimed her parents' lives. But the more she learns about her boss' designs, the more she wants out, and soon she and Quinn are engaged in a deadly dance through time and space to do what each woman believes will save the world.
This was kind of a weird book that I feel meant well, with great diversity and representation, yet came across to me as deeply unsympathetic to its main characters despite going through the motions of propping them up as Strong Female Characters. Quinn and Henrietta both lean heavily on the sociopathic end of the spectrum -- which I usually think makes for great reading! -- but Henrietta's story, at least, petered out in a way that felt more confusing than otherwise, especially since the bit about the tags in Quinn's breast after her cancer treatment was never fully explained. Despite having so many similar points of interest in common with the main characters -- motherhood! Pokemon collecting! being too smart for my own good! -- I felt like they were less fully rounded people than collections of quirks in a skin suit. A large part of this may be due to how rushed the ending chapters felt. I still don't understand Quinn's change of heart, and am hoping it's not just because she realized that she really hates her dad.
Time travel narratives are always difficult tho, so if you like a bit of Day Of The Jackal hijinks thrown in to your sci-fi, with the romance levels dialed down to low, then you could do much worse than this intriguing genre mash-up. It's 100% better a use of your time than watching Tenet, anyway (which I had to do for Hugo voting this year, so thanks for nothing, fellow Hugo nominators.)
Scorpion by Christian Cantrell was published May 25 2021 and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!
6/2/2021 What if Christopher Nolan's Tenet was less in love with itself and the magic of cinematography, and just decided to tell a more interesting story? That's basically what you have here with Christian Cantrell's Scorpion, as a CIA analyst discovers that a serial assassin she's been pursuing might have far stranger motivations than she'd ever dreamed.
Quinn Mitchell is one of American intelligence's finest minds, but her personal life has gone to hell. After the death of her young daughter and the subsequent implosion of her marriage, her entire life is devoted to work, seeking to protect the world from the nuclear terrorism that, in this novel, wiped out Seoul some years earlier. As is the way with government-funded agencies, her taskforce has become so successful that it's no longer deemed necessary. Thus Quinn is given a brand new assignment: analyze the data behind a string of bizarre murders worldwide, all differing in method and type of victim but linked by the presence of a 4-digit number marked on each corpse by the killer.
In this she's aided by her new boss' main Tech Guy, the brilliant if complicated Henrietta Yi. Henrietta left academia after making a major discovery at the Large Hadron Collider, and joined the CIA out of a desire to use what she found to help prevent more of the disasters that claimed her parents' lives. But the more she learns about her boss' designs, the more she wants out, and soon she and Quinn are engaged in a deadly dance through time and space to do what each woman believes will save the world.
This was kind of a weird book that I feel meant well, with great diversity and representation, yet came across to me as deeply unsympathetic to its main characters despite going through the motions of propping them up as Strong Female Characters. Quinn and Henrietta both lean heavily on the sociopathic end of the spectrum -- which I usually think makes for great reading! -- but Henrietta's story, at least, petered out in a way that felt more confusing than otherwise, especially since the bit about the tags in Quinn's breast after her cancer treatment was never fully explained. Despite having so many similar points of interest in common with the main characters -- motherhood! Pokemon collecting! being too smart for my own good! -- I felt like they were less fully rounded people than collections of quirks in a skin suit. A large part of this may be due to how rushed the ending chapters felt. I still don't understand Quinn's change of heart, and am hoping it's not just because she realized that she really hates her dad.
Time travel narratives are always difficult tho, so if you like a bit of Day Of The Jackal hijinks thrown in to your sci-fi, with the romance levels dialed down to low, then you could do much worse than this intriguing genre mash-up. It's 100% better a use of your time than watching Tenet, anyway (which I had to do for Hugo voting this year, so thanks for nothing, fellow Hugo nominators.)
Scorpion by Christian Cantrell was published May 25 2021 and is available from all good booksellers, including Bookshop!
July 17, 2022
This book is listed as time travel in Goodreads and technically there is talk of time travel at the end and a quick these things will happen but there is no actual time travel happening throughout the book there is something relevant to the story that is the result of time travel though. So I would consider this a future thriller with elements of time travel not a time travel book. As a near future thriller its a good one. Our protagonist is a FBI agent who is chasing a serial killer who is killing people and leaving a number behind on the bodies. About half way through the book the story veers in a completely different direction, there is some time that is laying the groundwork but in a bit of a muddled way IMO we then get to the final act and the book ends way too soon as far as I am concerned.
March 6, 2021
Fast paced, suspenseful read, full of very strong characters. I had to put this book down few times as events/characters were just a little too much for me! Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good thing, I’m just not used to having such strong emotions towards the contents when it comes to thrillers.
Talk about unexpected plot twist and the most unlikely suspect! When I read thrillers, I always pick a person who sounds as the most innocent one and keep them as the main suspect... And yet, I could not get this one right! Disappointed with myself, but well done to the author for coming up with such great storyline!
Talk about unexpected plot twist and the most unlikely suspect! When I read thrillers, I always pick a person who sounds as the most innocent one and keep them as the main suspect... And yet, I could not get this one right! Disappointed with myself, but well done to the author for coming up with such great storyline!
May 17, 2021
A CIA analyst gets in on over her head when tasked to find the most prolific and mysterious murderer ever chased. But who is doing the hunting and who is the hunted?
Really smart techno thriller with a time travel wrinkle that still has heart. So many great twists and scientifically interesting plot points! It’s hard not to spoil the novel so I’ll just give you this: you’ll never see the hits, and they just keep coming.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the widget and the chance to review this awesome book. These opinions are my own.
Really smart techno thriller with a time travel wrinkle that still has heart. So many great twists and scientifically interesting plot points! It’s hard not to spoil the novel so I’ll just give you this: you’ll never see the hits, and they just keep coming.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the widget and the chance to review this awesome book. These opinions are my own.
July 6, 2021
Made it to 17% before realising my brain had stopped even trying to process the excessive and tedious geekery. Techno-thrillers should certainly have some techno in them, but they should also have thrills. And do top-class hotels really lay on beautiful female staff members for their male clients to paw, or is that simply a male fantasy? Even in the 1970s fantasies about bikini-clad long-haired beauties performing yoga for the titillation of rich men would have seemed a little passé. In 2021, it makes me feel bilious...
October 20, 2021
A must-have work for Sci-Fi lovers. The reading it's something so harmonious and so clever. There are no inconsistencies and the plot develops very well. The characters were smartly designed and the author was truly effective to take the reader's attention. I felt a bit of difficulty with certain words cuz my local language isn't the English. The title it's very suggestive, and it makes perfect sense. Here is a great work and surely I'll always indicate. Congrats Christian Cantrell. Amazing work.
August 15, 2022
What type of book is this? Well, it's a spy thriller, set in the near future. But then during the last third, it becomes something else.....bits of time travel, and some cerebral sci-fi stuff. That sounds like a recipe for my ideal book. Alas, I probably read this at the wrong time: busy at work and busy at play....so little time to really push on through with reading larger chunks. So, with only reading 10 pages each night, I became a little lost at times....my bad. This book probably deserves a better reader than me, rather than the other way around...
July 18, 2024
a little bit of tenet, a little bit a looper, nicely paced and not overly complicated for the sake of being a ~techno thriller~
I rarely say this but would love a sequel to this
I rarely say this but would love a sequel to this
March 11, 2022
Der Roman spielt in unserer nahen Zukunft, in der es einige technische Fortschritte gibt. Protagonistin ist Quinn Mitchell, die bisher bei der CIA im Bereich Terrorismus als Analytikerin beschäftigt war. Aufgrund ihrer überragenden Fähigkeiten wird sie jedoch mit einer neuen Aufgabe betreut: Sie soll einen Serienmörder finden, der scheinbar wahllos und zum Teil mit sehr ungewöhnlichen Methoden Menschen aller Altersklassen tötet. Für Quinn, die es gewohnt ist, ausschließlich vom PC zu arbeiten, ist die neue Aufgabe eine Herausforderung, muss sie dazu doch auch dem Serienmörder nachreisen und Verdächtige befragen.
Das Setting in der nahen Zukunft fügt sich nahtlos in die Handlung ein und wirkte für mich nachvollziehbar und nicht zu unrealistisch. Einige Technologien spielen in der Handlung auch eine Rolle, z.B. die Virtuell-Reality-Brillen, die als Ergänzung zum Smartphone eingesetzt werden. Aber auch die Recherche- und Analysemethoden von Quinn wirkten teilweise fortschrittlicher als bei uns heute. Wobei ich natürlich wenig zur Ausstattung der CIA sagen kann.
Quinn als Protagonistin fand ich in Ordnung, wenn auch stellenweise etwas anstrengend. Vor einigen Jahren ist ihre Tochter bei einem Unfall gestorben, woran ihre Ehe zerbrochen ist. Immer wieder quält Quinn sich mit Gedanken an früher und sehnt sich ihre Beziehung zu ihrem Ex-Mann zurück. Ihr Verhalten empfand ich des Öfteren als krankhaft - eine Trauerbewältigungstherapie hätte ihr gut getan. Zudem überfordert sie die neue Aufgabe häufig, weshalb Quinn z.B. in einer Szene vor einem Verdächtigen in Tränen ausbricht, weil der auf ihre Verhörmethode nicht anspringt. In anderen Situationen ist sie dann wiederum souverän und weiß, wonach sie sucht und wie sie dahin gelangen kann. Irgendwo passte ihr wankender Charakter ins Gesamtbild, aber einfach macht sie es dem Lesenden nicht gerade...
Neben Quinn wechselt die Erzählung regelmäßig zu Ranveer, über den man erst nach und nach mehr erfährt. Hier will ich nicht spoilern, daher nur so viel: Ranveers Motive bleiben lange im Dunkeln, weshalb ich lange gebraucht habe, um irgendeine Bindung zu ihm aufzubauen.
Die Handlung selbst fing extrem spannend mit einem der Morde an. Die Suche nach dem Täter fand ich dann auch weiterhin interessant und mit der nötigen Dramatik. Wobei in einer Szene ein Baby ermordet wird - nichts für zartbesaitete und meiner Meinung nach hätte man die Szene auch gut weglassen können. Zum Ende hin nimmt die Handlung dann allerdings eine Wendung, die sicherlich Geschmackssache ist. Es geht dabei um den titelgebenden Zeitindex. Mir wurde es etwas zu abgehoben und - ohne zu viel zu verraten - der ethische Aspekt des Zeitindex bzw. wie er genutzt wird, wurde mir viel zu oberflächlich behandelt. Das hat das Romanende für mich etwas kaputt gemacht.
Insgesamt ist "Der Zeitindex" jedoch ein spannender Thriller in der nahen Zukunft, in der technologischer Fortschritt eine große Rolle spielt.
Ich habe den Roman als Hörbuch gehört. Die Sprecherin passte gut zu Quinn als Charakter und las äußerst kurzweilig vor.
Das Setting in der nahen Zukunft fügt sich nahtlos in die Handlung ein und wirkte für mich nachvollziehbar und nicht zu unrealistisch. Einige Technologien spielen in der Handlung auch eine Rolle, z.B. die Virtuell-Reality-Brillen, die als Ergänzung zum Smartphone eingesetzt werden. Aber auch die Recherche- und Analysemethoden von Quinn wirkten teilweise fortschrittlicher als bei uns heute. Wobei ich natürlich wenig zur Ausstattung der CIA sagen kann.
Quinn als Protagonistin fand ich in Ordnung, wenn auch stellenweise etwas anstrengend. Vor einigen Jahren ist ihre Tochter bei einem Unfall gestorben, woran ihre Ehe zerbrochen ist. Immer wieder quält Quinn sich mit Gedanken an früher und sehnt sich ihre Beziehung zu ihrem Ex-Mann zurück. Ihr Verhalten empfand ich des Öfteren als krankhaft - eine Trauerbewältigungstherapie hätte ihr gut getan. Zudem überfordert sie die neue Aufgabe häufig, weshalb Quinn z.B. in einer Szene vor einem Verdächtigen in Tränen ausbricht, weil der auf ihre Verhörmethode nicht anspringt. In anderen Situationen ist sie dann wiederum souverän und weiß, wonach sie sucht und wie sie dahin gelangen kann. Irgendwo passte ihr wankender Charakter ins Gesamtbild, aber einfach macht sie es dem Lesenden nicht gerade...
Neben Quinn wechselt die Erzählung regelmäßig zu Ranveer, über den man erst nach und nach mehr erfährt. Hier will ich nicht spoilern, daher nur so viel: Ranveers Motive bleiben lange im Dunkeln, weshalb ich lange gebraucht habe, um irgendeine Bindung zu ihm aufzubauen.
Die Handlung selbst fing extrem spannend mit einem der Morde an. Die Suche nach dem Täter fand ich dann auch weiterhin interessant und mit der nötigen Dramatik. Wobei in einer Szene ein Baby ermordet wird - nichts für zartbesaitete und meiner Meinung nach hätte man die Szene auch gut weglassen können. Zum Ende hin nimmt die Handlung dann allerdings eine Wendung, die sicherlich Geschmackssache ist. Es geht dabei um den titelgebenden Zeitindex. Mir wurde es etwas zu abgehoben und - ohne zu viel zu verraten - der ethische Aspekt des Zeitindex bzw. wie er genutzt wird, wurde mir viel zu oberflächlich behandelt. Das hat das Romanende für mich etwas kaputt gemacht.
Insgesamt ist "Der Zeitindex" jedoch ein spannender Thriller in der nahen Zukunft, in der technologischer Fortschritt eine große Rolle spielt.
Ich habe den Roman als Hörbuch gehört. Die Sprecherin passte gut zu Quinn als Charakter und las äußerst kurzweilig vor.
December 20, 2021
Quinn Mitchell ist eine der besten Analystinnen der CIA. Normalerweise ist sie Herrin über eine Vielzahl an Netzwerken und Skripten. Doch ihr Vorgesetzter hat andere Pläne mit ihr: Sie soll den sogenannten Elite-Killer fangen. Seine Opfer scheinen wahllos. Seine Signatur sind vierstellige Zahlen. Sein Ziel? Bisher unbekannt. Bis Quinn die Zusammenhänge erkennt...
"Der Zeitindex" ist mein erster Roman von Christian Cantrell und hat mir insgesamt gut gefallen. Die Jagd auf einen Killer, der sich scheinbar nicht an Zeit und Raum halten muss, ist spannend und mitreißend.
Zu Beginn hielt ich die Story für arg durchsichtig. Die Ermittlerin Quinn Mitchell kam dem Killer schnell auf die Schliche. Was sollte da noch kommen?, dachte ich. Und dann enthüllte der Autor eine weitere Ebene seiner Geschichte, auf die ich zwar vorbereitet war, die ich aber so nicht erwartet hatte. Dieser Twist hat mir richtig gut gefallen.
Leider wird die Story in der zweiten Hälfte oberflächlicher und Hintergründe werden kaum beleuchtet. Das fand ich zwar schade, es trübte aber kaum meinen Lesespaß.
Insgesamt ist der Roman ein in Papier (oder digitale Buchstaben) gegossenes Popcorn-Hollywood-Action-Kino. Genau das richtige für Winterabende!
"Der Zeitindex" ist mein erster Roman von Christian Cantrell und hat mir insgesamt gut gefallen. Die Jagd auf einen Killer, der sich scheinbar nicht an Zeit und Raum halten muss, ist spannend und mitreißend.
Zu Beginn hielt ich die Story für arg durchsichtig. Die Ermittlerin Quinn Mitchell kam dem Killer schnell auf die Schliche. Was sollte da noch kommen?, dachte ich. Und dann enthüllte der Autor eine weitere Ebene seiner Geschichte, auf die ich zwar vorbereitet war, die ich aber so nicht erwartet hatte. Dieser Twist hat mir richtig gut gefallen.
Leider wird die Story in der zweiten Hälfte oberflächlicher und Hintergründe werden kaum beleuchtet. Das fand ich zwar schade, es trübte aber kaum meinen Lesespaß.
Insgesamt ist der Roman ein in Papier (oder digitale Buchstaben) gegossenes Popcorn-Hollywood-Action-Kino. Genau das richtige für Winterabende!
June 9, 2022
Ach Mensch, das klang wirklich interessant. Ich habe einen spannenden Sci-Fi-Thriller erwartet und bekommen habe ich einen Krimi mit ein paar Sci-Fi-Elementen. Ne, ich habe bei der Geschichte etwas völlig anders erwartet, sowieso hatte ich Probleme, eine richtige Geschichte zu erkennen, die mich fesseln konnte.
Es gab 1-2 solide ausgearbeitete Charaktere, was nicht zuletzt daran lag, dass wir viel über sie und die Vergangenheit erfahren, was ein wenig Dramatik reingebracht, aber etwas Tempo rausgenommen hat. Spannung? Nur an wenigen Stellen, die dann aber leider etwas zu viel des Guten waren oder schnell verpufft sind.
Mir hat dieser Techno-Thriller leider - trotz gutem Schreibstil und wirklich guter Ideen - nicht gefallen. Sicherlich kein schlechtes Buch - aber leider absolut nicht meins
Es gab 1-2 solide ausgearbeitete Charaktere, was nicht zuletzt daran lag, dass wir viel über sie und die Vergangenheit erfahren, was ein wenig Dramatik reingebracht, aber etwas Tempo rausgenommen hat. Spannung? Nur an wenigen Stellen, die dann aber leider etwas zu viel des Guten waren oder schnell verpufft sind.
Mir hat dieser Techno-Thriller leider - trotz gutem Schreibstil und wirklich guter Ideen - nicht gefallen. Sicherlich kein schlechtes Buch - aber leider absolut nicht meins
August 29, 2021
Interesting premise, awful characters. I'm not quite sure how to describe this book, think of the movie Tenet (and just as confusing) only with unlikeable, banal characters from some bad sitcom. The author somehow believes trauma, motherhood, and crying at the drop of the hat makes for an interesting female protagonist. As for the other characters, the overly slick assassin that is into yoga and Japanese genius obsessed with pokemon, are such bad stereotypes that the editors of this book did the author a disservice by apparently giving him little feedback.
Do not recommend. If you want some techno spy thriller, save yourself some time and go watch Tenet or better yet, something with a far better female lead like the tv show Alias.
Do not recommend. If you want some techno spy thriller, save yourself some time and go watch Tenet or better yet, something with a far better female lead like the tv show Alias.
April 18, 2021
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for sharing this ARC. This is definitely great for fans of books like Blake Crouch’s Recursion. For me, not so much. I found the time travel and science much too dense to really understand. Fast plotting though, centered on a CIA agent chasing an assassin, up until about the 1/2 way point, but after that I mainly felt confused and kept reading in the hope I would eventually be able to understand better, but it didn’t happen.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 177 reviews