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Radiants #2
Invasives
"Loved INVASIVES ! Each book in the series is better than the last!" —Faith Hunter, NYT and USA Today bestselling author of the Jane Yellowrock series "A thoroughly engrossing and involving entry that no series fan will want to miss." — Kirkus Reviews on DEAD MAN'S REACH Drowse is homeless, a runaway. A Radiant. Together with her "family," Bat and Mako, she lives in the subway tunnels below New York City, surviving on the money they earn selling stolen goods. But when the discovery of a murder victim's wallet exposes her to other Radiants and the schemes of the most powerful financiers in the world—her new life is threatened. Pursued by assassins and wanted by the police, she can run, or she can fight back. And she's not about to run. Until now, she's had no idea just how powerful she might be. Neither have the people who want her dead. Author David B. Coe is the award-winning author of more than two dozen novels and as many short stories, spanning historical fiction, epic fantasy, contemporary fantasy, and the occasional media tie-in. His novels have been translated into more than a dozen languages. He lives with his family in the mountains of Appalachia.
- GenresFantasy
ebook
Published February 18, 2022
About the author
David B. Coe
67 books261 followersDavid B. Coe is an author of fantasy novels and short stories. He lives with his wife, Nancy Berner, and their two daughters on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee.
He has begun writing a new historical fantasy series under the pen name D.B. Jackson. The first one is titled Thieftaker, published in 2012.
He has begun writing a new historical fantasy series under the pen name D.B. Jackson. The first one is titled Thieftaker, published in 2012.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 27, 2022
I enjoyed the first book in the series (Radiants), particularly the worldbuilding and thriller aspects, as well as the family dynamic. It's a short, enjoyable thriller well worth the read (even though its sequel can be read on its own). This book improves upon all of it, and I found the found family and their struggles to be more engaging and believable than the biological family unit from the first book.
Here the family is made up of three homeless youths who joined together in the subway tunnels of NYC. Drowse is a runaway, Mako a former gang member who left that life, and Bat is a blind young man whose secret past is quite haunting and sad. Together they steal to get by.
One day, Drowse finds a lost wallet that turns out to be from a murder victim. She uses her CORE powers to help her family sell the credit cards, and she and Bat investigate the contents of a thumb drive hidden in the wallet, which leads to a discovery that kicks off this thriller.
In the first book, Coe sets up how world powers would use and exploit COREs (people with magical abilities like levitation, electrical manipulation, mind-reading, etc.). In Invasives, he takes the next logical step by showing how capitalism might exploit COREs for nefarious gains. In this case, it's the manipulation of commodity markets that Drowse and Bat find on the thumb drive. But they feel that they can't just take it to the police given that they're criminals themselves, and have already profited from the rest of the wallet's contents.
High stakes are naturally tied into big money interests, and those that are willing to blatantly disregard the law for wealth believably have no problem hurting or killing the homeless or petty criminals within the world that this found family calls home. Drowse and her family are soon hunted by assassins, with CORE powers of their own, through NYC and its labyrinth subway system.
I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, particularly getting into the heads of Bat & Drowse along with some other denizens of the underground. The motivations were well grounded, the villains understandable and threatening, and the climax superb.
Highly recommended!
Here the family is made up of three homeless youths who joined together in the subway tunnels of NYC. Drowse is a runaway, Mako a former gang member who left that life, and Bat is a blind young man whose secret past is quite haunting and sad. Together they steal to get by.
One day, Drowse finds a lost wallet that turns out to be from a murder victim. She uses her CORE powers to help her family sell the credit cards, and she and Bat investigate the contents of a thumb drive hidden in the wallet, which leads to a discovery that kicks off this thriller.
In the first book, Coe sets up how world powers would use and exploit COREs (people with magical abilities like levitation, electrical manipulation, mind-reading, etc.). In Invasives, he takes the next logical step by showing how capitalism might exploit COREs for nefarious gains. In this case, it's the manipulation of commodity markets that Drowse and Bat find on the thumb drive. But they feel that they can't just take it to the police given that they're criminals themselves, and have already profited from the rest of the wallet's contents.
High stakes are naturally tied into big money interests, and those that are willing to blatantly disregard the law for wealth believably have no problem hurting or killing the homeless or petty criminals within the world that this found family calls home. Drowse and her family are soon hunted by assassins, with CORE powers of their own, through NYC and its labyrinth subway system.
I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, particularly getting into the heads of Bat & Drowse along with some other denizens of the underground. The motivations were well grounded, the villains understandable and threatening, and the climax superb.
Highly recommended!
June 19, 2023
I loved this second entry into the CORES universe. the characters are deep, the story intriguing and the world building is subtle yet fascinating. I can't wait for more entries in this series
May 12, 2023
I can always count on David B. Coe to write a book that absorbs me from beginning to end. Invasives is no different. Although it's the second book in the Radiants series, this is a stand-alone story. The devastation of the life Drowse is living with her found family of Bat and Mako pulled me in so quickly. Even though the world these 3 inhabit is frightening, it's revealed in a manner that makes it real and not horrific. The danger is truly real, and you know something will go wrong. The question is when and who can Drowse trust. So many highs and lows in this story. It's a wonderful example of great storytelling!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews