Streaking

by Brian M. Stableford

For hundreds of years the male members of the Kilcannon family have considered themselves beneficiaries of distortions in the statistical distribution of chance, associating their most fortunate windfalls with visual distortions they call "streaks." Canny Kilcannon is unsure as to how far he can go in tempting fate. Then he meets Lissa Lo, the female beneficiary of a similar centuries-old streak of luck. Lissa suggests that they attempt the ultimate biological experiment to test the boundaries of their gift. Can they succeed? Or will they bring down upon their heads the curse of "black lightning" about which both of their traditions warn.

Genres: Science Fiction

300 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2005

About the author

Brian Michael Stableford was a British science fiction writer who published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped the middle initial and appeared under the name Brian Stableford. He also used the pseudonym Brian Craig for a couple of very early works, and again for a few more recent works. The pseudonym derives from the first names of himself and of a school friend from the 1960s, Craig A. Mackintosh, with whom he jointly published some very early work.

Reviews

[David Hambling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly, one of Stableford's weaker books -- the interesting central idea (of inherited luck and the implications for biology) is buried under a ton of slow dialog and paper-thin characterisations. A supermodel, football star and English butler are all played straight to stereotype and the thing never really takes off.

Won't stop me reading more of his work though as I know he can do so much better.