The Beacon

by Valerie J. Freireich

Stefan Acari, the presiding judge of the vast network governing future Earth, uncovers an insidious plot hatched by his closest associates and abetted by mysterious aliens claiming to be human

Genres: Science Fiction

96 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Valerie Freireich is a business attorney, concentrating her practice in secured lending and banking law, with a particular emphasis on commercial real estate and proficiency in general business matters.

In addition to lending institutions, representative clients include businesses and real estate investors. Valerie serves on the firm's professional education committee. She also writes professionally and has had four science fiction novels published, in addition to 15 short stories.

She and her husband have one son, who holds a post-doctorate appointment at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, following the 2009 granting of a Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University.

Reviews

[Rain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very different to her Becoming Human trilogy - the Beacon is more of a standard genre sci-fi political thriller, rather than speculative sci-fi philosophical treatise on humanity. It loses a point for taking a bit too long to get to the finale, and being a little too predictable with the character of the Judge.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, set in a different locale/time than Becoming Human and {book: Testament], was interesting but not as good as these other two books. I liked the two main characters, the Judge and Beatrice, but the story wasn't as satisfying as the author's other works. It's worth a read, but probably from a library first, buying a copy if you liked it a lot.