Second Childhood

by Donna McMahon

In this long-awaited sequel to "Dance of Knives," Simon Lau has been rescued from Vancouver's underground and smuggled to a remote cabin in hopes that time, peace, and the beauty of a natural paradise will heal his sanity. And when he makes a most unexpected and delightful new friend, it looks like healing may triumph over old terror and rage. But Simon is running out of time. Enemies from the Vancouver tongs have arrived in nearby Campbell River aboard the casino ship Empress of Vancouver. And the notorious Dr. Smith, an expert on bioalterations and reprogramming, is in hot pursuit of Simon and the rumoured fortune of his former owner, the blackmailer Choi. Still worse, the one person Simon trusts-his therapist, Toni-is losing her grip, as working with Simon raises demons from her own bitter past. And Simon is still haunted by the vindictive ghost of Choi, who will not hesitate to destroy everything. Second Childhood is set on 22nd century Cortes Island, which remains a natural jewel in Cascadia's inland sea.

Genres: Science Fiction

372 pages, Paperback

First published April 2, 2010

Reviews

[Maya Morikawa · Rating 4 out of 5]

great

still kept me interested,but the end started to fade.Can Simon exist without Choi?And definately not wise to have a love interest in his life.Hoping for the rest of the story but couldn't find it.

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should start by saying that I've known the author personally for many years, so my review of this one could be a little biased. I didn't find this one quite as enjoyable as its prequel Dance of Knives. It's a slower book than the first one, more of a character study and unfortunately some of the characters whom I really enjoyed in the first novel either don't make an appearance or a reduced to mere background characters.

[Clint Budd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a riveting read. It' set in a postapocalyptic world in 2108. Vancouver has been battered by climate change, sea level rise, global ecological and economic collapse, and the Big Quake, but Cascadia's new society and economy is also an island of resilience and hope in a ravaged world.
Following closely on the events of Dance of Knives, we follow the incredible, action-packed transformation of Simon, the personality fragment, into a whole person.