The Mocking Program - Alan Dean Foster Book Review

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Review Summary

Warner Aspect, Aug 2002, 24.95, 279 pp.
ISBN: 0446527742

For Police Inspector Angel Cardenas another murdered body along the Montezuma Strip is the norm as an area as industrialized as what was once the Mexican-American border always has crime. However, this time the corpse contains a few problems that are abnormal as the remains contains few organs beyond the worthless heart and the victim's DNA matches the identifications of a local executive and a Texas businessman.

Angel visits the reported home of the victim only to barely escape a bomb blast. The two female occupants, an alleged wife and daughter, are missing. Other more unsavory types also seek the adult female and the preadolescent child as they turn out to be the ex-wife and twelve-year-old daughter of a crime lord. Using classic police techniques aided by telepathic intuit abilities, Angel investigates the homicide while searching for the two vanished individuals that he believes may be the next victims.

Alan Dean Foster is the modern day Renaissance writer, as his abilities seem to have no genre boundaries. His latest tale is a tremendous futuristic police procedural science fiction novel that grips the audience from the beginning when Angel looks at the corpse until the very final twist. The story line is loaded with action, contains interwoven elements that insure the audience knows the plot occurs in a future decade, but never loses sight of the who-done-it investigation. Angel is a great protagonist, who hopefully will star in a sequel, as THE MOCKING PROGRAM is a triumph that speculative fiction and mystery fans will fully appreciate.

Harriet Klausner

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Detailed literary breakdown of The Mocking Program

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 10%

Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Spying & Investigations Yes
What is main char. doing? - finding a killer (criminal)
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - police/lawman
Age: - 20's-30's
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
Earth setting: - near future (later in 21st century)
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - an average amount of scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - mostly dialog

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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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