Manta's Gift - Timothy Zahn Book Review

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Review Summaries

" Tor, Sep 2002, 24.95, 432 pp. ISBN: 031287829X Jakob Faraday is part of an expedition exploring Jupiter when intelligent animals Qanska apparently attack his Skydiver 7 bathyscaph. Jakob fears his vessel will be crushed, but he fortunately escapes back to the mother ship. Twenty years later, the Five Hundred fund a project involving Matt Raimey, a quadriplegic due to a skiing accident, to be placed inside the womb of a Qanska. When Matt is reborn, he will retain his human consciousness inside the body of a Qanska. Thus Matt, who felt he had nothing to live for before this opportunity, would serve as a bridge between the two species. As the Five Hundred and the Qanska each have hidden agendas, Matt now known as Manta, finds himself pulled in two directions that test his loyalty to his former life and to his current family. MANTA'S GIFT is an action-packed futuristic tale that also coaxes the reader into deep thinking about biological issues that are not easily resolved unless you are a die hard a democrat or a republican. The key characters make the worlds of the future seem real, but especially critical is that the audience believes the human Matt essence was indeed reborn as the Qanska Manta. The criticality works as the conscience center of the novel that leads to the audience wondering what the biological possibilities of today's technology can achieve tomorrow. When creative Timothy Zahn goes for all out action, he succeeds with a powerful adventure, but also takes the audience away from the biological debate that makes this a gift to those fans who relish a thinking terse thriller. Harriet Klausner "
Harriet Klausner, Resident Timothy Zahn Scholar

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Overall Review

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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 - 50%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 10%

Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story Yes
Plotlets: - generally friendly contact with alien(s)
Inner Struggle Yes
Plotlet: - coping with mental/magical powers
Lifeform altered? Yes
Kind of alteration: - Scientifically turned into another lifeform
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male Alien
Profession/status: - business executive
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters

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

Setting
Earth setting: - medium future 22-24th 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? - significantly more dialog than descript

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

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