The Manna Trail - Clifford W. Dunbar Book Review

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Review Summaries

"In the 25th century, the inner-system-based United Nations sends superspy Charles Dunn to a Jupiter-orbiting city deep into Outer Consortium territory to retrieve a secret document hidden inside a famous painting. Dunn is accompanied by a Digital Person named Daphne who is implanted into his brain and who serves as secretary, chauffeur, communications system, lookout, and sometimes pain in the posterior. They stumble into an assassination staged by underground criminal elements on an influential Martian senator and a Jovian senator who are forming a task force to look into black market manna smuggling. Manna is a plant with tremendous nutritive and medicinal properties which can also be misused as a drug. It is genetically modified to survive only in the harsh Martian environment. Dunn cannot save the senators, but he rescues Sarah, the Martian's young daughter, and grabs the document. They must then flee from the peacemen, synthetic humans who were designed for law enforcement purposes, and in so doing they come upon others who are also fleeing. Little Sarah has a knack for helping other children in trouble and soon Dunn is traveling back to the inner system with many more children in tow. One of them is a child peaceman who was stolen at birth and raised as an enforcer for black market manna runners. Dunn discovers that by retrieving the document, he has perpetuated the Martian monopoly over all manna trade and together with the children he now plots to break that monopoly."
Clifford W. Dunbar, Resident Clifford W. Dunbar 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 - 20%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 40%

Tone of book - very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Spying & Investigations Yes
What is main char. doing? - spying/espionage in enemy territorry
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
If enemy is a group... - drug dealers

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - spy
Age: - long lived adults
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 - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - an organization
Age: - long-lived adults
Profession/status: - mastermind
Eccentric: Yes - obsessed
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - healthy but a geeky weakling

Setting
Terrain - Desert - Domed/Underground City - Asteroid
Which planet? - Mars - Asteroids - Jupiter
Earth setting: - medium future 22-24th century
Takes place on Earth? Yes
Not Earth, in Solar System? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only) - none/very little science jargon needed
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog

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

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