Children of Hope

Midshipman's Hope (1994), Feintuch's paperback original first novel, which helped win him the John W. Campbell award as best new SF writer, introduced Space Navy officer Nicholas Seafort, whose sense of moral inadequacy drove him to superhuman accomplishments that left him feeling even guiltier. After five books the series went into hardcover with Patriarch's Hope (1999), and the fascinating Seafort is at the center of this seventh novel, too. The narrator, however, is Randy Carr, a 14-year-old boy who first tries to kill Seafort but winds up as his adopted son. Randy is a mess. He's impulsive, overflows with teen angst and has a talent for seeing the truth and sharing it in the bluntest, most insulting manner possible. Like his adoptive father, he takes himself more seriously than anyone should. They aren't alone; everyone in this novel is obsessively driven. After a war that wiped out the alien, space-dwelling Fish, humans are struggling for control on the planet Hope. In particular, servants of the Church will do anything to rule in the name of God. Then the Fish reappear.... Amid the nonstop action, Feintuch skillfully pushes all the emotional buttons. Readers may feel like whacking Randy upside the head with a two-by-four, but they'll probably nod approvingly toward Nick Seafort. Fans of military SF will love the book, and Seafort addicts will be happy to know that there are plenty of loose ends to weave into Feintuch's next novel. (Apr. 10)