cover image FireSeed One

FireSeed One

Catherine Stine. Konjur Road (www.createspace.com), $11.10 paper (296p) ISBN 978-0-9848282-0-3

Set in 2089, Stine's latest adventure describes a globally overcooked and devastated Earth divided into three sociopolitical regions: the Hotzone, where burn-scarred workers struggle to survive in 160 degree temperatures; Land Dominion, where realtor Melvyn Baron builds an empire by exploiting the Hotzone and its people; and Ocean Dominion, where newly orphaned teen hero Varik Teitur runs a vast sea farm. But when Marisa Baron%E2%80%94the idealistic, rebellious teenage daughter of Melvyn%E2%80%94and her activist friends break into Varik's farm, his crops are poisoned and humanity's food supply is imperiled. Cardboard characters Varik and Marisa embark on a predictable quest to find FireSeed, exotic plant life that can rebuild their world. In a fictional world creakily created to allow Stine to present her politics, Varik's predictable coming-of-age story and general hypersensitivity undermine this would-be thriller.