Written in Fire: Book 3 of the Brilliance Trilogy

The searing conclusion to Sakey’s Brilliance trilogy (after Brilliance and A Better World) updates the plight of the supernaturally gifted people known as abnorms, who constitute 1% of the U.S. population and first appeared in 1986. Thirty years later, federal agent Nick Cooper, who’s an abnorm, realizes that the policy of fighting “monsters” (renegade abnorms) has turned government officials such as Secretary of Defense Owen Leahy into monsters themselves. With tragic results, Leahy has provoked conflict between the government and Tesla, the abnorms’ Wyoming enclave, while Cooper, battling desperately for his children’s future and torn between lingering affection for his ex-wife and his new abnorm partner, pursues evil abnorm genius John Smith, who’s bent on annihilating normal humans. Though the rapid-fire cinematic cuts may disorient readers unfamiliar with the earlier books, this installment raises important questions about such matters as patriotism, self-sacrifice, conflicting loyalties, and parental devotion. Agent: Scott Miller, Trident Media Group. (Jan.)