The Spark

Bigelow’s third novel (after Broken and Fly into Fire) of extrahumans chafing under the thumb of a reactionary human Confederation follows the adventures of Dee White, who can start devastating fires with her mind. When the Confederation tries to wipe out her extrahuman colony on Valen, Dee flees to the planet Mandolia, leading a refugee’s life for 10 years until two quests—to find young Amos, the child of two extrahumans, who was snatched by the Confederation, and to track down Torres, a Confederation-created extrahuman who was once her nemesis—plunge her into the middle of a revolt against the Confederation. Though the action is repetitive in places and Dee’s progress sometimes stalls, Bigelow throws in enough twists and reversals to keep the story interesting. Concluding events set the stage for the saga’s next installment. (Sept.)