Dangerous Notes [Hardcover]

Gillian Bradshaw (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2001

She wanted no escape from her mind But they say she's a liability to the public. She could be dangerous, she could kill. Branded a pariah, a potential cloned-brain psychotic roaming the streets, Val Thornham's life is going to be turned upside down. As a child, she was one of the few recipients of CICNPC - Cerebral Implantation of Cloned Neural Progenitor Cells - a treatment that has ruined the lives of many of the first-ever guinea pigs. She was one of them, but she knows she is sane. Apart from the strange and deeply moving tunes that run through her brain, that impinge on her consciousness whenever she thinks about music. The trouble is, is this genius - or the beginnings of the end?

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This surprising book unexpectedly grabs one's attention and won't let go, thanks to the intensity of the characters' feelings and the expertness of their portrayal. The story is straightforward. Val, who had a now-controversial brain regeneration treatment as an infant, has been arrested for fleeing the country and taken in for risk- assessment testing. The genius expert working on her case possesses an abysmal attitude and is just a little perverted about women's brains. Under house arrest in the research center, Val is threatened from all angles. As a promising young musician, she fears that the treatment she is threatened with will destroy her most valued capability, her talent for creating music. Bradshaw adds obstacles, changes situations with uncanny rapidity, and makes a not unexpected ending still come as quite a shock. As is their wont in real life, the villains of the piece persistently change, the only constant being the reactionary fear of the unknown that can destroy all sorts of wonderful things. Regina Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

'Unexpectedly grabs one's attention and won't let go, thanks to the intensity of the characters' feelings and the expertness of their portrayal.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0727857576
• ISBN-13: 978-0727857576
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #530,164 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born 1956 in Arlington, Virginia (i.e., Washington DC); grew up there, in Santiago, Chile, and in East Lansing and Mount Pleasant Michigan; educated University of Michigan (Classics and English) and Newnham College, Cambridge (Classics). I published my first novel while I was supposed to be revising for my final exams; the exams suffered, but I still managed a 2.1. I decided to take another year in Cambridge to work on the next novel, and Met a Man, like many a woman before and since. We got married in Paris, where he had a post-doc position and I had discovered an urgent need to learn French. He continued research and teaching, first in Santa Barbara, then back in Cambridge, and finally at the University of Warwick; I continued writing. A lot of my work has used my background in classical Greek and Latin, but I've occasionally branched out into the high middle ages, contemporary, and sci-fi. We have four kids, now grown up, and so far one grandchild.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard to put down!, April 21, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dangerous Notes (Hardcover)

I was totally gripped by this well-written book. The world the author created--Britain sometime in the future--seemed very possible and the characters acted like real people. The main character (a music student) was very sympathetic and the plot was unpredictable. Why was she arrested? Why was she lying to herself about her unusual musical abilities? And who should she trust? This is the second science-fiction book of Bradshaw's I've read--I hope she keeps writing science fiction along with her historical novels!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very nice near-future SF medical/musical(!) thriller. 4.7 stars, December 25, 2003

By 

Peter D. Tillman (Taos, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dangerous Notes (Hardcover)

_____________________________________________

"They arrested me on the train to France..." Meet Valeria Thornham,
pretty music student, promising young composer -- and threat to
public safety?

Valeria, brain-damaged as an infant, was successfully treated with
Cicnip-C -- 'cerebral implantation of cloned neural progenitor cells.'
Now, in 2032, a Cicnip-C patient has turned mass-murderer, the media
are in a frenzy about 'cloned-brain psychos', and the Ministry of Health
is in a panic....

Val is hustled to the posh Laurel Hill Centre for Cognitive Research,
where the odious Professor Bernet plans to use her for brain research --
with a threat of lobotomy if she doesn't cooperate. But Val is a fighter,
and with the help of sympathetic staff, she reaches an accomodation of
sorts with the Evil Genius. There are clever twists en route, a
new love won and lost, and some very nice passages on music: its
performance, composition and place in human culture. It wouldn't be
fair to reveal the ending, but it's fast and furious. Here's a clue: music
really does soothe the savage breast...

This is Bradshaw's second SF outing, following her less-successful The
Wrong Reflection (2000). Bradshaw is better-known as a historical and
fantasy novelist, but I predict she'll be well received by Nancy Kress
and LE Modesitt SF fans. Bradshaw may be new to SF, but she's an
experienced, smooth, economical storyteller. I'll be looking for her next
book -- and I should go back and read some of her historicals.

Review copyright 2002 by Peter D. Tillman
Original review: http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/dangerousnotes.htm