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Learning Fear: A Novel

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_Learning Fear_ is the third book in the Dr. Jaguar Addams series. Jaguar works on Planetoid Three, a penal colony modeled after Toronto. She uses unorthodox methods(namely empathic skills) to find the root of criminals' fears. In this book, she is sent to Earth on forced leave where she must work as a visiting professor for the cultural studies department in a New York State University. She discovers that there is a Telekine, a particularly lethal mind power, somewhere on campus, and that her simple "probation" job is actually tangled up with the deadly politics of the military and university.

History declared the wave of murders "The Killing Times," a period when over ten million people became victims of ruthless serial killings. Because of the mass slayings, rulers of earth knew the prison system failed. To rectify the problems, the Planetoid System was established Outer space prisons were established to deal with hardcore cases by using psychic treatment.

Jaguar is the best Teacher on Planetoid 12 even though the governing board thinks she is a maverick and out of control. To teach her a lesson, they transfer her to New York State University where she is to teach a course and uncover any anti-empathic movements on the campus. However, an unknown entity tries to enter her mind so Jaguar decides to track down the intruder although she places her life in jeopardy.

The imaginative and colorful LEARNING FEAR centers on psychic powers being a scientifically proven, quantifiable form of energy. The mixing of elements from suspense and romance wrapped inside a science fiction thriller makes for cross genre appeal. Though the heroine has been through hell and back, she retains her feisty independence. Anyone who reads B.A. Chepaitus' novel will want to attain the two previous stories in this series (see THE FEAR PRINCIPLE and THE FEAR OF GOD) because this is SF at its realistic best.

Harriet Klausner