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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific science fiction -- part 2, April 6, 2000
The story of Michael, Kelly and Michael's sister Melanie and cousin, Skerry are continued in this second of a four-book series. While exploring their lives fifteen years after the close of book one, the novel also introduces the heights and depths of mutant-powers. Michael is still struggling to bring about peaceful coexistence and build secure habitats in space and on the moon, but he has accepted the fact that his mutant wife, Jena and their daughter hold little affection for him. His life and future are endangered when one of the Moonstation domes implodes, one in which Kelly, his old girl-friend, is stationed with her mutant supervisor. They must confront each other over this issue, after years of separation, as the government tries to make him their scapegoat. Michael's sister has not spoken to her family for those fifteen years, either, until, as a news reporter, she finds herself assigned to cover the story of the dome's collapse and ensuing investigations. While Michael's impending disgrace seems like the impetus for the plot, it is only the sub-plot, as we find when a super-mutant makes contact with the world through the auspices of a female philanthropist who has founded the Emory Foundation to nurture him. Some mutants wish to enlist his assistance in their cause. Others begin to suspect his motives as he takes more and more control away from individuals and to himself. Still others suspect he is not all that he seems. His megalomania fuels the plot from that point on until the difficulties he creates for mutants and for the world are resolved by some quick action on the part of Melanie, Michael, Skerry and a few new characters, the most interesting of which are a mutant artist, Narlydda, who hides from her public, and a non-mutant, Yosh, who is a talented musician in the right (or wrong) place at the right time. Many of the pairs in this second novel are mutant/non-mutant and the theme of the novel seems to be increased interpersonal as well as social cooperation. Several such couples become romantically involved, the emblem of this cooperation. As with the first novel, the characters of The Mutant Prime are the best feature of the novel. It also ends with a taste of book three, Mutant Star. The reader can thus be sure of more to come. Jan Bostad
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mutants II has good characters, more focus, human touch, August 22, 2001
This review is from: The Mutant Prime (Paperback)
This book is the second volume of the Mutant saga begun in The Mutant Season, which Haber wrote with her husband, sci-fi master Robert Silverberg. One should really read Season first, because it not only introduces the various members of the Ryton family (who are featured in both books), but it also sets up the whole concept of the Mutant race, their somewhat precarious position in society, the powers they possess over "normals", and the idea of the supermutant, with a depth that Prime does not. In the fifteen years since the events of Season, the tele-powered Mutant race has made substantial social gains, although the Mutant community still remembers the repressions of past times and always fears a resurgence of anti-Mutant hysteria. This concern is brought to the forefront by the appearance of one Victor Ashman, a mutant of unknown origins and ambitions who possesses powers far beyond what any of the Mutant race has demonstrated. Under the protection of a wealthy dowager, Ashman claims his rightful place as leader of the Mutant community while making a prisoner of a famous but reclusive artist named Narlydda. Meanwhile, Michael Ryton is facing investigation by an agency anxious to blame his father's company for a disaster that took place on the Moon. Will Michael's troubles draw him closer to his self-involved wife, or drive him into the arms of his old flame, the "normal" Kelly? What plans does Ashman have for Narlydda, and can Michael's cousin Skerry hope to rescue her despite his frightful powers? While continuing the saga of the Ryton family, Haber has presented a more focused story here than in The Mutant Season, which seemed to pursue too many subplots at once. Also, while there's still substantial emphasis on characterization, the characters are more grown up than they were in the first volume, so the whole work is more action-oriented and less like a "Mutants 90210". So while still not a towering achievement, this is an enjoyable, fast-paced, page-turner of a sci-fi fantasy, with an extra human touch.
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