6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Wipe the slate clean on this one, November 17, 2004
This review is from: Slatewiper (Hardcover)
Usually I'm a sucker for novels that combine cutting edge science with doomsday scenarios and conspiracy theories. They make perfect reads for the beach or for long winter days spent sick in bed with a cold. With a plot that sounds like something out of tomorrow's headlines, Slatewiper looked like it would fit that bill perfectly. It's got genetic engineering, conspiracy theory, racial and ethnic hatreds, and a doomsday scenario realistic enough to give one nightmares. With all this going for it, "Slatewiper" should be a dynamite read. Unfortunately, it falls far short.
So what went wrong with the book? First of all, the charaacters are weak. The main character, Dr. Lara Blackwood, is just too good to be true. Beautiful (of course) and a brilliant scientist-entrepreneur, she's also an Olympic sailor. When I read the book, I kept picturing Laura Croft, although she doesn't fit Blackwood's physical description. The villain, a fanatic Japanese neonational businessman, is equally stereotyped in his racism, ethnocentrism, and general evilness. His heir, a brilliant computer security specialist, is conflicted over his loyalty to his family (including his uncle's extreme view of Japanese racial superiority) and his horror at his uncle's plans. And then there are the sleazy scientist and his business partner, both willing to sell anyone or anything down the river to further their own ambitions. Other characters are brought at the drop of a hat and equally quickly removed. Toward the end of the story, each new character starts looking increasingly like a proverbial deus ex machina, appearing conveniently just when needed. None of these problems would be fatal, however, if the plot didn't suffer too many holes to carry the weight of the wooden characters.
It's unfortunate, because Perdue does have a point to make in "Slatewiper"-actually several points, all of them worth making. The first is the abysmal history of atrocities committed by the Japanese during World War II, for which, he and others have contended they were given what amounts to a "get out of jail free" card. Unrepenent ultranationalist and ultraright wing movements do exist in Japan today, but Perdue takes their existence and exaggerates them to horrendous proportions. He's using them to make a specific point about racial hatred and its futility in light of modern genetics. However, he depicts them as being so deeply and insidiously entrenched in positions of power, that it feels like overkill. At times I wondered if Perdue might be working out personal grudges here as well as making fiction. Nonetheless, many of the most effective scenes in the book were descriptions of traditional Japanese culture.
Perdue's second point, namely the stupidity of racial and ethnic hatreds and the essential genetic unity of the human species, is even more important. Unfortunately, he doesn't handle it as well. Much of the plot turns on the ability of modern genetics to discern genes that separate one ethnic group from another and to target genetic bombs to attack specific groups. Here, his science (or at least his presentation of it) is muddled. Yes, there are genetic differences between groups and some genes are more common in one group than another, but it's extremely unlikely that geneticists will ever find a way of identifying genetic boundaries between groups. We're just too much alike as a species and there's been too much interbreeding throughout history (and prehistory) to be able to make hard and fast distinctions. Race remains important, but largely for cultural rather than biological reasons. I think Perdue knows this (at least judging from his treatment of Arabs and Jews), but he leaves it unstated so as not to undermine the device upon which his plot rests. Overall, his explanation of the underlying genetic theory underlying the plot is brief. It's adequate, but barely. I wish that he had expanded it to something more than a two page summary near the beginning of the book. Better presentation of the science would have made for a more credible plot.
"Slatewiper" is an attempt to warn readers about the dangers of genetically-engineered bioterrorism. To some extent it's successful. Unfortunately, the failures of the novel undermine the points Perdue wants to make. "Slatewiper" is an ok book, but it's not the wake-up call Perdue would like it to be.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Chewing gum, October 27, 2004
This review is from: Slatewiper (Hardcover)
Just finished this book in paperback, and all I can think is "I paid $8.47 for this" ?
I don't read much modern fiction and this book has reminded me why.
It reads just like a movie script and I've noticed this is typical of today's lightweight fiction.
The hero of the story is basically a female Batman.
Mr. Perdue, you should've just thrown in a superhero costume !
She's 29 yrs old and gorgeous. Her father was a Navy SEAL. She knows karate. She won an Olympic silver medal in rowing. She then started up a extremely successful genetic medicines lab. She developed cutting edge genetic disease treatments and is destined for the "Nobel Prize". She's a millionare. She spends her downtime (how does she have any?) taking part in "great solo around-the-world races" aboard her 56ft yacht, which she co-designed at Norway's most prestigious shipbuilding yard. At the "excitng" end of the novel, she becomes a ninja-like ruthless killer.
And the bad guys can't shoot !
Here are the three somewhat interesting things found in "Slatewiper";
1. A suggestion that Japan is experiencing a renewed nationalistic/racial supremacist movement. Mr. Perdue even includes reference to several racist articles that are widely read in today's Japan. I "Googled" these articles and they do indeed exist.
2. The concept of a ethnic targeting bio-weapon is intriguing.
3. The heroes develop an E-Bomb in latter chapters. Popular Mechanics magazine did a cover story on the E-Bomb, I believe in it's Dec.2001 issue. What significant about this EMP weapon is that it maybe of interest to terrorists (a fact that Mr. Perdue repeats many times) and that it's relatively cheap and easy to construct.
Ok, I gave it away. Now you don't have to waste your money.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Chilling, really moves fast., January 29, 2005
This review is from: Slatewiper (Hardcover)
Slatewiper is a chilling tale, especially the parts that seem to have come true since Perdue's writing of it. The Red Cross, Brotish Medical Association and others are now warning about the sort of race weapon in Slatewiper. I particularly liked the Heroine and how she struggled with her body image even after success in athletics and being an entrepreneur. She is not beautiful in a typical sense, but has a womanly beauty that appeals to me.
I think a strong woman like Kate Blackwood frightens men. I like that too,
The writing in this book is superb and the tension and action make it a top action thriller.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
