The second sweeping installment in Karpf’s Xenophobia series continues the dazzling, thoughtful adventures of the first, as Jack Harrison, now Earth’s Director of Alien Technology, faces the fallout from bold choices in Prelude to Extinction that saved the Earth itself—and, more controversially, democratized access to alien intelligence and technology he and the crew of the Magellan had discovered. Karpf picks right back up: just two pages in, Jack’s right back to thinking through fascinating science-fiction puzzles and problems that center on making sense of alien tech through its interactions with our own, and our understanding of the laws of physics. Soon, he’s facing new dangers (politics!)while caught between a suspicious humanity and an ancient alien species who expects the worst of us—and is considering preemptive action. Between the talk of quantum fluctuations and matter-antimatter annihilation engines, Karpf again quickly establishes problems that will seize hold of fans of hard SF. This time, Jack is tasked with investigating the “perturbed” behavior of Kuiper belt objects (ie, asteroids), some seemingly headed in the direction of Earth, thrown out of their regular orbits by Jack’s use, in the previous book, of an advanced alien engine still being experimented on by the crew.
While less epic in scope than its predecessor, Latent Flaw again skillfully blends tense, science-minded storytelling with big ideas, fascinating dilemmas, cosmic mysteries, and bursts of explosive combat. Readers of Prelude to Extinction will rightly suspect that Karpf’s story will blast into unexpected directions, with the likable, capable crew finding bold scientific solutions to seemingly impossible problems—and, again, Karpf persuasively shows the work. The prose is tighter this time, driven by dialogue and action, and the momentum stronger as the story builds to both a satisfying conclusion and an epochal cliffhanger. Readers of serious science fiction will love it, but they’re advised to start with the first book.
Takeaway: This superior hard SF sequel pits a starship crew and alien intelligence against the impossible.
Great for fans of: Greg Bear’s Eon, Jack McDevitt.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: B
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: B+
