A stunning blend of science fiction and satire.
Mila Cross has spent years managing her epileptic seizures. As a robotics expert, she created Kelsey, an AI dog that can detect when a seizure is coming on. The dog has become both a lifesaver and a best friend to Mila, a woman who is as sensitive as she is sensible. In Oxford, Dr. David Graham performs an experimental gene therapy surgery on Mila in hopes of curing her epilepsy. The surgery appears to be a success, but it also changes her brain. Some time later, she hears a voice in her mind. It belongs to Kavil, an alien on the run from the CIA, and their telepathic link draws her into his mission. Kavil came to stop humans from destroying themselves, but the disaster he fears arrives anyway. Two suitcase-sized nuclear bombs explode in the heart of Chicago and kill tens of thousands of people, including David, the man Mila loves. Unable to stand idly by, she forms a ragtag group called Team David to find whoever was behind the attack. Though not natural allies, the team even includes Kavil and the CIA agent who once hunted him. Each member, down to Kelsey the clever robot dog, brings a unique strength that pushes their search all the way to the White House. As they close in, Mila must weigh her need for revenge against her belief that humanity is worth saving.
A stunning blend of science fiction and satire, The Blink of Humanity follows a grieving woman and her unlikely companions as friendship tests her desire to set things right. Fast-paced and set across a wide variety of locations, the story keeps readers oriented with a season, year, and place at the start of each chapter. The premise is original, pairing serious issues like nuclear weapons and political corruption with aliens who observe our struggles and sometimes step in. A prologue in a cave in 315,000 BC and an epilogue on another planet put the long, troubled span of human history into perspective. The characters show genuine emotion, even the non-humans like Kelsey, who grieves for a friend. This witty AI companion steals scenes with his sarcasm and an ego that outsizes his schnoodle body, while Kavil proves highly relatable for an alien. Even as the stakes get higher, charming banter lightens the heavier moments. With a golden statue of himself and a cage match on the White House lawn, the US president is an easy villain to hate, though the political satire sometimes outweighs the story. Wisely, the book argues that love and cooperation give humanity its best chance of survival. Fans of science fiction and CIA intrigue will find plenty to enjoy, and a light touch of romance adds a soft note. A tense, heartfelt story about an earnest team trying to prevent a global catastrophe, The Blink of Humanity is a thrilling sci-fi adventure that offers hope that even small acts can add up to big change.
