The Arachne Experiment

Rating:
Summary: An author to watch!
Review: I don't know how she does it, but S. Monique Craig manages to feed an addiction I never even knew I had! For that alone, Ms. Craig gets a gold star!

While more science fiction than horror, the plot is provocative and clever. The story is exceptionally intense, focusing on major issues such as genetic engineering, organic psychiatry and the overall treatment of the mentally insane. These subjects appear in headlines all over the country on a daily basis and yet, they are either completely ignored or simply never questioned. Brilliant. The pace in the story is abrupt and bent. Matching the tale step-by-step, the momentum moves in directions that no reader is able to predict or prepare for.

The atmosphere is charged with mania. The very air seems tainted with a sense of frenzied paranoia. Set in a vast estate at the top of a hill near the Chesapeake Bay, Craig conveys an image of deceiving beauty. While the house manages to inspire awe upon first glance, the actual details of the manor are misleading. You could close your eyes and see this house. The question is would you want to?

Craig's style of writing is incisive and thorough, but weak when it comes to dialogue. Despite the characters strong background and education, some of their conversations border on the banal. There's surprising platitude in the way they talk to each other and is cluttered with a sort of gibberish you'd find in a late-night B-movie. Which brings me to my next point - the players. The characters are humorous and amusing, intelligent and expressive; yet, not one has vitality. Each player seems to illustrate what the author assumes we want; playing out a role we expect to find. Also, some of their responses and most of their reactions are doubtful at best.

Craig definitely has talent and her stories shine with individuality, she just needs to pay a little more attention to her cast of players.