NEXUS,THE (Spectra Special Editions)

Rating:
Summary: The Nexus
Review: Not a dismissable effort by McQuay, by any means, but certainly not as ripping as his masterpiece, Memories. In both books, he has dared to grapple with big themes, struggling with philosophical notions in his own ham-fisted, action-oriented way: most successful in the mind-expanding time-travel extravaganza Memories, less successful with The Nexus.

Of course, The Nexus examines religious issues, and so is less interesting to this reader, though likely more gripping to those who like SF that considers the idea of how much religion really addresses Truth. Do the two intersect?--Does religion actually cloud Truth?--Is religion a danger to Truth? These questions underpin, in The Nexus, what is essentially a mystical thriller (arguably not even proper SF, as I perceive it!), where a reporter, in an attempt to re-start his career (it went downhill after he was too aggressive in an interview with the President of the United States), latches on to a supposed miracle-worker, an autistic girl named Amy. Reporter Dennis Stiller attempts to take control of Amy, pushing her alcoholic mother out of the picture (a woman who was content to merely use Amy's incredible abilities to make a few bucks), with a notion of showing Amy to the world. Stiller works fast to gain legal control of the girl, even at the expense of alienating himself from the network he works for--they insist Amy is theirs to exploit--a colleague and ex-lover named Molly, who is not convinced Stiller has the moral center necessary to direct Amy's powers, and even the American government, which comes to see Amy as nothing less than a threat to global stability. Stiller, Amy, Amy's distraught mother, and a handful of supporters who quietly doubt Stiller's ability to "use" Amy's gift properly, go into hiding to try and understand Amy, and present her to a troubled world via TV broadcasts. Stiller is dismayed when he tries to present Amy without any religious connotation--he insists there is a scientific explanation for her "godlike" wave-of-the-hand miracles--but sees a world that cannot help but deify, or satanize, the girl. He watches a world appear to go insane...as his own mental stability is threatened by an ever-growing psychic link with Amy, as he tries to channel her unlimited powers.

This is all very interesting, but McQuay chooses some rather obvious plot leaps, and his ham-fisted delivery is not as forgiveable as it was in the more imaginative tale called Memories. Moreover, he has the world react in a very strange way to one of Amy's miracles, as regards everyone suddenly getting on the bandwagon to solve world hunger, and I'm not sure I accept world concern for the starving millions occuring the way it is simplistically presented in The Nexus. The pursuit of several governments and religious groups to see Amy and Stiller dead makes more sense, but is at the same time the more predictable aspect of this odd book. Daring ideas floating around in a thriller with some routine plotting.