Review: Tag
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 27, 2012
My typical taste runs to thrillers. Science fiction is often a nonstarter. Combining both, "Tag" could have easily gone either way. It has a few of the elements that will sometimes turn me off in sci-fi. These include  a lot of new technology, and new words and terms to learn.My objection to the technology isn't that it exists, but that it can sometimes become the story rather than assist it. This wasn't an issue for me in "Tag." The technology felt like a logical evolution from today to one hundred years into the future. It helped to define the story world, but didn't overpower the plot, with the characters, their personalities, and how that drove their actions taking center stage, as they should.My concern with language is that, if overdone, it can kill the flow of the story as the reader has to do an internal translation of the new words each time they see them. Royle uses many new terms. However, his word choices are easy to understand and quickly feel natural, as they often subtly reference other actual words in our vocabulary. Many are shortened words: kiloms as a measure of distance and mins for time. Dev is a generic electronic device, which combines what we would see as multiple functions in today's world, while a devstick is a portable device. Lev is a means of a person transporting from one place to another which references both an elevator and the word levitate, with both words helping cement its use in the reader's mind. His approach is a reminder that that the world is different, yet his choices  emphasize the differences while not getting in the way due to the ease of adding them to the reader's vocabulary.The story is the typical thriller, with a protagonist thrust into a race against time where the price for failure is high. The futuristic setting provides a backdrop for several themes. The 1984ish theme of Big Brother, and how technology, while positive, also has negatives, especially in the area of privacy. How human nature is unchanging. That there will always be those who feel they are above everyone else and have no qualms in acting on those feelings. But I didn't realize much of this until I had time to reflect, after the fast-paced ride to the end.**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **