Review: A solid sophomore effort
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 18, 2011
Victorine E. Lieske, author of the romantic suspense novel NOT WHAT SHE SEEMS, changes gears in her sophomore outing ... kind of. While THE OVERTAKING features both romance and suspense, it shifts gears in two important ways: she adopts a science fiction setting for this novel, and due to the age of her characters, the book is likely to attract more of a young-adult audience.THE OVERTAKING is the first novel in a projected series which introduces us to the primary cast of characters. Shayne Bartlett, our main protagonist, is a young member of the Maslonian race, highly gifted with psychic abilities. Yet in short order, Shayne's mother is kidnapped, he joins a ruling council, and then he is kidnapped as well. In his new, post-kidnapping life, where he does not remember his past, he meets Danielle and the two are powerfully drawn to each other.But Danielle is mysterious, a young woman with secrets to hide. Secrets that may affect the future of their budding relationship... and perhaps even the future of Shayne's race.So THE OVERTAKING does have major differences from NOT WHAT SHE SEEMS, in genre, plot, and setting. What has not changed, however, is Lieske's storytelling ability and her capacity for charming readers with the way in which a pair of strangers become a couple.The novel contains echoes of literary and filmed forebears. Some of the SF concepts will ring familiar to those who've read Phillip K. Dick's WE CAN DREAM IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE, while other aspects could remind filmgoers of the Bill Murray-Andie McDowell rom-com, GROUNDHOG DAY.Yet through it all, the story elements blend into a finished product that is distinctly of Lieske's own making. While readers of NOT WHAT SHE SEEMS, which took place in a recognizably realistic world, may feel some need for adjustment to the new setting, the primarily strengths of Lieske's storytelling remain consistent and recognizable in this new entry.One element that is new is that THE OVERTAKING is part of a series. Readers of NOT WHAT SHE SEEMS enjoyed that novels strong sense of possessing a beginning, a middle, and an end. While THE OVERTAKING possess a strong beginning and an entertaining middle, the sense of ending isn't as strong as in NOT WHAT SHE SEEMS because the overall story is not complete.When the final page of NOT WHAT SHE SEEMS was turned, there was a sense that the tale of Steven Ashton and Emily Grant was over, at least dramatically. With THE OVERTAKING, there is a sense of resolution to many plot elements, but also a certain knowledge that more challenges lay ahead for Shayne, Danielle, and those around them.Fortunately, Lieske's novel ends on a story beat that delivers a sense of resolution, even as new threats and challenges await on the horizon. This is superior to some YA series novels, which often seem to end too abruptly, at a moment in which the author hit a pre-set word count and didn't want to write more words per installment than necessary. While I won't spoil the nature of THE OVERTAKING's closing action here, I will at least say that the story beat on which the novel ends will not leave readers feeling like the book "went to commercial and never came back."Will THE OVERTAKING leave readers ready for the next installment? Almost certainly. Yet even as the further adventures of the cast Lieske introduces here are of interest, this novel stands, at minimum, as a satisfying read in and of itself as well.Well done.