Review: The Icarus Twin by Timothy Zahn

Gregory Roarke and his partner Selene defeated the Patth. Now they have to dodge a criminal organization that believes the duo betrayed their boss!

Former Trailblazers or “crocketts” Gregory Roarke and Selene now work for the secretive Icarus Project, seeking out more of the portals that could make interstellar travel instantaneous. Of course, this does not mean that they are not at risk: Sub-Director Nask, a member of the alien Patth whose stardrive would be rendered obsolete by the portals, still has a bone to pick with them. There are also poachers to worry about – something Gregory and Selene discover when one of their bioprobes is snatched on their latest planetary search.

But was it a poacher? Without a closer look, they can’t be sure. After they report in to the Icarus Project for a new bioprobe, another twist is added to the conundrum: a man named Easton Dent has been seeking Gregory Roarke and searching for recent uses of the word “Icarus.” If that weren’t enough, an attempt to meet the man ends with Gregory being accused of murder.

Maybe being Trailblazers was safer, even if the pay was touch-and-go….

The Story

Escaping confinement, Gregory confirms that the victim he stands accused of murdering is not Easton Dent. He and Selene go back to the planet they checked to see if they are still being tailed; they are, but this time they manage to snag a sample from the vessel. Using her highly developed sense of smell, Selene manages to determine that there were four humans aboard their tail’s ship and that a Patth was there at one time as well. That explains one riddle but leaves the duo with the mystery of who these people are and in the dark as to this particular Patth’s identity. While trying to figure this out, they are jumped by a man with a gun. Although they manage to get away, Gregory decides he wants a closer look at the people backing their attacker. Unfortunately he gets his wish: the people hunting him are part of Luko Varsi’s criminal organization.

Before he and Selene worked for Icarus they worked part time for Varsi, selling him plant samples that might make either good medicines or good drugs, as Trailblazing didn’t always offer enough money to keep fuel in the tank or food on the table. Gregory also name-dropped Varsi to Nask in The Icarus Plot to get the Sub-Director off his back for a time, so it could very well have led to the mobster’s death. On the other hand, Varsi’s own subordinate, Mr. Draelon, seems awfully keen to shoot Roarke on a mere rumor of his boss’s death via betrayal. It takes work and some surreptitious help from undercover Icarus agent Jordan McKell to postpone the funeral so Gregory can go meet Dent – who escaped his would-be murders – again, but this time he and Selene go as prisoners of Varsi’s senior enforcers.

Now the problem is shaking their babysitters, finding out what Dent does and does not know about Icarus, and most important, getting out of this mess alive. Acquiring replacement bioprobes will just have to wait until they are no longer in mortal peril….

The Characters

Gregory returns with all his wit and charm in this novel, but this time he also showcases his morality. Before he was out for revenge; now, he wants nothing so much as the information needed to avoid dying. That means staying a step ahead of the bad guys even when he walks into their arms, which makes for a nail-biting high stakes poker game. Selene comes through as serene as before, showing her own cleverness and skill by backing Gregory’s plays even when neither of them are a hundred percent sure what the play is, exactly.

Characters from the previous novel get a some more development here, particularly Ixil, the Kalixiri alien. Along with his ferret-like outriders Pix and Pax, he provides the heroes with very helpful backup when they need it, sometimes before they know they require it. Add in the return of a more subdued Nask as well as new players like Draelon and Dent to the picture, and it becomes an all-out competition to see who has the better hand of cards!

The World

This time there is more of a Leverage tone to the universe than a Firefly one. With the general world already set up, the constant back-and-forth as various scams are put into play necessitates that the action remain tense but comparatively low-key. After all, which mobsters want whom dead is a little more pressing to the protagonists’ concerns than what the rest of the galaxy at large is doing!

Politics

None.

Content Warning

Some people die and dead bodies are described, as are near victims of misapplied medicinal drugs. That being said, none of it is graphic. The book earns a PG-13 rating.

Who is it for?

Readers who are seeking some Leverage-style fun with a good dose of Sherlockian intrigue and mystery will want to read The Icarus Twin. Fans of Zahn and his Icarus Plot novel will also wish to pick it up, while thriller enthusiasts will find the book fulfills all their desires. Even true crime audiences might want to give this novel a look as it bounces Gregory into a murder mystery before forcing him to face down some of the Spiral’s nastiest organized crime lords. There is something for everyone in The Icarus Twin and it will keep an avid reader busy for quite some time.

Why buy it?

It is a brand-new Zahn novel in a new universe with more twists, turns, traps, and puzzles than a Rube Goldberg machine. Most of all, though, it is fun. Anyone wishing for something good to read should have a great time with this book!