CHILLER

By Sterling Blake

Bantam Books (August 1993)

Reviewed by Robert Thompson 8/12/93

Chiller is an excellent book. Not one of my top ten all time favorites, but darn good, especially for a "first" book. The book jacket compares Blake to Michael Chrichton and Dean Koontz, and I'd agree, and throw in a little dash of Robin Cook.

This story has a fairly large cast of major characters. The good guys include Alex Cowell, a Biochemist, Susan Hagerty, M.D. & medical researcher, and Kathryn Sheffield, Alex's main squeeze. The bad guys include George, the soldier of god / psycho killer, Reverend Montana, a "Telepreacher", and Mr. Lomax, a shadowy "businessman".

The good guys are involved in cryonics- the freezing of dead folks hopefully to be revived at a later date when medicine / science can fix what killed them. George wants them dead, because he believes that resurrection is the exclusive province of God. The author captures well the mindset of bureaucrats (Actually the proper term here is bureaupaths (you know--like psychopaths))who are not willing to accept any thought that differs from their preconceived notions or threatens their powerbase.

Chiller has many twists and turns. Just about the time you think you have it all figured out, suprise!!! the story takes you somewhere you didn't expect. Not that the reader has any doubt "whodunnit", but the whys and wherefores aren't always what you think. The plot twists are not gratuitous, they are very well thought out, and come together as a whole; it is just not what you expected.

The technology addressed in the book is believable, even the projected (future) technology. Sadly for humanity, the attitudes and actions of the incidental characters is an accurate reflection of today's society too.

I only had one criticism of the book: In the first few chapters, I felt that Blake was overly descriptive of room decor. A minor thing that disappeared once the story took off.

Chiller is not quite a "read-at-one-sitting, you-can't-put-it- down" book, but it is close. If you are a fan of the Dean Koontz type tale, you'll like this one.

In fact, you may have heard the rumor that Dean Koontz's and Stephen King's books are actually written by the same person? Well, maybe you can add Sterling Blake to make this a trinity. There are a few clues or teasers in the story that the alert reader will find to link the three. I don't know if this is merely a trick, or whether Blake is merely paying homage to the Masters of the Genre.
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