Category Archives for #ASMSG

What I’m Reading: CHIMERAS by EE Giorgi

I was first introduced to the writing of EE Giorgi in the short story anthology, The Telepath Chronicles. I loved her use of language and sensory details. I got all that and more in her full-length debut novel, Chimeras: A Medical Mystery.

Ulysses “Track” Presius is a LAPD detective and a chimera. (In the appendix to the book, I learned there are two kinds of chimeras and that turns out to be significant.) In simple terms, a chimera is an individual where ancient predator genes in our DNA are “woken up” through some kind of systemic shock. In Ulysses’s case, the most noticeable trait is his heightened sense of smell—and the source of his nickname, which is short for “tracking dog.”

Track's sharp senses, especially smell, are both a plot point and a unique way to show your story. Check out this scene where Track is handed one of the victim’s dirty T-shirts sealed in a plastic bag:

The Huxley woman was either a vegetarian or ate very little meat. She exercised regularly. If she had a boyfriend, she hadn’t seen him the day she wore the T-shirt. Enough for one sniff. I closed the Ziploc, got up and left.

Smell is probably the most underused sense in fiction, but not for Giorgi.

The medical mystery was well-paced and littered with little procedural details that make this kind of fiction both fun to read and feel authentic. I loved how Giorgi took her time to draw out each scene—unusual for this kind of novel, and reminiscent of James Lee Burke. I’m sure this kind of exposition drives some readers nuts, but I loved it.

And then there’s the science! I can’t remember the last time I read a fiction book that had an essay at the end on the science behind the story, in this case an explanation of chimeras. That part alone was worth the read.

A solid contribution from a new indie author. Recommended.

David Bruns is the creator of the sci-fi series The Dream Guild Chronicles, and one half of the Two Navy Guys and a Novel blog series about co-writing the military thriller, Weapons of Mass Deception. Check out his website for a free sample of his work.