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The Hour of Lead Kathleen De Grave 9781937276270 Books

Download As PDF : The Hour of Lead Kathleen De Grave 9781937276270 Books

The Hour of Lead Kathleen De Grave 9781937276270 Books

Are you certain that you know who you are? Or where?
And what if a magic potion or operation could increase your brain power, if not your sensitivity?
Does Big Brother by any name in any time really know what is best?

Those are only three of the questions raised in "The Hour of Lead" (See Sharp Press) by veteran Pittsburg State University English professor Kathleen De Grave (assisted by her PSU library professor husband Earl Lee).

Craftily De Grave has borrowed words from the famed poet Emily Dickinson, and her attempt to communicate to the reader the nature of experience that comes "after great pain." It is subtitled "A novel of Kansas and other alternate realities." To pique local curiosity the book is set in southeast Kansas and southwest Missouri in 2039.

To the book's compelling characters--and the reader-- the future is never very far away, the past too close behind to forget. The principal character, Weylan Collins, a scientist, wants to improve the future but is often drawn back to his past, we are led to believe, out of respect, fondness or fear.

The multi-faceted book with its turns and twists of plot and mood may remind the reader of an old television set, hard to control and stabilize at times. The minute the picture of what is happening seems clear, a different image flickers in. Control often seems to be a matter of definition and desire.

Weylan means well, but is thwarted when his plan to scientifically expand a young subject's brain goes bad. His plan seems like a good idea to him when initiated but he begins to wonder.

When a catastrophic event has slowed down time (the author was influenced by the Joplin tornado and the trauma it created), two protagonists are forced into confronting their pasts in order to mend their present broken lives. Images pop in and out of the story: a former college in Southeast Kansas, now taken over by the city and losing its old identity; recollections of grandpa of how the past has its influence on the present and future--whether we like it or not. There are memories of a changed intersection of Fourth and Broadway in some Southeast Kansas town. The reader is led to peek in on the enthusiastic "Freedom Day" festivities worldwide and ponder their meaning in his or her own era.

One major attribute of a flavorful, varied, compelling book is that it may be enjoyed on many levels by a whole range of different folks. This might be the perfect volume for someone who otherwise claims not to like the science fiction genre. It might make the reader debate the value of conscience and caring, and elevate the value of science and robotics and brain enhancement, allowing the transfer of power from the past. Are we really in a "multiverse," in several states of being or time at once?

Or rather than think too much about the journey and why, just enjoy the ride. There is hope, in any time or place. Weylan seems to sense eventually that the present has always leaned on and learned from the past. Is scientific discovery all about power distribution in the conventional, political sense, or do individuals still make a difference? Is one's brain already powerful enough, or just misused? Does it need fresh nanobots?

Do you want to raise more questions of your own or just have a great literary journey? Then read on.

Review by Jack Kennedy - Read more at The Joplin Independent online.


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The Hour of Lead Kathleen De Grave 9781937276270 Books Reviews

It's not the same Kansas.
Not all scarce things are valuable, but things that are plentiful are rarely regarded as precious. In the not so distant future, the most commonplace, plentiful, and devalued resource is unwanted children.
There's such a glut of them, and they are so damaged by neglect and environmental toxins, that no one could care for them even if they were not so numerous. They do make good test subjects, however, for experimental drugs and procedures. At the CorGo (Corporate Government) hospital's research facility, you can buy love in a lollipop, or try out the tentacles option to see whether having extra appendages helps make your multitasking easier; having an endless supply of human guinea pigs makes better living through chemistry, gene splicing, and nanotech possible - and very, very profitable.
Weylan, a physician at CorGo, is too cowed to even stand up straight most of the time; worse, he cares too much about the kids he treats and monitors. And because when things go wrong they tend to go wrong all over, his artistic, creative, child-loving girlfriend Pamela opts out of their relationship, in part as a reaction to all the guilt he brings home. But Weylan's grandfather had shown him some of the family's traditional methods of ceremonial magic - Native American primarily, but with overlays of several other cultures as well. When Weyland performs a ceremony in the old way, he discovers that it opens a door into alternate timelines, alternate realities, and he starts out on a quest to change things for the better, or at least find a timeline in which things are less screwed up that they were in his starting reality. All Weyland wants to do is help out some of the kids, prevent a death that haunts him, get Pamela back, and maybe grow a spine. Unfortunately, his boss gets wind of his discovery and has plans of his own, as dollar signs shine in his eyes.
As a dystopic look down the road we're on, The Hour of Lead has less politics than Orwell's 1984, more climate change, more technology, and more lateral thinking. As a result, Weyland manages to be a bit more heroic than Winston Smith.
Are you certain that you know who you are? Or where?
And what if a magic potion or operation could increase your brain power, if not your sensitivity?
Does Big Brother by any name in any time really know what is best?

Those are only three of the questions raised in "The Hour of Lead" (See Sharp Press) by veteran Pittsburg State University English professor Kathleen De Grave (assisted by her PSU library professor husband Earl Lee).

Craftily De Grave has borrowed words from the famed poet Emily Dickinson, and her attempt to communicate to the reader the nature of experience that comes "after great pain." It is subtitled "A novel of Kansas and other alternate realities." To pique local curiosity the book is set in southeast Kansas and southwest Missouri in 2039.

To the book's compelling characters--and the reader-- the future is never very far away, the past too close behind to forget. The principal character, Weylan Collins, a scientist, wants to improve the future but is often drawn back to his past, we are led to believe, out of respect, fondness or fear.

The multi-faceted book with its turns and twists of plot and mood may remind the reader of an old television set, hard to control and stabilize at times. The minute the picture of what is happening seems clear, a different image flickers in. Control often seems to be a matter of definition and desire.

Weylan means well, but is thwarted when his plan to scientifically expand a young subject's brain goes bad. His plan seems like a good idea to him when initiated but he begins to wonder.

When a catastrophic event has slowed down time (the author was influenced by the Joplin tornado and the trauma it created), two protagonists are forced into confronting their pasts in order to mend their present broken lives. Images pop in and out of the story a former college in Southeast Kansas, now taken over by the city and losing its old identity; recollections of grandpa of how the past has its influence on the present and future--whether we like it or not. There are memories of a changed intersection of Fourth and Broadway in some Southeast Kansas town. The reader is led to peek in on the enthusiastic "Freedom Day" festivities worldwide and ponder their meaning in his or her own era.

One major attribute of a flavorful, varied, compelling book is that it may be enjoyed on many levels by a whole range of different folks. This might be the perfect volume for someone who otherwise claims not to like the science fiction genre. It might make the reader debate the value of conscience and caring, and elevate the value of science and robotics and brain enhancement, allowing the transfer of power from the past. Are we really in a "multiverse," in several states of being or time at once?

Or rather than think too much about the journey and why, just enjoy the ride. There is hope, in any time or place. Weylan seems to sense eventually that the present has always leaned on and learned from the past. Is scientific discovery all about power distribution in the conventional, political sense, or do individuals still make a difference? Is one's brain already powerful enough, or just misused? Does it need fresh nanobots?

Do you want to raise more questions of your own or just have a great literary journey? Then read on.

Review by Jack Kennedy - Read more at The Joplin Independent online.