“Gould literally raises the bar on teleportation in this sequel to Impulse (2013)”
Steven Gould’s Exo got a starred review in Kirkus Reviews!
Here’s the full review, from the September 9 issue:
Gould literally raises the bar on teleportation in this sequel to Impulse (2013). Seventeen-year-old Cent is your typical teen: She’s reeling from a breakup with her boyfriend, worried about her ailing grandmother and developing a plan to teleport into orbit—you know, the usual. Intelligent, resourceful and well-funded, she begins field-testing a new spacesuit and putting together a company that will both support her voyages and make a profit by placing small satellites into orbit and removing debris. It’s not long before Cent’s one-woman space program gains considerable attention, including some from the shadowy corporation that once captured Cent’s father, Davy, and still pursues their family. Gould grows more ambitious with every book in the Jumper series. He began by mixing speculative fiction, adventure and bildungsroman, then added in political and corporate thriller; this novel is primarily hard sci-fi while maintaining the other genres. By constantly experimenting with new tropes and extending the limits of the Harrison-Rice family’s power to teleport, Gould ensures that each installment remains fresh and enthralling. As in the previous book, Cent’s genius and her social skills (considering that she’s been discouraged from creating close bonds with anyone outside her immediate family) seem almost more unusual than her teleporting ability, but her character has an intellectual and emotional validity as well as an inherent likability that encourages the reader to overlook those quibbles. There’s simply no knowing where Cent and this series are headed next…but it’ll sure be interesting to find out.
Exo will be published on September 9.
