Rachel B. (montbriac) - reviewed on 7/19/2010 + 10 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 4

I am a fan of Rob Thurmans other works and she is easily one of my favorite urban fantasy/paranormal authors so I was excited but unsure of what to expect when I picked-up Chimera which is a contemporary thriller with science fiction underpinnings.

Using technological rather than supernatural as the means of conversion in this tale, Thurmans tight narrative skillfully provides a beautifully crafted story about what it is that makes us human and the terms through which we define ourselves as we learn to trust and love. Originally written six years ago as a stand-alone novel, Chimera lives up to the goal of creating a fully developed and engaging page-turner. This is one of the few books Ive read recently that I could easily envision being adapted for the big screen smoothly envision Eastern Promises mashed-up with Gattica and youve got a pretty good template for Chimera.

Chimera is a book that is a little difficult to slap a label onto but I am confident that it would appeal to fans of Stieg Larssons Millennium Trilogy. I also intend to recommend this book to friends who have been a little shy about urban fantasy/paranormal fiction but whom enjoyed the Millennium Trilogy. Maybe I can use Chimera as a gateway to luring more readers into genre fiction once they discover an author they already enjoy.

Chimera transcends genre fiction and is a welcome gem that I am hoping becomes a gateway to genre fiction for more readers. More to the point, even though this book was originally written as a standalone, I would happily devour any follow-up to Chimera if Rob Thurman would only write it.

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