Cobalt Blue product reviews

Two humans infected with an alien pathogen that gives them super-human abilities. US scientist who becomes the hero "Cobalt" - peace-loving, law-abiding, an agent of all that is seen as good and right - and the Russian antithesis who becomes "The Fury of Russia" - a maniacal ego-driven psychopath, feared above all else and given everything he desires in order to avoid horrendous destructive fits of childish pique.

Both give rise to a handful of children who are also gifted, thanks to their genetic legacy, but only to a degree half as potent as their parents. On the Russian side, they are treated as demigods, again out of fear of the consequences should they get "upset". On the American side, they are treated as celebrity superstars, feted and fawned over in the public eye. All except one, born of a natural conception rather than the IVF that gave rise to her half-siblings.

And there you have the initial tableau, except for the key point that the American hero has passed away from cardiac arrest. "I was human, before I was superhuman," she said in way of explanation. The day after her funeral, the Fury of Russia arrives in America to exact an act of telling revenge - the total, destructive humiliation and subjugation of the US, and then the rest of the world.

As the Fury carves a path of death, destruction and petty outrage starting from the West Coast, he murders each of Cobalt's children one by one - a simple enough matter since they live in the spotlight of public media. With their strengths rated at half of The Fury's, it is a matter of foregone conclusion that they will be destroyed. However, not all conclusions are foregone, it seems. When you can't beat your opponent with strength of arms, you might have a chance if you use strength of mind.

Matthew Reilly has not always crafted successful stories - his recent foray into cinema with "Interceptor" has met with less than ideal reviews from critics and audience alike - however in terms of literary output, he's a fairly safe bet if you want something that will prove worth reading, if only once. This tale fits squarely in that category, with it being a light and easy read despite a somewhat 'doom and gloom' setting. There's no real tension developed, and the characters are a lot less developed than they could be despite many, many flashbacks to provide context. Still, it made for a good light read at 196 pages - some of which are taken up by maps or pictures of the characters. Padding it out by tacking on a 10-page interview with the author felt somewhat pointless though - the interview did nothing more than soak up another few trees' worth of paper.

Overall, it was... OK. Not one I personally would bother re-reading short of sheer desperation, but also not one that I regretted spending time on. I read it split into 10-20 minute blocks between other tasks spread over a week, but if you sat down and dedicated a solid 3 hours you would have ploughed through it easily. The author says it started out as a screenplay and was "expanded" into a novel by adding in extra scenes, however, I honestly feel that if it had been filmed it would have been made into, at most, a 30-minute show. Compared to his earlier work, particularly the "Scarecrow" series, this feels more like a pet-project pushed through while his attention is elsewhere, instead of a project he's really applied solid focus too. He somewhat admits to that in his interview as well, so it makes sense.