THE POWER OF TWO

Author: Patti O'Shea ISBN: 0505525933 11/2004 SCI-FI/FUTURISTIC Publisher: LOVE SPELL

The UCE:  In the 21st and 22nd Centuries, the United States changed and grew. Now the United Colonies of Earth dominate the globe.  But a mysterious voice is broadcasting treason, inciting revolution and referring to the “ideals of 1776”—and to an enigmatic figure named Banzai Maguire. To find Banzai, the UCE assigns Cai.  She’s the “anchor,” the techie half of a Quandem: a pair of elite operatives intended for just such covert action.  Neural implants allow her to sit back in a control chair and feed information to her partner, the dark-souled Jacob Tucker.  He’s as rigid as he is deadly…or handsome.  But this time, it can’t be business as usual.  This time, Cai needs Jake to trust her completely.  Whether he likes it or not, she can’t sit back while he fights the bad guys.  Wherever this mission takes her, Cai is gonna be the one kicking a little tail.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

The year is 2176, 200 years past our bicentennial, and somebody is trying to instigate a revolution with the words our forefathers spoke in 1776. While things have progressed in the 200 years since 1976, some things just haven't changed. The way the government is run and the people who run it aren't anymore satisfactory in 2176 than they are now, but the feeling is, for the most part, it could be so much worse. What has changed is how far technology has progressed. The army has instituted a program that involves computer technology and warfare, but on a personal level.

The experimental program is basically the installation of a computer probe linking an anchor (Cai, our heroine) and a recep (Jake, our hero). When Jake, a special forces operative, is on a mission he relies on the input and info that is provided by Cai. The twist is that Jake believes that Cai is a computer. They are linked for 5 years before the situation calls for Cai to reveal herself as a living, breathing woman. 5 years of Jake confiding and building a relationship with what he believes to be a safe and inhuman being.

The sparks fly once the truth is revealed. Cai has her own reasons for adamantly refusing to be intimidated by her 'other half'. Jake, likewise, has his reasons for not wanting to become too close. This was a quick paced book that was easy to become engrossed in. Alpha-male and Alpha-female who couldn't help but feel an attraction and fight against it all the same.

One of the things I liked most was that, even though it was futuristic, it was believable. Who knows what the future will bring, but I felt the situations here are totally feasible. And I wouldn't be surprised if the technological end of it happened in our lifetime rather than over 100 yrs from now.

Another thing I liked was the fact that Jake wasn't infallible. He made mistakes, sometimes big, that you wouldn't expect to find in this type of novel. At the same time, the mistakes were fathomable - it wasn't surprising he thought the way he did.

The interaction between the characters was believable and it was easy to empathize with them. The interaction between the sheets wasn't too shabby either. *G* I'm glad I had the chance to read it and would recommend it to anyone looking for something different, something futuristic, that isn't run of the mill and something that wasn't filled with so much tech-talk that it wasn't enjoyable.

Sue Cloud