fantasy book reviews science fiction book reviewsDeadeye by William C. Dietz science fiction book reviewsDeadeye by William C. Dietz

Deadeye is a new novel, the first in THE MUTANT FILES series by William C. Dietz. After reading some of Dietz’s LEGION OF THE DAMNED books I was more than curious about what his work in a different genre would be like. Deadeye feels like a post-apocalyptic zombie novel mixed with a police investigation novel: everyone is still some version of human and the hero is a police detective.

Cassandra Lee is a detective working in a special division of the Los Angeles police department. She is the child of a cop and comes with all the trappings of a typical heroine. Basically, she’s deadly, ultra-intelligent and very, very good at what she does. She is honestly nothing new, but Dietz writes her well enough that reading about her feels comfortable, not boring.

Lee is tied up with a number of cases including investigating the murder of her father. Her naturally abrasive, tough-guy attitude has been earned through many hard life lessons and the death of more than one police partner. So, when she is assigned to a very high profile case that involves the daughter of a very famous, very wealthy anti-mutant evangelist, things start to get tense.

Dietz has done a solid job of creating a world that is a logical extension of our world after a massive biological terrorist attack that has left millions dead and many others mutated in ways that are not only horrifying to see, but also have talents that go far beyond what some of us have. It’s a solid backdrop that carries plenty of discrimination and a whole dose of concern because the virus that causes the mutations remains live and some, not all, mutants are contagious.

Dietz weaves a number of different plot threads together while telling Deadeye’s story. Cassandra stays the focal point most of the time, but there are a lot of bad, bad guys, not sexy bad boys, who end up getting mixed up in her quest to save the stolen young woman. The cultural implications that the mutation would impose on people are particularly well done. Family loves family, even when there are gross deformities that mar the appearance of sibling and children. Throw in some political maneuvering between some of the nations that have arisen post-plague and things get positively busy.

I enjoyed Deadeye for what it was. Dietz took some standard plotlines and wove them together without making things overly complicated or relying so heavily on annoying clichéd events. There was romance and there was ugliness directed towards innocents, but it made sense and didn’t overwhelm the story. That made it a book work reading, especially if you are into the police investigative or post-apocalyptic genres.

Publication Date: January 27, 2015. The national bestselling author of the Legion of the Damned novels, “a must-read for any fan of Mil Fic,” (Archaeologist’s Guide to the Galaxy) begins a brand new science fiction police procedural series… In the year 2038, an act of bioengineered terrorism decimated humanity. Those who survived were either completely unaffected or developed horrible mutations. Across the globe, nations are now divided between areas populated by “norms” and lands run by “mutants”… Detective Cassandra Lee of Los Angeles’s Special Investigative Section has built a fierce reputation taking down some of the city’s most notorious criminals. But the serial cop killer known as Bonebreaker—who murdered Lee’s father—is still at large. Officially, she’s too personally involved to work on the Bonebreaker case. Unofficially, she’s going to hunt him to the ends of the earth. In the meantime, duty calls when the daughter of Bishop Screed, head of the Church of Human Purity, is kidnapped by mutants and taken into the red zone to be used for breeding. Assigned to rescue her, Lee must trust her new partner—mutant lawman Deputy Ras Omo—to guide her not only through the unfamiliar territory but through the prejudicial divisions between mutants and norms…

Redzone (Mutant Files) Mass Market Paperback – July 28, 2015 by William C. Dietz (Author)Graveyard: The Mutant Files Mass Market Paperback – January 26, 2016 by William C. Dietz (Author)

Author

  • John Hulet

    JOHN HULET is a member of the Utah Army National Guard. John’s experiences have often left a great void that has been filled by countless hours spent between the pages of a book lost in the words and images of the authors he admires. During a 12 month tour of Iraq, he spent well over $1000 on books and found sanity in the process. John lives in Utah and works slavishly to prepare soldiers to serve their country with the honor and distinction that Sturm Brightblade or Arithon s’Ffalenn would be proud of. John retired from FanLit in March 2015 after being with us for nearly 8 years. We still hear from him every once in a while.