Michael F Kane’s followup to his successful After Moses ups the ante. I really enjoyed the episodic feel of the first book and the many callbacks to Scifi that came before. In Prodigal, he forgoes all of that for a single story that deep dives into the world of Ceres, crime families, and Grace Anderson. If Michael had consulted me prior to writing this book, I’d have told him “I don’t want a book about Grace.” Shows what I know.
In the midst of a daring rescue, and feeling more than a little bulletproof, Grace accidentally drops her comm device and becomes lost deep inside of Ceres — a floating ball of ice and slums. As Matthew and the crew of the sparrow hunt for her among a population of millions, she has to fend for herself and figure out who she really is.
If you haven’t read After Moses, you’re wasting valuable time reading this. Go get a copy and devour it. If you have, and you’re on the fence about jumping into book two, you should probably consult a competent mental health professional, and then dive into the second book.
The worst bit of Prodigal is that it can sometimes feel a little author-waves-hand to advance the plot. But it’s always believable. Grace drops her comm on a moving vehicle headed somewhere unfamiliar. It’s gone. She can’t call anyone because in spite of being told she should, she didn’t memorize their numbers. There must be a million ways to solve this problem — and yet all of this is 100% believable for a 14 year old girl who thinks she can handle anything right up until she can’t.
I love this book. I get all misty-eyes at the end and I’ve read it twice. Kane absolutely crushed this one. You owe it to yourself to read it.