Kate Story

Generally as good fun as the best of Hogarth Shakespeare

I quite enjoyed this science fiction adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" which was as entertaining as the best of the recent Hogarth Shakespeare Series with its high profile authors adapting the Bard's canon.

Kate Story especially showed a lot of imaginative flair in her plant-based bio-engineered versions of Shakespeare's Caliban and Ariel, who become the shape-shifting Kaleeban and Auriel in this off-Earth version.

There is a brief Eww/Yuck...-inducing bit of interspecies sex-play which may put some off, but it passes quickly. Some may also be put off by the subverting of expectations in the Epilogue, but that is more of a tacked-on "Alternate Ending" version vs. the main novel which actually follows the play quite closely on a scene by scene or chapter by chapter basis.… (more)

As the story opens, 49-year-old Pearl dies in the arms of her 30-year-old son, Stephen, and her friend, Mouse, who she's recently been reunited with. This is a story of family secrets, difficult relationships, and finding your own way in the world.

Pearl is a difficult character...bossy, alcoholic, self-absorbed. Yet, there is a fierce independence in her that makes her a compelling character. She's hard to like, but somehow charismatic. Stephen knows no family but Pearl, and she's not talking. Her illness makes him question his background. Mouse is a successful business person who fell in love with Pearl as a teenager. Her return to Pearl's life helps smooth the edges between Pearl and Stephen.

This is a very good story, well written, strong characters.… (more)