Book Review - Predator/Nomad by Daniel Micko

Predator / Nomad by Daniel Micko revolves around two main characters; Princess Saleh, the twin sister of Prince Faruq, and a geneticist Dr. Jordan Roberts. The book starts with the inauguration ceremony for the Emir Prince Faruq bint Bandar al Saudi, who has now become the city's newly elected governor. At the reception, Dr. Roberts converses with someone she believes to be the Prince's bodyguard. Later that evening, she discovers that the bodyguard is Princess Saleh, the Prince's twin sister. Saleh and Jordan instantly feel a connection and begin a relationship. 

With Saleh's help, Dr. Roberts, a geneticist, attends a meeting with Prince Faruq, and she explains her new project involving genetic splicing, cell regeneration, and organ 3D printing. Dr. Roberts hopes to get funding for her new project and convinces the Prince to sponsor her research. In return, she promises to cure his subjects of all the diseases they are suffering from. Princess Saleh becomes suspicious when she discovers that one of Dr. Roberts's investors is a known terrorist. She contacts Interpol to try and find out who else is backing the Dr.'s work; when Princess Saleh discovers that Dr. Roberts is cloning people in a secret and highly guarded camp in the mountains in Afghanistan, she finds out that this is just the beginning!

I like Micko's excellent plot involving human cloning. He has done a great job of mixing the genres of science fiction and thriller, and I liked reading this book. I also enjoyed the subplots woven into the story. For example, Prince Faruq is a notorious playboy, but he needs to find a wife of which his family and country will approve, and when Princess Saleh is not spying on Dr. Roberts, she is trying to make her brother toe the line.

However, there are spelling and grammar mistakes. I was particularly aghast that the title on the title page was misspelled! It is a great shame that the editing and proofreading have let Predator/Nomad by Daniel Micko down so badly! I also did not like the overuse of the word 'giggle,' which is used forty-four times in the book; I feel there are other words that could have been used. I did not particularly appreciate how Dr. Roberts and Princess Saleh had a sexual relationship so quickly; it felt like the author needed to somehow put a lesbian angle in. However, once it happened, that relationship was almost forgotten. It felt to me as if Micko might as well not have bothered with the relationship, as this added very little to the story. I also felt some conversations were unnecessarily wordy and detracted from the story.

I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars. Predator/Nomad has an exciting storyline, but it is badly let down by the editing, and the misspelling of the title is unforgivable! Also it is not a book I would choose to read again.

Some of the topics in this book are very scientific and weighty, but Micko has written them in simple language, which makes the story easy to understand. There is no need for the reader to have a scientific background. The book contains swearing, so I recommend it to older teenagers and adults who enjoy the genres of crime, thrillers, science fiction, and anything with a science-related plot.

 

 Thank you to Daniel Micko for a free copy of this book in exchange for an impartial review.