Scorpion, Christian Cantrell
Scorpion, Christian Cantrell
List: $22.50 | Sale: $15.75
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Scorpion

Author: Christian Cantrell

Narrator: Hillary Huber

Unabridged: 11 hr 59 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/25/2021


Synopsis

“An exceptional, fast-paced thriller featuring a tech-empowered assassin whose pattern and objective you’ve never seen before, chased by a heroine with tenacious grit.”—David Brin, author of The Postman and Existence

Quinn Mitchell is a nine-to-five spy—an intelligence analyst for the CIA during the day, and a suburban wife and mother on evenings and weekends. After her young daughter is killed in a tragic accident, sending her life into a tailspin, Quinn hopes to find a new start in her latest assignment: investigating a series of bizarre international assassinations whose victims have been found with numeric codes tattooed, burned, or carved into their flesh. As Quinn follows the killer’s trail across the globe, always one body behind, she begins uncovering disturbing connections between the murders—and herself. 

Every lead she tracks down in pursuit of the assassin brings Quinn one step closer to the Epoch Index, a mysterious encrypted message discovered in the archives of the Large Hadron Collider. Its origins are unknown and decrypting it is beyond even the CIA. Yet nothing else can possibly link together a slew of unsolvable murders, an enigmatic and sophisticated serial killer who always seems to be three steps ahead, a quirky young physics prodigy whose knowledge extends well beyond her years, and, underlying everything, the inescapable tragedy of Quinn’s own past. Discovering the meaning of the Epoch Index leads Quinn to a shocking twist that shatters everything she thought she knew about the past, the future, and the delicate balance of right and wrong that she must now fight to preserve.

About Christian Cantrell

Christian Cantrell is a science fiction writer and software developer living in Northern Virginia. He is the author of short stories including "The Epoch Index," "Anansi Island," "Human Legacy Project," "Venom," and "Brainbox."


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ceecee on June 04, 2021

This is a techno thriller with liberal sprinklings of science, especially physics and it’s most certainly jargon driven. The storyline has multiple threads which involves nuclear attacks, a serial killer, coding, crypto currency and of that isn’t enough there’s a sci-fi element involving time travel......more

Goodreads review by Shaun on July 26, 2021

I don't generally give ratings on books, but I also rarely dislike books as much as I disliked this one. This seems like it should've been right in my sweet spot. It's a near-future thriller about a CIA analyst grieving the loss of her daughter and breakup of her marriage who's tasked with hunting d......more

Goodreads review by Bradley on May 17, 2021

This is a fairly interesting techno-thriller filled with echoes of Minority Report, Alias, and a long line of other modern spycraft/cop dramas. I expect that a lot of people will enjoy it for what it is: tech and geek driven; game-friendly, cryptocurrency-friendly, and, when we get to it, the joys o......more

Goodreads review by JasonA on August 23, 2021

I guess you'd call this a techno thriller, even though it was a little short on thrills. Quinn Mitchell is a CIA analyst who's tasked with tracking down an international serial killer. Her superpowers are that she's good with computers, is less likeable than a serial killer, and cries constantly wit......more

Goodreads review by Louise on June 13, 2021

Around the world, twenty two people have been murdered, The victims fit no profile, the circumstances vary wildly, but one thing links them all: in every case the victim is branded with a number. With police all around the globe floundering and unable to identify any pattern, let alone find the kill......more


Quotes

“Written with a unique blend of vim and wit, Scorpion is a cat-and-mouse, edge-of-your-seat, mind-blowing speculative techno thriller with a killer twist! Perfect for fans of Philip K. Dick and Richard K. Morgan.”—Diane Jeffrey, bestselling author of The Silent Friend

“[Scorpion] takes place in an only slightly futuristic world that snaps and bristles with technological capabilities that may seem distant or improbable but which are in fact just around the corner . . . There’s snappy dialogue, sharp observation, and compelling characters in Quinn, Ranveer, and Henrietta; the technology sings, the physics is plausibly presented, and the suggestion of time travel fascinates . . . A fast, fun, and intelligent SF thriller.”Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“This stunning near-future thriller from Cantrell takes some truly breathtaking turns. . . . Cantrell’s drolly caustic prose encourages readers to care about the characters, even as the many surprises make it dangerous to get close to any one of them. The result is as entertaining as it is intellectually and ethically challenging.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)