Two years ago, E.A. Dustin published Artima’s Travels, a techno-thriller about computer programmer and single mom Artima “Arty” Ressols. Arty’s claim to fame is a software program that can reproduce smells. When a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier power by AISE systems (Arty’s employer) accidentally fires a missile at a Russian ship, Arty has to figure out whether her program has been compromised.
Now comes ARTIMA’S TRAVELS (Part II), a sequel focusing not on Arty but on her teenage daughter, Ella, who opens the novel by attending the funeral of her estranged father. Also in attendance is her half-brother Colton, whom Ella is dying to get to know. After the funeral, when Ella asks her mother why her father was absent from her life, Arty turns strangely evasive. Determined to know the truth, Ella sneaks off with her friend Rusty to meet Colton. Soon, the three are inseparable, a risky move that sets off another cyber-struggle, this one involving brain implants, psychometry–understanding an object’s history by touching it–and time travel. And Nazis, those ubiquitous villains.
The book has a Young Adult feel, and not just because the main character is seventeen. Ella’s curiosity about her origin and her drive to solve its mysteries parallel what a lot of young people are doing now with tools like social media and 23AndMe. (Advice columns, for example, are awash in stories of parents tracked down by children they didn’t know they had.) The reason Arty was hesitant to tell Ella about her father was because the guy had Nazi ancestors, and it is easy to get swept up in Ella’s quest not only to discover her past but to overcome it. Moreover, the book is full of fascinating historical details, such as when Colton shows Ella an old family letter written “in Sütterlin script—a handwriting style used in Germany between 1915 to 1941.”
Dustin could have used a proofreader, writing “derided” instead of “demanded,” “starting” instead of “staring,” and “conscious” instead of “consciousness,” and she never met a comma splice she didn’t like. Still, ARTIMA’S TRAVELS (Part II) offers an exciting plot, sympathetic characters, and unique twist on the venerable coming-of-age story.
Combining Star Trek-level technology with Harry Turtledove-esque alternate history, E. A. Dustin’s ARTIMA’S TRAVELS (Part II) offers fast-paced action, relatable characters, and a unique coming-of-age twist.
~Anthony Aycock for IndieReader