Shannon C.’s review of Hidden by Eve Kenin
Science fiction romance released by Shomi 1 Jul 08

Eve Kenin’s Driven introduced us to a post-apocalyptic future in a bleak northern climate where truckers were kings of the road. In Hidden, Ms Kenin returns us to that world, and we get to see another aspect of this society. In fact, though Driven was an excellent book, I liked Hidden better.

Tatiana, the sister of Wizard from Driven, has a three-step plan. She needs to find someone named Tolliver. Then she needs to find Gavin Ward, a very literally mad scientist who has designed a plague using some of Tatiana’s genetic material. Ward also tortured Tatiana and manipulated her for years. She needs them both to be dead, because the plague they’ve created would devastate the Northern Waste. What she is not counting on is to be confronted with a settler named Tristan with compelling blue eyes, or with a group of violent, mutated reavers, or falling in love.

I really liked Tatiana. She is a kick-ass heroine who still managed to be completely vulnerable in certain places. She has her issues, and I thought that they were dealt with well. She never had any TSTL moments, and I loved her discovering a sense of compassion. Plus, she’s just fascinating. Like her siblings, she was raised pretty much by a computer, and her only emotional contact has been with the people whose thoughts she can read. She doesn’t always understand proper interaction, which can make for some pretty intense scenes.

Tristan, the unsettling settler that she meets, is an equally compelling hero. I don’t recall having run into a hero with such a profound mystical streak in a while, and I liked his strong sense of duty and honor. I did figure out his big secret quite a while before Tatiana did, and there were a few moments where I thought that his actions perpetuated a conflict where that wasn’t necessary.

I was drawn into the plot, actually staying up late at night to read the second half of the book. There were moments of chilling suspense, and Kenin does a great job with creepy atmospheric details. I would have preferred that Gavin Ward, the book’s central villain, weren’t such a complete one-note psycho, and I really hope that if Ms. Kenin continues the series she won’t keep trotting out these villains in every. single. book.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book. It’s not quite a keeper for me, but I very much enjoyed reading it, and I think anyone who enjoys science fiction and romance will definitely appreciate it. I think the experience of reading this book will be enhanced if you’ve read Driven, but I don’t think it would be too difficult to pick up and read as a standalone.

Grade: B+

Summary:
Tatiana has honed her genetic gifts to perfection. She can withstand the subzero temperatures of the Northern Waste, read somebody’s mind with the briefest touch, and slice through bone with her bare hands. Which makes her one badass chick, all right. Nothing gets to her. Until she meets Tristan. Villain or ally, she can’t be sure. But one thing she does know: he has gifts too-including the ability to ramp up her heart rate to dangerous levels. But before they can start some chemistry of their own, they have to survive being trapped in an underground lab, hunted by a madman, and exposed to a plague that could destroy mankind.
Read an excerpt here