Review of ‘Broken People’

Posted on January 3, 2015 Updated on December 28, 2014

A former soldier fed up with war, Dale Armstrong is in Bratislava to steal a fortune from a castle belonging to the city’s mayor. His plans are disrupted, though, when his partner Cole is mangled and badly burned. Dale must find medical assistance and prosthetics to replace his partner’s useless hands. He goes to Aurore, the Golden Lady, for help, and she directs him to the Nightingale Circus, a collection of performers enhanced with prosthetics, whose sidelines is providing supplies and equipment to replace lost or damaged limbs. Things become complicated when the circus honchos decide they want in on Dale’s operation, and then he learns that the mayor – his target – is Aurore’s uncle.

Broken People by Romanian author Ioana Visan is cutting edge science fiction, with a thread of mystery and suspense running throughout. Visan does a great job of creating characters who readers can relate to, and situations that, though science fiction, seem real. Broken People is more than science fiction – it’s a commentary on society’s treatment of those who are different, and how they cope with it.

You don’t have to be a sci-fi fan to enjoy this book. I give it four stars.