Reviewed by 
  Ebony McKenna

Reviewer Rating:  **
Title: Destiny's Children
Category:  Science Fiction/Fantasy
Author: Thomas Kemmett
Publisher: Electric Bookworm Publishing
ISBN:  1-931069-07-7
Release Date:  August,  2000

Sara has strange dreams, she¹s not sure if they are of the future or the past. She also has visions when she touches certain objects. These are not the traits you want to have in a superstitious society that burns witches. And Sara should know, her mother was executed for being a witch.

Set in an agrarian, feudal society, Destiny¹s Children follows the exploits of the beautiful Sara and her husband Jon, the hunter, as they try to get by under the rule of a tyrant called Blanchard.

I¹m not spoiling anything by explaining Destiny¹s Children is set on Earth, more than 100,000 years after a rogue virus designed to wipe out Australia¹s rabbit plague jumped species and wiped out 95 per cent of humans instead. (Damn Aussies ruining it for everyone! It¹s not enough they are the
world¹s worst polluters!) But providing this "set up" at the beginning of the novel leaves less to reveal later on, because we already know what the secret is ­ that at one stage, long ago, humans were more civilized. All that remains is whether the characters can put the pieces together before the
book¹s end.

When you take a step back and think about the big picture ­ the overall plot and society Kemmett has created - Destiny¹s Children is quite a rollicking tale with knights on horseback and plenty of flashing swords. There¹s a fair quota of conflict and blood spilled, but in the end it¹s all a little too predictable. It¹s enjoyable enough, but it lacks real magic or believable characters that are the hooks that reel the readers in.

The descriptive passages are good, and there are some nice touches in the prose, when it¹s not too purple.

"The five remaining beasts, spurned on and excited by the smell of rancid blood and guts, approached the weakened hunter to make the kill. Mouths opened and closed in anticipation, with sharp fangs clicking together, making a music of death. The beasts rushed in for the slaughter."

And another little ripper:  "I know you. The words crawled out of his mouth, like fat white grubs from a dead man's
obscene wound."

But it all requires too much suspension of disbelief. The society of Destiny¹s Children has stagnated in a dark ages theme park ­ despite 100,000 years since the apocalypse.
Hmm, the Roman Empire through to the internet took a smidge over 2000 years, so what happened in the world of Destiny¹s Children? Did only the banjo pluckers survive???

The characters are fairly standard and although Sara and Jon are reasonably fleshed out, the rest are a tad thin. As for Ken and Elmer, they seemed to have leapt straight from Big Gay Al¹s Big Gay Boat Ride in South Park, they are that cringeworthy. This is fine if you're writing an offensive,
biting comedy, but plain awful if you want to be taken seriously. The baddies are pure evil, but are openly mocked by the citizens, which doesn¹t ring true ­ throughout
history, plebs have kowtowed to despots for fear of retribution, only revealing their true feelings when the dictator is safely six feet under.

Another concern is the editing, or lack of. I lost count of the times "a" should have been "an" such as "a insane vortex", "a iron war sword", "a angry push" etc. It¹s jarring to the reader and stops the flow. "Then" often slips in, instead of "than" and there are many other similar typos ­ like sentences not beginning with a capital letter - that should have been picked up.

Having said that, Destiny¹s Children has a satisfying denouement, and in general it is a pretty good yarn. Kemmett has talent, but I can¹t help thinking this novel could have been so much better with a good editor

Copyright © 2001 by  Ebony McKenna