Scales, by Christopher Hinz
8 Apr 2025The Book
Synopsis:
An electrifying thriller about species re-engineering run amok, Scales is a great, fast-paced read perfect for fans of Jurassic Park.
Eddie Boka’s first combat mission is a success... until he’s overwhelmed by a raging compulsion and eats an enemy soldier! His cannibalism threatens to derail the plans of Blayvine Industries, whose secret project has genetically enhanced Eddie and three other prototypes with reptilian DNA. The corporation needs Eddie’s urges brought under control before it can introduce its dino-humans to the world and begin selling armies of them.
Facing a deadline for the big media unveiling, the corporation hires unorthodox therapist Adelaide “Addi” LaTour to treat Eddie’s cannibalism. Disparagingly known as the Electrobitch, Addi uses shock collars and severe behavioral conditioning to overcome compulsions. Eddie is revolted by her methods and the two of them clash... violently.
But she overcomes his resistance and he learns self-control, leading to the dino-humans’ successful public unveiling. Things soon fall apart, however. A retrovert – a vicious saurian predator – escapes itsenclosure and goes on a lethal rampage. Worse chaos erupts when Eddie and Addi, in violation of the rules, start an affair, triggering a devastating chain of events that threatens to bring down the entire project...
My Review
Scales is a fast-paced sci-fi thriller, written by Christopher Hinz, and published by Angry Robot Books. A fun and absorbing read, perfect for fans of Jurassic World, which cleverly plays with the premise of the first dino-human soldiers, with plenty of action and some unexpected twists that kept me reading until the end.
Eddie Boka is one of the first four dino-human hybrid soldiers; all is going smoothly with the project until Boka feels a compulsion to eat an enemy combatant during a mission, threatening to derail the whole project. With the public unveiling on the horizon, Blayvine Industries hires Addie LaTour, an unconventional therapist, to keep his cannibalistic tendencies at bay; but not only we will have complications as other experiments go wrong, as a spark will ignite the relationship between Addie and Boka, a forbidden attraction that can't happen.
While it is true that characterization suffers a bit in benefit of the pacing, Hinz manages to give us enough brushstrokes about each one of the characters; Addie herself is a complicated character, with her unconventional methods that put other professionals against her, but we also have an intelligent and brave character. Eddie fits a bit in the prototypical hero archetype, struggling with his condition, but also trying to do the best he can to help. The romance between them is fitting, even if can be seen as a bit wrong due to the relationship between patient and doctor.
The villain is a bit cartoonish, especially after all is revealed, but he adequately fulfills the role as the antagonist in the shadows.
The pacing is excellent. There's a great mix between action and slower scenes, and seriously, Hinz shows his skill when writing tense moments: while it is a bit on the gory side, it feels like a movie, allowing you to follow all without any kind of complication.
Scales is a fun, action packed sci-fi thriller, perfect if you are looking for a fast read that keeps you hooked until the very last page; a really enjoyable book that I totally recommend if you are a fan of Jurassic World!
The Author/s
Christopher Hinz
Christopher Hinz (born March 10, 1951) is an American writer best known for the Paratwa science fiction trilogy. Hinz has also written comic books for DC Comics and Marvel Comics. He won the Compton Crook Award in 1988 for his novel Liege-Killer, the first book in his Paratwa Trilogy.