Critical Point

by S. L. Huang

Overview

S. L. Huang's Critical Point is a breakout SF thriller for fans of John Scalzi and Greg Rucka.

Math-genius mercenary Cas Russell has stopped a shadow organization from brainwashing the world and discovered her past was deliberately erased and her superhuman abilities deliberately created.

And that's just the start: when a demolitions expert targets Cas and her friends, and the hidden conspiracy behind Cas's past starts to reappear, the past, present, and future collide in a race to save one of her dearest friends.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250180377
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/28/2020
Series:	Cas Russell , #3
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	579,739
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

S. L. HUANG has a math degree from MIT and is a professional stuntwoman&armorer who has worked in Hollywood on Battlestar Galactica and a number of other productions. Her short fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons, Nature, and The Best American Science Fiction&Fantasy 2016. She is the author of the Cas Russell series, which includes Zero Sum Game, Null Set, and Critical Point.
S. L. Huang is a Hollywood stunt performer, firearms expert, Nebula Award finalist, and Hugo Award winner with a math degree from MIT and credits in productions like “Battlestar Galactica” and “Top Shot.” The author of the fantasy novella Burning Roses as well as the Cas Russell novels including Zero Sum Game, Null Set, and Critical Point, Huang’s short fiction has also appeared in Analog, The Magazine of Fantasy&Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, Nature, Tor.com, and more, including numerous best-of anthologies.

Editorial Reviews

01/20/2020

Huang’s exciting third novel to feature mercenary Cas Russell (after Null Set) finds Cas taking baby steps toward living a normal life—until she discovers her friend is missing. Cas’s investigation gets off to a dangerous start when a man with the magical power to make people instantly forget about him blows up her Los Angeles office. The action only escalates as clues lead Cas to both a freelance bomber and a recently deceased plastic surgeon. Huang allows plenty of opportunities for antihero Cas to showcase her supernatural mathematical skills by defusing bombs, examining evidence, and executing fantastic feats during the exhilarating action sequences. Less successful are the tale’s quieter beats: the dialogue tends to become incoherent when characters are flustered, and some introspection grows tedious as Cas struggles with ethical questions. The reveal of the true antagonist also falls flat, but Huang still manages to bring this complex, many layered plot to a mostly satisfying conclusion. Cas’s continuing development will please series fans, but new readers may find the backstory overwhelming. This fast-paced sci-fi thriller makes up for its flaws with clever plotting and thrilling action. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"Exhilarating action sequences.... clever plotting and thrilling action." —Publishers Weekly

"High-stakes action and emotional velocity . . . a sf thriller that fans will truly enjoy." —Library Journal

"[Critical Point] starts with a bang and never lets up." —Booklist

Praise for Zero Sum Game:

"A smart, calculated action thriller that keeps the reader guessing."—Den of Geek

"Trust us, trigonometry has never sounded so cool."—Paste Magazine

“Fun and original.”—San Francisco Chronicle

"A fast-paced, darkly humorous read with a lot of heart for fans of action and urban fantasy, as well as lovers of Wolverine and other morally ambiguous, gritty superheroes with a mysterious past."—Booklist, Starred Review

"Fast, furious, and adds up to one of the coolest, most crackin’ reads this year."—Chuck Wendig

"The best novel I've read this year; a heroine I fell in love with."—Eric Van Lustbader, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"Cas Russell is who I want to be when I grow up. She kicks ass with her fists and her brain—a true twenty-first century action hero. I loved this book."—Richard Kadrey

"Paced at a flat out sprint."—Kate Elliott

“The smartest and thrillingest book you’ll read all year.”—Ken Liu

"Intense, vivid, and insanely clever, with a great heroine—I couldn't put it down."—Yoon Ha Lee, New York Times bestselling author

"This hard-to-put-down, action-packed sf debut is intelligent and entertaining. With Cas, Huang has created an indelible, flawed character who makes mathematics seem almost magical."—Library Journal, Starred Review

“A paranormal thriller in which both the action and the questions don't stop....Cas is an awesome antiheroine...exciting, nasty fun...an excellent harbinger for books to come.”—Kirkus

From the Publisher

03/01/2020

Cas Russell is a mathematical genius, and uses those skills as a mercenary. Unfortunately, after saving the world from a shadowy organization that planned to brainwash most of the population, she discovers that her skills were a result of their machinations—and her past identity was erased. Or so everyone thought. Now dealing with memories and flashes of the past, Cas finds that she has gained the unwanted attention of someone who likes blow things up. When that attention moves onto one of her closest friends, Cas races to discover answers that could result in killing everyone she cares about. VERDICT High-stakes action and emotional velocity are hallmarks of Huang's writing, creating an engaging and flawed protagonist that many will identify with, even when her internal conflict overwhelms some of the quieter plot threads. The third entry in the "Cas Russell" series (after Null Set) is a sf thriller that fans will truly enjoy.—Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton

Library Journal