Review: The Mote in Andrea's Eye by David Niall Wilson

The Mote in Andrea’s Eye by David Niall Wilson

Andrea has been obsessed with hurricanes since her father was killed in one while trying to help a neighbor. Where most people would express their obsession by frantically tracking storms on the news, and a few would go on to become full-fledged meteorologists, Andrea takes it a step further. She’d determined to figure out how to end hurricanes—to de-fang them, so to speak, and she’s got the brains that just might be able to find a way to do it.

 

The novel tracks her through decades, struggling to discover ways to steal the energy out of hurricanes and turn them into normal storms. In the course of her work, an unexplained event adds dramatically to the personal cost. Her husband, and the entire storm he’s flying through, abruptly disappear in the Devil’s Triangle. It’s bizarrely unexplained, but only serves to make Andrea push harder. Decades later she’s still at it when her husband—and the storm—abruptly reappear threatening the U.S. coast without warning.

 

This novel is powerfully built to tap your emotions and is truly exciting as Andrea and her team struggle to save lives. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. The way that Andrea’s husband—decades out of time—was handled is sweet and unexpected. But it needs to be said that the big question—why that storm disappeared and reappeared and why her husband returns in the state he and his plane are in is never explained—although there is a hint when radio signals from a decades-lost ship are momentarily heard from the heart of the Devil’s Triangle.