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Chapter Two 
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An Exchange of Hostages Click left edge of page for Book Reviews Index. Click right edge of page for To Say Nothing of the Dog. Click title at left for Book Reviews Index. |
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| An Exchange of Hostages by Susan R. Matthews Paperback Pub. Date June 1997 AvoNova $5.99 |
An Exchange of Hostages
is a disturbing, yet powerful novel. Andreh Koscuisko is a talented surgeon,
impelled by family responsibilities to train as an Inquisitor, a government
sponsored torturer. To the satisfaction of his tutor and the administration,
he proves to be an extremely adept student. He alienates his less talented,
but extremely ambitious, classmate. This classmate has a sponsor powerful
enough to imperil both Kosciusko and the school. (This conflict will surely
arise in a future volume.) While earning enmity on one hand, Kosciusko
also earns the loyalty of his bond-indentured security guard and of one
of his practice victims whom he first tortures and then saves from death.
As he does all this, he also learns he is repelled by and fearful of what
he becomes when he begins his questioning. This is obviously the first
of a series. It is not easy reading, often sounding like a charges list
from Amnesty International, but is a compelling read.
Reviewed by Dave Willoughby |