Book Review: The Rogue Retrieval by Dan Koboldt
As a geneticist, Dan Koboldt has written extensively within his field of research and in nonfiction for the general reader (such as Clarkesworld) on science in speculative fiction and related genres. Expecting and hoping for his fiction to be filled with speculative elements related to genetics, I was caught off guard by his debut novel, a light-hearted portal fantasy titled The Rogue Retrieval. A successful start to a Harper Voyager series called “Gateways to Alissia”, it has been followed by The Island Deception earlier this year, and will continue in a third volume due early 2018. The protagonist and point-of-view character for The Rogue Retrieval is Quinn Bradley, a talented and witty stage magician/illusionist who dreams of finding large-scale success headlining Vegas. In addition to attracting the notice of casino reps, Quinn’s act also attracts the attention of agents for CASE Global, a secretive corporation with the financial resources to recruit Quinn into an exclusive contract too tempting to dismiss.
