For those of us SF readers who cut our teeth on Asimov and Heinlein, SF has opened a portal into a world or worlds of possibilities. Think back to the original Star Trek series. What were just ideas then - total body imaging, instant communication, etc. - have become facts. Even the world of immutable physics has been turned on its ear. What hasn't changed is the vision of writers to imagine what could be - The Other.
Starta has done just that. He's created a believable heroine who, in whatever iteration she exists, has the reader rooting for her. Is Caitlin an FBI agent? Instrument of Isis? Murderer of the President of the United States? Yes. And No. With 9 Incarnate, Strata has resurrected, pardon the pun, the gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt and involved them in a tale where they threaten the very existence of humankind on Earth. For example, is Hathor or her reincarnation really the psychotic goddess wanting to dominate the new world order? Can Isis stop her? Should she? After all, she's residing in one of Caitlin's existences.
If you love mixed genres - SF, urban fantasy, mystery, and romance, this is one tale you won't want to miss. Kudos to Starta. I was hooked from the getgo. There's some real science here as well as speculative fiction. It's a read you won't want to put down until the satisfying end. Looking forward to the next work by this up and coming talented writer.
Caitlin Diggs will have more to worry about than her on again and off again romance with her FBI superior when the goddess Isis appears in her mind. Is this a trick, or perhaps an evil entity linked to her psychic gift offered by the crystal? The crystal has offered Caitlin psychic gifts but also a strange connection to the Star of the Sea, or Isis. Even her cat Bastet seems to share in this linkage.
To make matters more complex, Diggs finds the Ennead has returned to Earth as promised. But are they here to share secrets of the pyramids or to take over? Murders and a mass demon disappearance coincide with their arrival to invite not only high strangeness but high suspicion.
Now Diggs must question if she is under the influence of gods, aliens, or a criminal concoction of both.
Because she can't fingerprint the 'gods', Diggs’ search for the truth will take her to an unparalleled journey she could never imagine. Time traveling to ancient Egypt may very well reveal the truth of our origins and Caitlin's true destiny with the crystal entity. But at what ultimate price?