Chimera by Rob Thurman (Korsak Brothers series: Book 1)

Ten years ago, Stefan Korsak's younger brother was kidnapped. Not a day has passed that Stefan hasn't thought about him. As a rising figure in the Russian mafia, he has finally found him. But when he rescues Lukas, he must confront a terrible truth - his brother is no longer his brother. He is a trained, genetically-altered killer. Now, those who created him will do anything to reclaim him. And the closer Stefan grows to his brother, the more he realizes that saving Lukas may be easier than surviving him...

This story is about two seriously messed up people who try to connect while fleeing an overwhelming enemy. If you’ve got to translate this story into movies I would say a mix between ‘Vanishing Point’, ‘Eastern Promises’ and ‘The Road’, with a bit of science fiction thrown in to spice up the story.

To put it into words: This thrilling story is about the ‘re-bonding’ between two brothers who have lost each other for years and have become strangers to each other. To make it worse, both brothers have serious issues, varying from obsessive guilt to being created to kill. Next to that they have some major problems. For example; not only the former owners of the younger brother are after them, but the ‘Russian’ mob as well…

Stefan Korsak, the older brother has lived the ten years after the abduction of Lukas in guild and is obsessed with finding back his little brother. Having to finance his costly illegal search he works for the ‘Russian Mafia’. Being the offspring of one of its leaders, doing illegal stuff seems to come natural for Stefan, but has actually taken its toll.

Things changes after Stefan finds and takes back his brother.

I really liked the characters. Thurman always manages to create personalities with the right amount of smartass attitude and depth to make the dialogue between characters witty, smart and humorous in a gritty kind of way. The character dynamics in this story are just brilliant, the characters develop and react in a natural way to situations and each other.

Another thing I really liked was the genetic altering part. Lukas has been genetically altered in a really intriguing way. His ‘creation and education’ not only has an interesting effect on his intelligence and physical abilities but certainly on his personality. Created to do bad he tries to do good and that coupled with a brother who has learned to do evil but wants to do good creates a real fine story.

I am a big fan of Thurman’s work. The Cal Leandros series is pretty awesome and I really liked ‘All Seeing Eye‘. The only thing that could bother those of you who’ve read those books as well is that the Korsak’s have some of the same characteristics as Cal and Niko. Next to that the ‘Brotherly Love’ and emotional stuff around that doesn’t come over as something fresh and new. If that puts you off, you’re warned. I however enjoyed this story enormously, finishing it off in one compulsively focused day.

Another fast-paced, action filled, dark and gritty story about two brothers having to struggle against big odds. I loved it!

8/10 Fast-paced, action-filled, dark and gritty. I loved it!