A HOLE IN TEXAS

Narrator Jonathan Davis turns mere pages into a living story by giving a distinct voice to each character. His females don't speak in falsetto, but vary from whining to seductive. A lady scientist, Wen Lu, has a horrible Chinese accent, but listeners will know her when she talks. The novel rises from the hole remaining after the 1993 Congress killed the expensive nuclear collider being built in Texas to find a nuclear particle. When the Chinese discover the particle first, military minds and the American press awaken in panic. Davis's performance adds realism to a story in which hormonal urges, jealousy, and national pride energize the never-ending race to have the world's biggest bomb. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 04]