Clarence Wolf's Reviews > Detonation Boulevard

Cat Catling is one of the top rally racers in the solar system, but she's never won the course on the treacherous terrain of the Jovian moon Io. She hopes to change that this time around, but her rival Zimmer - who wins every year - stands in her way. The two hold a wide lead over the rest of the pack when Zimmer decides to take his car through a deadly, geyser-strewn stretch of the course known as Detonation Boulevard. Cat makes the split second decision to follow him. What happens there takes everything she thought she knew about her life and career and turns it on its head.
It's unusual to describe a story that runs on near non-stop action as "character-driven", but that's what we have here. Reynolds plies us with the usual sports story sentiments like honor and glory and guts, etc., then offers us a more sinister take on the demands such competitions can make on the minds and bodies of the participants. It all ends on a jarringly cynical note that took a minute for me to digest, but I see now it was the right choice to make for this story. (p.s. nice shout out to The Sisters of Mercy)