Nothing by R. J. Goldman

Overall Rating: ***** (5 stars)

Nothing is a science-fantasy novelette, set in the present day. While it doesn’t break much new ground, it’s a tightly plotted and well-written story about young super-powered people on the run.

At the beginning of the story, Juana Pérez is riding home from work on public transit, being harassed by a coarse drunk who refuses to back off. Under stress, Juana “lights up,” summoning up a burst of flames that drives the creep away with blisters. Unfortunately, the entire car full of commuters saw and heard the incident, and at least one of them caught it on their phone. Fleeing from all the eyewitnesses and the blaring alarm, Juana realizes that her cover is well and truly blown.

It turns out that Juana, and her siblings Ajay, JT, and Taro, are all the product of illicit experiments that gave them control over the four classical elements. Juana has control over Fire, able to summon it up and direct it, and her brothers have similar command over Water, Earth, and Air. Some time ago they escaped from the lab where they were created, and they have been in hiding ever since. Now, with Juana’s burst of power making the news, they fear they may have to abandon their lives once more.

What follows is a story about courage, trust and betrayal, and the ties of a self-chosen family. The dialogue snaps along, and the action scenes near the end are thrilling.

Nothing is very well done – R. J. Goldman has crisp, clean prose, with few or no copy-editing errors, and she knows how to put a story together. There weren’t a lot of surprises in the plot, but I found it a very quick and smooth read. When I reached the end, I craved more about this world and these characters. Highly recommended.