Harbinger is a 2012 science fiction thriller by Sean Danker-Smith. Here, a mysterious gun-toting loner type and his unwanted tagalong sidekick investigate sinister doings in a small Washington town.
Danker-Smith’s story is straight-faced on the surface, but
at the same time, he doesn’t take it particularly seriously. Harbinger
is shamelessly self-aware, with its most obvious references being those to Resident
Evil, the zombie genre, and too many ridiculous action movies to count. It never
feels particularly ambitious from a literary standpoint; Danker-Smith seems
completely concerned with getting a sci-fi thriller movie onto paper, and that’s
okay.
The pacing here is generally good; the horror sensibilities
are certainly there. Danker-Smith generates some good tension at the beginning
and a solid final act, although the middle drags a bit in places, mostly
because of conversations that are overlong and don’t advance the story; a
number are of substantially greater interest to the characters than to the
reader. Harbinger is stronger when it focuses on Frank, who generally gets
things done and makes the story go, than on the interminably contrary and less
sympathetic Galya. However, none of these storytelling foibles are egregious; the
writing, on the whole, is solid, although Harbinger sometimes feels like
it could have used one more polish.
The characters tend to move from one plot point to the next
with a fair degree of speed and convenience, and it’s rare that the reader
feels that they are in any real peril. It is as if the adventure’s degree of
difficulty is too low for their abilities, which, naturally, saps some of the
suspense. To some extent, this feels deliberate, that Danker-Smith is thumbing
his nose at the conventions of the genres
in which he’s writing. Similarly, Danker-Smith’s computer hacking is the stuff
of TV shows and summer blockbusters (although his level of attention to detail
on firearms is phenomenally high). Again, though, this feels like it may be
deliberate. The overall effect may take some getting used to, but it works well
enough.
In the end, Harbinger is an enjoyable page-turner,
and it seems content with achieving that status. The reader should be content as
well.
