Extremes, book two of the Retrieval Artist series by Kristine Kathryn Rusch furthers the adventures of Miles Flint, and his former partner, Armstrong Police Detective Noelle DeRicci. In Extremes, DeRicci is sent to investigate a death on the course of the Moon Marathon. At first, it appears to be a simple case, but DeRicci quickly realizes that this death is anything but simple. Meanwhile, Miles Flint is settling into his life as a Retrieval Artist, and learning what cases he should--and shouldn't--take. The former partners paths cross in the most unlikely of ways, but not before all of Armstrong is threatened with survival. Does Extremes live up to the promise laid out in The Disappeared, or does it fall tremendously flat?

The characters introduced by Rusch in The Disappeared make their glorious return, and Flint is very much new to the role of Retrieval Artist in this novel. Rusch spends an extraneous amount of time (perhaps too much) detailing Flint's new life, and his struggles with making himself comfortable. When a client approaches him, he plays very-hard-to-get, keeping readers in the dark about the proposed job until more than halfway through the novel. Alternatively, DeRicci's investigation into the death of a Marathon runner very quickly turns into a murder investigation with far-reaching implications. The mystery surrounding the death is well handled, though the ultimate reveal leaves a bit to be desired. The characters in Extremes are decidedly excellent, and continue a narrative that will obviously use the entire series to explore. The Retrieval Artist novels are very much individual chapters in a larger story.

Once again, Rusch avoids the temptation of dwelling on exposition to fill in the past. The scenes where history is revealed is necessary, and brief. A few more species are alluded to, though very little detail about them is revealed. In fact, Extremes is very much a singularly human story--there is virtually no alien influence at all in the novel, which is a good thing, as it avoid detracting from the central mystery. The technology revealed isn't particularly futuristic, though sets it apart from current levels of technology. The Retrieval Artist novels provide a timelessness that is difficult to match in current science fiction. So many of today's stories are set so far into the future that technology has seemingly leaped into the realm of magic, or they are set in essentially the modern day, or very-near future so that some scientific breakthrough is about to change modern society in ways we can only imagine. It's refreshing to see a story that's still accessible and familiar, yet beyond our current reach; it gives us something to strive for.

Unfortunately, Extremes doesn't quite live up to the excellence set forth in the previous installment of the series. The mystery is a good one, though the clues come together a bit too quickly, and readers will likely put the pieces together faster than the book does--primarily due to several characters each holding a piece of the solution. The plot moves rather slowly--even more so than in the first book. Still, this is nitpicking, finding faults that are minor. Overall, the book is a solid mystery, and a worthy read--if not quite as good as The Disappeared. It still furthers the Retrieval Artist story, and will continue to draw readers into the continuing saga being weaved by Rusch, one long chapter at a time. ( )

I liked this one better than the first one. I gave the first one a 4 but it was just barely. The science fiction was good but the mystery struggled. This one the mystery really worked for me. I much better blending of the two genres. I like the multiple story lines and the fun way they all pull together. ( )

Regrettably, although the number of accidental deaths of participants in the Moon Marathon is declining, they still do occur. However, this death is murder. Meanwhile, Miles Flint is unsure whether to accept his first case as a fully-fledged Retrieval Agent, although the potential client, a lawyer from a firm Paloma frequently worked with, is very persistent.

The different threads came together nicely in this exciting case which kept me up way past my bedtime. In the shadow of Covid, the story of a genetically enhanced lethal cold virus does of course have more resonances than it did in 2004. ( )

A great detective story, told from 3 different perspectives. The action takes place on the moon, within a comprehensible near time milieu—the story resonates with modern sensibilities and deep space concepts. Someone dies in strange circumstances during a lunar marathon—with space suits and scattered rock debris, etc. Aliens are mentioned, but only as background to the story. So we have an insane medical killer who is so charismatic that people tend to like/believe her, a cop that is so competent that it’s only her lack of social competence that prevents her from getting promoted, and a skip-tracer that needs to prove you’re worthy of his services before you can hire him. The threads woven by each character manages to keep the action moving until the author can finally merge the threads and save the day. A gripping story. ( )

Rusch, Kristine Kathryn. Extremes: A Retrieval Artist Novel. Retrieval Artist No. 2. Roc, 2003.
Extremes, the second full novel in Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Retrieval Artist series, hits closer to home than Rusch could have imagined in 2003. Miles Flint, now an independent investigator of cases involving people who have vanished, either because of or in spite of the various alien legal systems with which humanity has become involved, is troubled by the suspicious death of one of his fellow investigators. His former partner in the Armstrong city police department finds herself investigating the death of a marathon runner and later a viral outbreak in one of the city’s domes. The idea of a crowd disease in the closed environment of a lunar city seems all too real as we claw our way out of our own pandemic. Rusch has once again created a well-plotted mystery with strong characters and somce fun science fiction twists. She is a writer I will continue to read. ( )