Review: Chimera

Chimera by Vaun Murphrey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Weaver Series, Book One

Cassandra is no ordinary thirteen year old girl. In captivity since the age of five, held in silence and isolation, yet she is unimaginably brilliant. She is a Weaver, an evolutionary advance in the human line. Miraculously rescued by an uncle she never knew existed, she must now learn to handle her still developing powers.

Is she a threat to the Weavers, or their salvation?

Possible spoilers below:



As the title of the book is Chimera, it should come as no surprise that Cassandra, our main character, is a chimera. A chimera is a being that develops when two fertilized eggs fuse and develop into one person with two distinct DNA profiles.

Cassandra's fused twin is called Silver. And yes, I hate the name. Silver is a great name for a horse, or a cat, or maybe even a rodent. Not such a great name for a being that needs to seem more human, not less. But that's not my real complaint.

Long after the reader has accepted that there's a second person living in Cassandra's body, the twins continue to preface every statement to one another with 'Silver' or 'Sister'. Well, who else would they be talking to inside Cassandra's mind? It's the only awkward aspect of the dialogue, which is handled well otherwise.

I also have a pet peeve when someone writes or says 'Silver and I' when the correct phrasing is 'Silver and me'. Writing 'She gave it to Silver and I' is just as bad as writing 'Silver and me went to the store'. I don't think it bothers most people, but it's like nails on a chalkboard to me.

Still rated it 4 stars, because I read it straight through in one sitting, I love the plot, the characters are well developed, and I didn't feel like I fell off a cliff at the end.

Chimera on Amazon.com
Chimera on Amazon.co.uk

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