The Nexus: A very fine novel by a new sci-fi talent

The Nexus by Richard Fazio

On those occasions when I have read sci-fi, I’ve tended to stick to the familiar brand-name authors; tried-and-true old favorites such as Asimov, Bester, Bradbury, Clarke, Dick, Heinlein, Norton, Silverberg, Williamson and the like. But a recent perusal of new author Richard Fazio‘s debut novel, 2010’s The Nexus, has demonstrated that I really ought to be adventurous more often. Sporting a title suggestive of those darn Matrix films — and, of course, the kozmik whatzit at the center of Star Trek Generations — The Nexus is rather a completely fresh tale that is winningly spun out by this tyro writer. In the book’s intriguing prologue, a mother and father give the OK for a government medical unit to perform experiments on their unborn child, way back in the year … 1969. Flash forward to today, and we meet a middle-aged man with the unlikely handle of Balthazar Sykes. Sykes lives in the Forest Hills region of NYC and works in a Manhattan ad agency; in what capacity (copywriter? ad exec? art director?) the author never tells us. Sykes’ life takes a decided turn into the realm of the bizarre when he starts experiencing the thoughts of others, sensing their subconscious fears, and actually inhabiting their bodies! A visit to a Greek gypsy woman named Madame Travatsky (an homage, perhaps, to the notorious 19th century spiritualist Madame Blavatsky?) reveals that Sykes is nothing less than a “nexus,” or “someone with the ability to establish psychic ties between people, between things, between times.” And Sykes’ problems are only beginning, when the Feds get wind of their old subject’s nascent abilities…

In this book’s capsule biography of its author, it is revealed that Fazio was a native New Yorker, and man, does it ever show! His knowledge of Forest Hills (near where I live) and the NYC subway system is much in evidence; for this reader, charmingly so. Fazio has peopled his first novel with a cast of interesting characters, including a pair of Goth cyber hackers; Madge Macleary, Sykes’ feisty, older coworker; and, most especially, Alex, Sykes’ partner, boyfriend and lover. And here I may as well mention that those readers who may be concerned about the novel’s gay subject matter should not be; the relationship between Sykes and Alex is handled with both sensitivity and restraint by the author. It is a perfectly sweet relationship, in fact, in which both men are shown to be the other’s best friend. Alex is responsible for much of the novel’s humor — he’s something of a cutup — never more so than when he declares that the word “nexus” ” sounds like a shampoo to me.”

Fazio tells his story with great sweep — the book really does move along — and with its brief-chapter format, really keeps the reader flipping those pages. I read The Nexus while on a plane and subsequent ocean cruise and found it the perfect accompaniment. I was truly sorry to see it end … especially since my cruise still had a few days to go. The book certainly does leave open the possibility for sequels, and happily, I believe that Fazio HAS released that sequel very recently. His initial work is not perfect — there are some instances of faulty grammar here and there, and more typos than any book should have (granted, these are more faults of the book’s copy editor and proofreader than of the author) — but it sure is impressive. (I must also confess that a scene that I had been hoping for — Sykes confronting his estranged parents about their willingness to accept money for the government to monkey around with the Balthazar fetus — is never given us by the author; maybe in that recently released sequel?) Fast moving, unpredictable, at times psychedelic and always gripping and suspenseful, The Nexus is the product of a fine new talent on the sci-fi scene. And really, can any book that puts down the Suffolk County Police Department be all bad?!?!

Order The Nexus.