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     It's been a long time since a novel has scared me. I'm no weakling-I've been desensitized to violence just like the rest of the America. I can deal with a lot of images and thoughts without even getting a little squeamish. I would now like to admit that reading The Organ Donor by Matthew Warner made me sleep with the lights on for a night or two, and I have nothing to be ashamed of. Mr. Warner did his job, and I was terrified.

     The Organ Donor's main theme is pointed out pretty well by its title alone, but make no mistake-there is a twist. The government of People's Republic of China and their true practice of selling organs that harvested from death row prisoners-without consent, inspired this fictional account.

     This story follows Americans Paul and Tim Taylor. Paul has been caring for Tim for years as Tim patiently waited for a kidney donor. Unfortunately, as time passes, Tim gets sicker and death begins to loom over their heads. Finally, the brothers give up and choose to use their father's old CIA connections to purchase a kidney on the Chinese black market. Despite their doubts and their guilt the brothers go to China, but as Tim prepares for surgery, Paul is in a terrible accident and the two end up getting transplants from the same donor. Tim gets his kidney and Paul gets a cornea and an arm bone. As they recover, Tim begins to act strange and Paul begins to have dreams through someone else's eyes. It isn't long before they begin to piece together the past of their organ donor-a 5,000 year-old Emperor from Chinese mythology who want his organs back and will stop at nothing to get them.

     The premise sounds a little weak, but Warner thankfully injects new life into this premise. His villain is cruel and frightening yet his quest is understandable. His main characters are charming and realistic. Warner doesn't try to make his character too tough. Wouldn't you piss yourself if an immortal creature bent on tearing you to bits chased you around? Well, Paul sure does. Strange how that would truly endear me to the character even further, but that vulnerability is true to humanity.

     Warner creates fantastic plots with great characters. What else is there? The man sure can write a description. I'd never been to Washington D.C. or to China, the two main focal points of the story, but I surely felt like I had at the end of the story. Everything was described in vivid detail and contained Warner's key element-the ability to explain something using the basest of slang terminology to bring the reality on even harder than the most poetic description ever could. From cover to cover, Warner's adventurous writing cruises from one surprisimg plot point to another. Even things that I felt would've been cheesy in any other format, worked in this one. Hell, what kind of author would have the nerve to rewrite a country's entire mythology? Well, one who's work you need to read, that's who! This politically driven thrill ride could become a horror classic-it is certainly excellent enough.

     Send your comments and or questions about this article to Bandwidth@ybfree.com.

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