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Jumper by Steven Gould
01/03/2008 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
Pub: TOR/Forge. 344 page paperback. Price: $ 7.99 (US), $ 9.99 (CAN). ISBN: 978-0-7653-5769-4. Buy Jumper in the USA - or Buy Jumper in the UK  check out website: www.tor-forge.com
Last year, I read Steven Gould's 'Jumper: Griffin's Story' and wondered at the time if the first book was any good. This time around, both books are out in paperback and tying into the recently released film which, as I haven't seen, don't expect any comparisons here.
Gould pays homage to Heinlein, Bester and Niven for inspiring him to write a story about a teleporter although I still think the teleportation technique is similar to Van Vogt's Gilbert Gosseyn character from the 'Null-A' books in that you can only go where you've been before and memorised the location. Nothing wrong using the same process. Far less deux ex machina by appearing out of the blue anywhere you want.
David Rice comes from a broken home. His father a vicious drunk and wife-beater whose wife suddenly leaves which Davy later discovers was not only for the beatings she had but also to have her face repaired. He, in the meantime, suddenly discovers he can teleport or jump anywhere. Leaving his school and everything behind, he makes for New York, determined to create a new life for himself, even if it did involve thieving a million dollars from a bank to fund himself. In some respects, there are elements of this which could be used as a guide for any runaway teleporter but as they tend to be rather uncommon I won't hold that against Gould. If anything, it should be used as a firm warning to teen-agers that the world away from where you live is full of predatory humans that you need to be sensible about approaching them.
Over the course of the novel, Davy acquires a sympathetic girl-friend, Millie, and is reunited with his mother who fills in the gaps on what happened to her. If anything, other than the teleporting, Gould had written a logical step progression up to this point. Without wishing to give away too many surprises, Davy then has the floor pulled away from him and decides to take on aeroplane hi-jackers. He might do wonders for rescuing people but stirs the ire of the National Security Agency who are determined to capture him with some, shall we say, interesting consequences.
In many respects, 'Jumper' is real world meets Science Fiction and as it was written originally in 1992 one can see the setting set there than current present day. After all, there were no mobile phones back then which would certainly have made a difference to how he could ring anyone. This shouldn't be seen as making the book a total period piece. If that was the case, you could probably chunk out a good lot of fiction across the board. A good story is still a good story and the last fifty pages requires the time to sit down and read through in one setting to see how it works out.
One can only hope the film holds the integrity of the book. If you enjoy this one then you'd certainly want to pick up the second book, even if it isn't a sequel per se. Gould writes well and produces interesting characters and deserves to find a wider audience.
GF Willmetts
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