The Baby Squad
-
-
3.5 • 2 Ratings
-
-
- $7.99
-
- $7.99
Publisher Description
THE PERFECT CHILD. THE PERFECT NIGHTMARE.
In the middle of the twenty-first century, the search for the human ideal is over. A medical breakthrough maintains the integrity of the world's gene pool. It's also made the birth of Abnormals -- children born of natural pregnancy -- a capital offense. To ensure the faultless future of the human race, The Baby Squad is created to track down all women who defy the law, and exact punishment. Women like Natalie Ross. She's pregnant -- a blessing to her, a disgrace to society -- and she's afraid. One young woman has already been found murdered. And the promise of more bloodshed soon sends Natalie on the run to the underground, where a safe house awaits. Or so she thinks. For Natalie and her unborn child pose a mortal threat to those in power who desire a pure world of their own design -- a world they will do anything to protect....The Baby Squad.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in the late 21st century, this nightmarish novel from Neiderman (Under Abduction, etc.) portrays a world where sterility is mandated, pregnancy is a crime and children are born under clinical supervision, ensuring that every twist of their double helixes will result in a Perfect Child. Naturally, there are those who yearn for pregnancy the old-fashioned, "Abnormal" way. Neiderman's fast-moving tale weaves together several such characters, but focuses on Natalie Ross, a romance novelist who was born an Abnormal. Despite her best efforts at using black-market birth control, Natalie finds herself pregnant which could ruin her lawyer husband. Even more intriguing is a story line involving a group of young girls who are infatuated with the idea of pregnancy; at meetings of their clandestine PYPC (Pretend You're Pregnant Club), they stuff pillows under their shirts and commune on prenatal vitamins. One Machiavellian girl, hyper-sexualized and fascinated by the violence of animals, resorts to murder when threatened with exposure. The ideas that comprise the bulk of this book aren't novel laboratory births and fascist family planning having been a sci-fi staple for decades but Neiderman's light touch and breezy style make this well-worn idea seem new again.
