The “Alias” tie-in novels have been hit or miss, even accounting for the switch to the APO period (fourth season). The prequels were marred by the “young adult” format, which apparently demanded short novels and a lack of maturity and depth. Sydney’s immaturity and awkward mistakes could be forgiven (to some extent) in the prequels, since they didn’t need to match the series itself on all points. Unfortunately, books set during the series need to depict the characters as adults.
Sydney spends most of this book as an immature and whiny teenager. Ostensibly, this story is about Sydney’s jealousy towards her sister Nadia, a situation that makes sense under the circumstances. Unfortunately, this rivalry is handled horribly. One might assume, just from this novel, that CIA special ops are run by a high school cheerleading squad.
The author tries to inject some degree of adult sensibility to the story. At one point, Sydney is dressed to use her cleavage to maximum potential, and later in the book, Nadia goes undercover as an exotic dancer. Both situations match the tone of the series, but the professionalism necessary to make it work is often tossed aside. Sydney’s tantrums and idiotic mistakes ruin the suspension of disbelief.
Worse, the author is inconsistent with her portrayal of Eric’s condition. Eric’s impending death is meant to generate suspense and tension, but it doesn’t work when his symptoms take much longer to present than the medical staff indicates earlier in the book. The timetable was clearly adjusted to allow the rest of the story to play out over the necessary period of time, and while that’s sometimes a necessity, it should be so obvious.
Rating: 5/10
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