View source for Fusion: Volume 4 (Tesla Evolution) by Mark Lingane

{{infobox1
|title=Fusion: Volume 4 (Tesla Evolution)
|author=Mark Lingane
|reviewer=Ani Johnson
|genre=Teens
|summary=The fourth and final instalment of the SF YA cross-over Tesla series cracks on at an amazing pace.  Compelling and possibly the darkest of the series, it reinforces our opinion that this is the author's masterpiece so far.
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=558
|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
|date=July 2015
|isbn=978-1515000792
|website=http://mark-mywords.squarespace.com
|cover=1515000796
|aznuk=1515000796
|aznus=1515000796
}}

(By the way there are spoilers ahead – this is definitely a series to be read in order, starting from [[Tesla 1 by Mark Lingane|Tesla 1]]. This book follows on from [[Faraday: 3 (Tesla Evolution) by Mark Lingane]]. ).  Alone again now that Melanie has been killed, Sebastian makes it to North America.  Far from it being the land of promise it used to be, the country is now an apocalyptic ruin, full of people scavenging for their survival and the Infected forging a path of worse-than-death and destruction.  Sebastian needs to focus on his ultimate challenge as foreseen in a rather scary way but there's a small matter distracting him: who's firing rockets at him?

You know how misguided relatives sometimes believe they have a right to pat related children on the head and, to the child's cringing embarrassment, tell them how much they've grown as if they hadn't noticed?  Having had the privilege and joy of reading all Australian author [[:Category:Mark Lingane|Mark Lingane's]] novels from the debut [[Chasing Heart: 1 (Ellen Martin Disasters) by Mark Lingane|Chasing Heart]] onwards, I find myself having to resist that same urge, for Mark has certainly grown from debut rom-com tentativeness to a mass market SF series brilliance.

Yes, the Tesla series was written with the YA area in mind but it has become darker and a little more violent as the story's progressed, making it prime cross-over material while remaining compulsive reading for teens.

Once again we're thrown into the action as a very human Sebastian uses his electrical manipulative powers to work towards his destiny and hopefully save the world.  As he travels through a post-apocalyptic landscape, he encounters shocks and twists aplenty, including generating one surprise himself.  

Indeed, I predict that, although not something that will stop the world turning in itself, this particular surprise will split the readership on a gender basis, we females losing just a little of the respect we had for the chap, albeit temporarily.  I personally intensely disliked him for all of around 50 pages, before he returned to a hero's standing.  The intensity of my dislike definitely took me by surprise but there again that's the sign of an engaging character and Sebastian is definitely one of those.

The female feist in the story this time out is supplied by the mysterious Memphis (a name not a location).  She's highly likeable and the veil drawn over her past adds another layer of startlement waiting to be revealed.

In all good SF the baddies are pivotal and scary and, as previously mentioned, this is good SF.  The zombie-like Infected still haunt our heroes and our nightmares, along with a return for the Sullivans (the monsters, not the Aussie soap).  We also learn more about the sinister opposing forces of the Master and the Peacemaker as well as more about Sebastian's parentage.

The in-jokes and nods to our knowledge in other areas that have become Mark's trademark are also lightly peppered throughout.  They're used in a subtler way during this series than in Mark's adult novels and still used to make us smile or, in one case, shiver.  Yes, I do mean shiver.   a little hint: to get the most out of one particular moment, look up the German for 'my struggle' and then, if the result doesn't ring any bells, run it through a search engine…

If you like a book that has danger dripping from every page and contains parts best read with all the lights on go no further!  Meanwhile for those who like a good ending, Mark finishes the book with two, coming as a final surprise.  After that we may be sad that ''Tesla'' is over but knowing the prolific Mr L, I'm sure something new is just around the corner.

(A big thank you to the author for providing us with a copy for review.)

Further Reading:  If you've already gone through the thrills and spills of this series from [[Tesla 1 by Mark Lingane|Book 1]] and like a scare or two, we definitely recommend [[Black Cairn Point by Claire McFall]].

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[[Category:Fantasy]]