When I heard a few months back that Gillian Anderson was trying her hand at writing a science fiction novel I nearly exploded with excitement. After all, this woman has played one of, if not, arguably, the most iconic woman of science ever on TV. She must know what she’s talking about, right? She must have something to say, some amazing story that she never got to tell.

I was lucky enough to be at NYCC this year where Gillian Anderson and her co-author Jeff Rovin were on a panel titled ‘Damsels In Distress Need Not Apply.’ Getting to hear them both briefly speak about Caitlin O’Hara, the heroin of their new Science Fiction novel, made me want to read it all that much more. While Gillian has the experience of her career, Jeff is a New York Times best selling author. How could they go wrong? Well, in my mind, they have gone quite far in the right.

The first five chapters of A Vision Of Fire create enough intrigue to make me hope that this turns into a series and not just a stand alone solo novel. We are introduce to our characters slowly, but in enough time that we care and want to know just what the hell is going on. They are all exotic, from all walks of life and continents, which makes us believe very easily that we are in the cultural melting pot known as New York City.

Caitlin O’Hara is an educated, intriguing woman. She has her own psychiatry practice while also consulting on cases at the UN. She is brought in on a case where a young girl, Maanik Pawar, begins having visions and self-mutilating. Her devotion to figuring out what is wrong with the child of a diplomat is a start, but what really begins to create intrigue is when this begins napping elsewhere in chapter five.

What we don’t know about Caitlin until chapter four is that she is also a mother. Her son is deaf which leads us to more questions. Why is he deaf? Where is his father? Has she always raised him alone? Is this why she cares so much about a 13 year old daughter of a foreign diplomat? So many questions are formed in just the first five chapters.

I have throughly enjoyed this novel so far. I treat books like TV. I give them 100 pages or four chapters to suck me in or I give up. I was sucked into A Vision Of Fire in chapter two. I look forward to seeing what Caitlin O’Hara can do and what sort of adventures she will take us on.