Charisma

From the author of Lion's Bloodcomes Steven Barnes's Charisma, a dark, present-day sci-fi thriller about an experiment in behavioral conditioning that inadvertently creates thousands of children who may be programmed to become serial killers.

It began well—an experiment in techniques to teach high-risk children—poor, minority, children—the life-strategies that will allow them to succeed in life. And not just succeed, but overcome the odds and become wildly successful. They chose as their mo...