G51 Book Review of The Intruders by Olive Peart
Author: Olive Peart
ISBN: 9780982307724
Publisher: Demarche Publishing LLC
Type of book: science fiction, time travel to future, primitive, disease, relationships, race, New York, 2200s?
Year it was published: 2010
Summary:
Six teenagers from the Bronx set out to explore a cave in their neighborhood and end up three centuries into the future. After saving the life of one member of a tribe, the Bronx teens are accepted. Within weeks, however, they find themselves in the middle of a fight for survival. Another tribe living in Manhattan is bent on wiping out the tribe in the Bronx. These teenagers have a unique advantage in this war—they know the land. For the six, this becomes a true adventure. However, all too soon their adventure becomes very real. Their dog dies, and now both friends and enemies are getting killed. This was no longer fun—this was war!
Characters:
The characters might as well have been cut out of cardboard, both men and women and Abnorms and Truemen. The author does try to make them different but, well, no success. I cared little for them and their tribulations. There is also no chemistry between the characters and some pairs have confused me. I think I would have liked if multiple characters presented their thoughts instead of only Hamid. Hamid, by the way, is African American and not Middle Eastern.
Theme:
I have no idea. First one would be race, and another, well, something to get donations for a particular disease due to the author's message. I have no idea why the author wrote the novel in the first place.
Plot:
Third person narrative from Hamid's point of view. I have to admit that the author does more telling than showing and for some odd reason he tended to be disjointed and so forth. I'm not sure what else to say. The author personally needs more practice in writing the story or figuring out how to cause for people to make emotions. Very poor story.
Author Information:
Olive Peart regulary writes articles for radiological journals and newsmagazines and gives lecutres on radiography related topics at seminars across teh United States. Her other published books are Linked; Spanish for Professionals in Radiology; Lange Q &A Mammography Examination; and Mammography and Breats Imaging-Just the facts. WHen not writing, Olive is often occupied with her other addiction-reading. Born on the beautiful Caribbean island of Jamaica, she lives with her husband and children in the Northeast.
Opinion:
Its obvious that this is the author's first book in fiction; the writing tends to be poor and isn't well developed, the characters aren't memorable in any shape or form, and for me their journey is boring. I couldn't feel anything for the characters, neither grief nor sadness or anything else, unfortunately. While the book does promise an intriguing premise, the writing doesn't match up at all.
Quick notes: I won this book on goodreads.com thus this review will appear in its entirety on goodreads as well as the blog
2 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
Just to give a balanced view I wanted to add this Amazon review. see www.amazon.com.
ReplyDeleteNote: The book is for teen and is often not appreciated by adults....
"An intriguing story of adventure, recommended. It's all fun and games until you realize the reality of it. The Intruders tells the story of six Bronx teens flung into a future war where they use their knowledge of the subways to win a war where the surface of the Bronx has once again become a forest. Initially enjoying their new found importance, they soon realize war is no game." ---Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
The Intruders is a fascinating, thought-provoking, teen novel. All the obvious issues are addressed, and there s a powerful longing for peace and acceptance beautifully portrayed. Dialog is convincing, relationships very true-to-life, emotions mixed and genuine, and the story s intriguing and fun. ---Sheila Deeth, The Writers Network
Before I started reading this book, I thought that it was only for middle school or high school aged boy. The plot, based on a young urban teen would be enough to draw any boy that age in. Right away your are thrown into the adventure, and caught a little off guard by the details of the story. Every page has a new surprise but the part I loved best was the heartfelt moment where the main character struggles with showing his true emotions and being a leader to his peers. That was when I realized that this book is suitable for any age, as it reflects all of our inner struggles in everyday life. A great read! ---Antonia, Amazon.com