Catch this sci-fi jungle fever.
A vacation in the Caribbean turns into a nightmare for the Powers family as they battle aliens on the verge of world domination.
When Tom Powers inherits the luxurious hacienda Paradisio from Grandfather Augustus, he’s oblivious to an otherworldly presence hidden deep within its jungles. The mansion, valued at a whopping $30 million, is maintained by two natives, Maya Belem and Ix, who were close friends of Augustus. Life at Paradisio seems calm amid the luscious waterfalls and intriguing wildlife of the jungle—that is, except for an alien species that mechanically carves out the insides of its prey to feast on the lipid remains. The species, known as the Sore, traveled to earth with their queen to impregnate human hosts. Now, as the Sore queen gains strength, her loyal drone devours manatees, hammerhead sharks, flamingos and even humans to provide his queen with the adequate source of fat and protein. The anatomy and apparent invincibility of the Sore is thoroughly intriguing: The lightning quick creatures have eight powerful legs and razor sharp claws that can dismember an adversary before it has a chance to react. Perhaps more than the science fiction element, readers will be drawn toward the relationship between the Powers children, Ella and Earl, and their new dog—Augustus’ favorite—Digger. Throughout the book, Morris provides frequent subheadings to help readers understand the storyline of each passage, if they need the direction, while shifting perspectives allow the reader to eavesdrop on the thoughts of various crucial characters, including Tom Powers, Belem the Maya hunter and caretaker, and even the drone. When the plot becomes stagnant, Morris reacts by turning characters into more than meets the eye, as when Dr. Cerna, a pivotal Powers’ ally, gives the story a refreshing twist by rescuing Earl with blue laser beams shooting out of his hand. Readers can look forward to continuing the adventure in the next installment of Morris’ Ella Chronicles.
Catch this sci-fi jungle fever.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2011
ISBN: B005FLU2T8
Page Count: -
Publisher: BookBaby
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
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