Reliable sci-fi entertainment that breaks little new ground.
Robinson’s debut novel reimagines Defoe’s classic story, with plucky teenage Robinson Crusoe in a dystopian future 200 years from now.
Sometime in the near future, humanity nearly destroys itself, leaving a ruined world. Hundreds of years later, civilization is rebuilt as an oppressive society of haves and have-nots, where a new group of wealthy and powerful families—called Tiers—have arisen. Into this dog-eat-dog, class-based culture is born young Robinson Crusoe, whose father is Tier of Transportation. His lifelong wish for adventure is answered when political conflict between Tiers wipes out his family and he’s forced to flee for his life. His midnight journey takes an even more frightening turn when he’s shipwrecked on the forbidden shores of America, a vast, terrifying wasteland. Though at first it seems he cannot possibly survive, Robinson employs ingenuity and a considerable amount of luck to keep alive in the ruins of what was once Washington, D.C., now haunted by cannibals, savages and deadly mutations called Renders. As he struggles to live from day to day, he’s joined in his efforts by his own “Girl Friday” —in this case, a young girl. Risky romance, constant danger and a great degree of personal growth are central to the narrative, as Robinson finds he must uncover a great secret from the past that could spell salvation or final destruction to the world. He must choose whether or not he wishes to rise beyond mere survival to become a true hero. The characters are entertaining but lightweight, and their dialogue is serviceable: “I don’t hate you, boy,” a man tells Robinson. “Only what you’re destined to become.” The plot is understandably derivative, combining Defoe’s original with the general template of dystopian YA sci-fi in the 21st century. Nevertheless, the text is breezy and engaging, and the pace and color make the familiarity forgivable. Typographical errors are somewhat frequent, but the tale, first in a planned series, is comfortably, competently told.
Reliable sci-fi entertainment that breaks little new ground.Pub Date: July 31, 2014
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 266
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.
Are we not men? We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z(2006).
A zombie apocalypse is one thing. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.” Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene.
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-2678-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles...
Sisters in and out of love.
Meghann Dontess is a high-powered matrimonial lawyer in Seattle who prefers sex with strangers to emotional intimacy: a strategy bound to backfire sooner or later, warns her tough-talking shrink. It’s advice Meghann decides to ignore, along with the memories of her difficult childhood, neglectful mother, and younger sister. Though she managed to reunite Claire with Sam Cavenaugh (her father but not Meghann’s) when her mother abandoned both girls long ago, Meghann still feels guilty that her sister’s life doesn’t measure up, at least on her terms. Never married, Claire ekes out a living running a country campground with her dad and is raising her six-year-old daughter on her own. When she falls in love for the first time with an up-and-coming country musician, Meghann is appalled: Bobby Austin is a three-time loser at marriage—how on earth can Claire be so blind? Bobby’s blunt explanation doesn’t exactly satisfy the concerned big sister, who busies herself planning Claire’s dream wedding anyway. And, to relieve the stress, she beds various guys she picks up in bars, including Dr. Joe Wyatt, a neurosurgeon turned homeless drifter after the demise of his beloved wife Diane (whom he euthanized). When Claire’s awful headache turns out to be a kind of brain tumor known among neurologists as a “terminator,” Joe rallies. Turns out that Claire had befriended his wife on her deathbed, and now in turn he must try to save her. Is it too late? Will Meghann find true love at last?
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles (Distant Shores, 2002, etc.). Kudos for skipping the snifflefest this time around.Pub Date: May 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-345-45073-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2003
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