Dowswell’s nautical Napoleonic-era tale, begun in Powder Monkey (2005), loses steam in this sequel, which carries young Sam from Admiral Nelson’s own quarterdeck at the Battle of Copenhagen to seemingly interminable wanderings through the Australian outback as an escaped convict. Thanks largely to his own stupidity, Sam gets into one scrape after another, including being “transported” to the distant prison colony on a trumped-up cowardice charge. But with monotonous regularity, a rescuer steps in before any permanent damage can occur, whether it be his steadfast buddy Richard or, more often, a hulking homosexual shipmate or some other conveniently appearing adult. As before, the violence of the naval action, underscored by Will’s gut-wrenching terror, is sharp and vivid. But there’s too little excitement, and too much tedious starving and stumbling about in the bush, to keep readers interested in his changing fortunes—or to care much when, at the end, massive plot contrivances bring him a pardon that clears the way for further adventures. A slow and leaky vessel. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-58234-676-3
Page Count: 300
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
If it were a Golden Age comic, this tale of ridiculous science, space dogs and humanoid aliens with flashlights in their hands might not be bad. Alas... Number Four is a fugitive from the planet Lorien, which is sloppily described as both "hundreds of lightyears away" and "billions of miles away." Along with eight other children and their caretakers, Number Four escaped from the Mogadorian invasion of Lorien ten years ago. Now the nine children are scattered on Earth, hiding. Luckily and fairly nonsensically, the planet's Elders cast a charm on them so they could only be killed in numerical order, but children one through three are dead, and Number Four is next. Too bad he's finally gained a friend and a girlfriend and doesn't want to run. At least his newly developing alien powers means there will be screen-ready combat and explosions. Perhaps most idiotic, "author" Pittacus Lore is a character in this fiction—but the first-person narrator is someone else entirely. Maybe this is a natural extension of lightly hidden actual author James Frey's drive to fictionalize his life, but literature it ain't. (Science fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Aug. 17, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-06-196955-3
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2010
Paulsen recalls personal experiences that he incorporated into Hatchet (1987) and its three sequels, from savage attacks by moose and mosquitoes to watching helplessly as a heart-attack victim dies. As usual, his real adventures are every bit as vivid and hair-raising as those in his fiction, and he relates them with relish—discoursing on “The Fine Art of Wilderness Nutrition,” for instance: “Something that you would never consider eating, something completely repulsive and ugly and disgusting, something so gross it would make you vomit just looking at it, becomes absolutely delicious if you’re starving.” Specific examples follow, to prove that he knows whereof he writes. The author adds incidents from his Iditarod races, describes how he made, then learned to hunt with, bow and arrow, then closes with methods of cooking outdoors sans pots or pans. It’s a patchwork, but an entertaining one, and as likely to win him new fans as to answer questions from his old ones. (Autobiography. 10-13)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-385-32650-5
Page Count: 150
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2000
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