A space journey sidelined by convoluted, high-concept subplots.
A race of formless consciousnesses imprisoned in crystal intends to reform the universe in this first of a planned sci-fi series where past, present, and future occur simultaneously.
Biesele’s work explores the human psyche through an elevated species that claims to understand the internal workings of the universe. The book, a “living” character, challenges the “meat-based barbaric automatons” to see if they can understand hyperspace—a plane of tunnels intersecting in space. Ty and Tyco’s futures hang in the balance as they explore the history of their own painful evolution by linking with the Guardian, a highly evolved computer system. The two youngsters rely on their teacher, who guides them telekinetically through the history of Stefan and Tova2, the destined leaders of the new universe. The boys, like others before them, evolved from a mix of human genetics and other creatures, a mix that gives them powers to attract the attention of the Sophistans, a race of consciousnesses with no true physical form. The evolved youth had been raised by selfish sociopaths using their children for personal gain until the Sophistans rescue them from the savagery of a human fate. Ty and Tyco train to become Children of Sophista. Despite the promise of an enlightened existence, the “randomness” of human genetics is in direct conflict with the orderly, utopian ideals of the Sophistans, leading to the potential euthanasia of the two boys if they cannot adapt. The book primarily builds the foundation for what is to come in the series. The characters travel through familiar places like London and learn the value of exploring hyperspace despite the dangers of disintegration. The novel struggles under the weight of several heady concepts—an enlightened incorporeal intelligence; a blend of past, present and future; and various wormholes through space. The narrative seems to lose its momentum somewhere deep in the labyrinth of hyperspace.
A space journey sidelined by convoluted, high-concept subplots.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1463726379
Page Count: 255
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: July 2, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.
A boy with wings learns to be himself and inspires others like him to soar, too.
Norman, a “perfectly normal” boy, never dreamed he might grow wings. Afraid of what his parents might say, he hides his new wings under a big, stuffy coat. Although the coat hides his wings from the world, Norman no longer finds joy in bathtime, playing at the park, swimming, or birthday parties. With the gentle encouragement of his parents, who see his sadness, Norman finds the courage to come out of hiding and soar. Percival (The Magic Looking Glass, 2017, etc.) depicts Norman with light skin and dark hair. Black-and-white illustrations show his father with dark skin and hair and his mother as white. The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story’s theme. While Norman tries to be “normal,” the world and people around him look black and gray, but his coat stands out in yellow. Birds pop from the page in pink, green, and blue, emphasizing the joy and beauty of flying free. The final spread, full of bright color and multiracial children in flight, sets the mood for Norman’s realization on the last page that there is “no such thing as perfectly normal,” but he can be “perfectly Norman.”
A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-785-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
Not for the faint-hearted—who are mostly adults anyway—but for stouthearted kids who love a brush with the sinister:...
A magnificently creepy fantasy pits a bright, bored little girl against a soul-eating horror that inhabits the reality right next door.
Coraline’s parents are loving, but really too busy to play with her, so she amuses herself by exploring her family’s new flat. A drawing-room door that opens onto a brick wall becomes a natural magnet for the curious little girl, and she is only half-surprised when, one day, the door opens onto a hallway and Coraline finds herself in a skewed mirror of her own flat, complete with skewed, button-eyed versions of her own parents. This is Gaiman’s (American Gods, 2001, etc.) first novel for children, and the author of the Sandman graphic novels here shows a sure sense of a child’s fears—and the child’s ability to overcome those fears. “I will be brave,” thinks Coraline. “No, I am brave.” When Coraline realizes that her other mother has not only stolen her real parents but has also stolen the souls of other children before her, she resolves to free her parents and to find the lost souls by matching her wits against the not-mother. The narrative hews closely to a child’s-eye perspective: Coraline never really tries to understand what has happened or to fathom the nature of the other mother; she simply focuses on getting her parents back and thwarting the other mother for good. Her ability to accept and cope with the surreality of the other flat springs from the child’s ability to accept, without question, the eccentricity and arbitrariness of her own—and every child’s own—reality. As Coraline’s quest picks up its pace, the parallel world she finds herself trapped in grows ever more monstrous, generating some deliciously eerie descriptive writing.
Not for the faint-hearted—who are mostly adults anyway—but for stouthearted kids who love a brush with the sinister: Coraline is spot on. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: July 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-380-97778-8
Page Count: 176
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2002
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