Dom Testa
Autor/a de The Comet's Curse: A Galahad Book
Sèrie
Obres de Dom Testa
Etiquetat
Coneixement comú
- Gènere
- male
Membres
Ressenyes
Premis
Potser també t'agrada
Estadístiques
- Obres
- 18
- Membres
- 438
- Popularitat
- #55,890
- Valoració
- 3.8
- Ressenyes
- 32
- ISBN
- 31
Between their heightened intelligence, two years of arduous training for the mission, and the knowledge that they are leaving behind everything, they are all extremely mature. They rationalize and act in a way more befitting someone twice their age, but moments of their age flash through. Gap Lee prefers to joke to break the tension and stress of the situation. Channy is bubbly and enthusiastic. Lita is warm and comforting. Bon prefers to brood and work alone. And Triana, the leader of the mission, is introspective and contemplative.
Going into The Comet’s Curse, I was expecting a science fiction novel populated with immature, inexperienced teenagers. Instead I found a novel that tackled the weighty issue of how to prepare a generation of people to be mankind’s last hope. The book alternates between showcasing the “present” time on board the Galahad and the past two years leading to the ship’s departure. Interspersed is commentary from the ship’s onboard computer system, Roc, as he acts as the “container” for their “message in a bottle.” The last few chapters are running nearly concurrently, following events aboard the ship and the dawning realization happening on Earth.
I admit a lot of the science talk went over my head. There’s a whole lot of tech talk, psychology talk, and medical talk as Testa lays out the groundwork for the end of mankind, but also its last great hope. I found it more interesting whenever Roc would interrupt with his hilarious and quirky dialogues regarding the crew of the Galahad. The crew is very large, but we really only get to know a handful of them, the Council Leadership on board. Their interactions and divergent personalities fuel a lot of the story developments, but they’re also treated almost as contrivances for the plot at times. Triana and Gap are given more time than the other 3 council members (Bon, Channy, and Lita), but we’re told about a lot of their development rather than shown.
Triana writes journal entries to summarize the day, but also has a lot of silent dialogues with herself second-guessing and worrying about what she is doing. Gap spends a lot of his time dishing out his problems by talking to others; many of the personal realizations he comes to are first spoken by a second party. I couldn’t tell if this was because the book felt broken up everytime it would go between the “present” and “past,” or because I was looking for more information than a first book should give.
The mystery on board is, quite frankly, sinister. Most people will guess who is behind the disruptions early on, and guess the motivations behind them, but that doesn’t lessen the grave problem this person represents. Testa doesn’t allow the narrative to dumb down the possible threat to the crew members’ lives. In this, like everything else, there is a momentary sense of panic, but it’s quickly dealt with by the Council. Sometimes this efficiency felt more artificial then realistic, but the situation is a unique one, and the vast majority of the crew is an unknown commodity. A few are given names, or appearances, but very few have more than a brief flash of personality.
As a young adult science fiction novel this is wonderful. It’s engaging; there are likable characters, and a circumstance that is close enough to possible to give the reader pause. The book worked best when it dealt with the very human reactions to the situation, not just the teens but the adults being affected as well.… (més)