Hello
Bookworms,
Today I have a new book review for
you. This book is from the Science Fiction/Fantasy genre. Let’s take a look at
The Book of Epoch.
Summary
For Mac, life has been pretty
difficult. His father died when he was young and his mother is in a coma.
Fortunately, he has his Grandma Jen to live with and his friends Benny and
Chip. Then there’s Ally. The gorgeous girl he gets to admire at school every
day. Unfortunately, every night, Mac has horrible nightmares about a creature
called the Morphanon. What Mac is about to realize is that his dreams are much
more than dreams, and Mac is chosen to do something about them.
Review
This book started off great. It was
a sweet story about a boy whose life hasn’t been what he hoped who soon starts
an adventure that is more amazing than anything he has ever played in the video
games that he and his friend Benny enjoy.
But soon, I found that the enjoyment I had for the story was replaced by
confusion and frustration. The confusion was brought on by the fact that the
longer you read, the more twisted the story becomes. If you aren’t paying close
attention, sometimes you’ll get lost. It wasn’t helped by the fact that while some
stories start you off with a sort of introduction into what kind of world
you’re dealing with, this one sort of drops you in the middle of the futuristic
storyline to fend for yourself.
Another source of confusion was the
disclaimer vs. the story. At the beginning of the book, you’ll find a
disclaimer saying (in essence) that anything bearing resemblance to people,
places, or other stories is purely coincidental. However, as you read, you will
find that much of the story’s places, people, and even parts of the plot are
taken from literally everywhere. While the parodies of McDonald’s, Stephen
Hawking, etc. were cute, the sections of the story taken from (as best as I can
tell) the Bible, Mythology, the Harry Potter Series (including the presence of
a large chamber and a giant serpent, an invisibility cloak, a boy dealing with
the absence of his parents and becoming “the chosen one” etc.) and other famous
books and literature greatly distracted from the overall story and lowered the
quality of the story for me.
A huge source of frustration for me
was the sections taken from the Bible and twisted. I’m never a fan of taking
the Bible and pretending it’s all a myth. That, again, lowered the quality of
the story for me.
Finally, there is the issue of a
couple of the illustrations in the book. There was a mythical female character
that had her own illustrations in the book. Since the book is aimed at young
people, the illustration was way too mature (i.e. she was in a dress that was much
closer to lingerie than clothing. Not a drawing I’d be thrilled to catch an
elementary or middle school boy staring at in his book).
I have no doubt that the authors
know great work when they see it. They also know how to tell a story. I also
see a lot of evidence of creativity. I would like to see an entirely original
story to see what the authors can do. However, I do not recommend The Book of
Epoch.
