Matt McAvoy Book Review

If I had to sum this book up in one word it would be “grrr!!” – and a pretty irritated grrr at that.  I don’t like to spoil, and actually I don’t think I’m going to do that when I tell you, off the bat, that this book will leave you hanging on a cliff.  That said, it’s still pretty good and I enjoyed it a great deal, as I knew I would from Akibibi, who is becoming one of my favourite authors of late.  But I feel it only fair, particularly if you have spent money on this book, to warn you that it doesn’t complete.  In fact, if I’m being very honest, this instalment, although very enjoyable in its own right, does feel a little like a stepping stone in the series; it doesn’t really resolve anything or generate any new narrative hooks, but rather just sort of fits in as an event to be passed along the way.

That isn’t to criticize it in any way.  I didn’t read the first book in the series but I did read the second (this is the third), and whilst I felt it doesn’t quite hit the heights of the previous outing, it is still a lot of fun, in its traditional, nostalgic, space opera sci-fi style.  I mentioned that the last book was rather Doug McClure with its alien world theme, and conversely I would say this is from an even more traditionalist era of sci-fi, bringing to mind the sort of space comics which might have been read in the 1950s and 60s: Lost in Space, Forbidden Planet, Star Trek and the like.  I love that about this author’s writing; in a creative environment crammed full of dystopian, young adult fantasy, it is so refreshing to read a good adventure story with traditional creative values, broad, epic scape and a colourful visual palette, as well as characters which mean well and don’t all wish to kill each other, just because, well, “that’s what we’ll all be like in the future”.  Sure, the cliffhanger is annoying, and I have to say I find it a tad disrespectful when I see it, but as long as you accept this is another brick in the wall of a series you need to invest in, then you’re prepared for the great read that’s in store, as the team land on another intriguing planet, with more wonderful aliens to get to know.

I mentioned in my review of book two that you didn’t need to follow the series for its virtually self-contained narrative, but that isn’t the case this time around; it neither opens nor closes independently of the books either side of it.  Sure, you’ll follow it – it’s a good, simple read – but without investing in the bigger picture generally I don’t think there will be much gained from it, other than some real fun fiction, and I suppose in the end that’s all that matters.  If you’re going to read it, start from book one and read them all – I promise you won’t be disappointed.