Devil on My Back [Library Binding]

Monica Hughes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1985

When the slaves rebel against the rigid social order imposed on the colony by the all-controlling computer, Tomi, the son of the colony Overlord manages to escape beyond the computer's reach and discovers what it is like to be free.

Product Details

• Library Binding: 170 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum (March 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689310951
• ISBN-13: 978-0689310959
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,645,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, March 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Devil on My Back (Mass Market Paperback)

I think this book is the most amazing thing I have ever read. I loved Tomi and felt his struggle with him all through the book. I cried so much when he had to leave Rowan and the others and even more at the end with the changed lines of The Freedom Song. I immediately read the whole thing again. It must have been two years before I found "The Dream Catcher" and I was so happy when Tomi finally got out of the Arc.

This is an amazing book; especially when compared to todays society, it is not that unbelievable ...

Thank-you Monica Hughes.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant post-apocalyptic dystopia, August 4, 2007

By 

Mikko Saari (Tampere, Finland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Devil on My Back (Mass Market Paperback)

I first read this one about fifteen years ago and I was very impressed. There's always the risk when you revisit childhood favourites - you might find them utterly daft. Not this one! While the book is somewhat naive - it's a book for kids, after all - it was still quite charming.

After an apocalypse of sorts, group of people locked themselves in Arc One, trying to maintain knowledge through the dark ages. The society has become a rigid class society: lords on top, workers in the middle, slaves on the bottom with soldiers controlling them.

Main character Tomi is a son of a lord, part of the ruling elite. When he comes of age, he's given proper access to the information databases. Unfortunately there's a slave rebellion, which ends up with Tomi being tossed out of the Arc. What a strange world he finds outside!

It's a lovely, positive story. I'd recommend this to kids that are into science fiction without a doubt - and also to adults, looking for a quick and pleasant read. (Review based on the Finnish translation.)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Devil on my back- Simply outstanding!, June 22, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Devil on My Back (Gryphon Books) (Hardcover)

Devil on my back- Simply outstanding!, June 22, 2005
A Kid's Review
I've re-read several times and I love reading every word or punciation mark of it. The twists in the plot make the classic sci-fi story line an unbelievable read. It the kind of book that lingers in your head and mentally forces me to write a sequel to "The Dream Catcher" and "Devil on my Back" with my mind; using her brilliantly made characters in different situations with different characters. It's immense! I wish Monica Hughes could develop a series of these Ark stories!

Gratefully Written by,

Caroline D.