The Dying Sun [Library Binding]

Gary L. Blackwood (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 11 and up

Set in the future during a new ice age, James and Robert leave the crime-ridden, warm South for a more primitive existence in the North as the two rejoin James' parents on their farm in Missouri and prepare for the approaching winter.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-- The setting for this mid-21st-Century coming-of-age story is imaginatively drawn and feasible. The continental U.S. has been hit by an ice age, and most Americans have migrated to Mexico, which has become an overcrowded megalopolis. Some of the original Mexican population have formed a Mexican Liberation Army terrorist group which wages deadly guerrilla warfare against Americans living there. High-school senior James Simpson's family has moved North in order to escape the political chaos, but James and his friend Robert (who has been recently orphaned) decide to stay with James' grandmother in Mexico. However, an MLA attack in which Robert loses a leg changes their minds. On their adventurous travel north to live with James' family, they meet up with a thrill-seeking drifter named Sunny, whose misdeeds almost get them all killed. Once the two boys reach their destination, however, they are bitterly disappointed by the desolate backwardness of life in the Northland. Robert leaves for the South, but a more mature James decides to stay with his family. The narration of the novel is from James' viewpoint as he looks back over the past year's events, but, unfortunately, the considerable plot action is slowed down by the boy's colorless and reflective tone. Despite the important political, social, and personal issues raised, the story lacks the fire that would melt the ice in James' narration. --Jack Forman, Mesa College Library, San Diego
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Library Binding: 213 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum (March 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689314825
• ISBN-13: 978-0689314827
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,027,903 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gary L. Blackwood sold his first story when he was nineteen, and has been writing and publishing stories, articles, plays, novels, and nonfiction books regularly ever since. His stage plays have won awards and been produced in university and regional theatre. Nonfiction subjects he's covered include biography, history, and paranormal phenomena. His juvenile novels, which include WILD TIMOTHY, THE DYING SUN, and THE SHAKESPEARE STEALER, are set in a wide range of times and places, from Elizabethan England to a parallel universe. Several have received special recognition and been translated into other languages. He lives near Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sun is Dying, oh my gosh!, December 14, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Dying Sun (Library Binding)

Gary Blackwood does a great job decribing total fantasy. In the book The Dying Sun, a boy and his friend live in Texas where the Gorillas live. Gorillas are Mexcians who moved north. One of the boys are hurt badly and lose one of their feet. After this tradgey they move up north to where their parents live. Will they make it to their parent's home? Will they survive the winter? Read this book to find out what it is all about!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a great book by Gary L. Blackwood, December 9, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Dying Sun (Library Binding)

I thought this was a really good book. It was fun and exciting to read . I just wish that a I can read it again and again. But the reason I rated 4 stars is because, well it was good and all, but the main character in the book made fun of the people living in the area of Chicago. I would recomend this book to anybody.