Okay- first, the quick readers review..
I'm a sci fi junkie, and don't often like the young adult reads. I didn't care overly for the harry potter series- mostly because I have been reading sci fi and fantasy long enough that I prefer the better written and more complex stories.
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The chapters read really quickly, and while I kept saying, finish the chapter and then go do my work.. I read the book cover to cover.
It's a story about friendship, relationships, between people, people and the earth, and eventually, people/humans.. and aliens. And yeah- theres some cool alien stuff, too! Imagine taking a field trip to the moon, or mars! Wow! But there is something for everyone here. Friendship. Cool science. Mystic spiritual ceremony of Navajo/Dine', and complex concepts around the philosophy that drives science.
Okay- on to more technical stuff:
This story reads fast and smooth. Each chapter hooks the reader to continue reading. At first I thought that this book was trying to be a science fiction version of Harry Potter, but by the halfway point, this story had definitely taken its own form and was very much a unique and rich world. In true form with the young adult book, the characters are more straightforward and carry less complexity than is often seen in literature. Although in much science fiction, character development does not seem to be the strongest aspect of the book. Stephen Baxter is a brilliant scientist and phenomenal writer/ story teller.. but characterization is not the primary emphasis.. What is going on is the greater focus, and here also, the story is not hindered by this in any way.
There is an excellent blend of science and mysticism-spirituality.. and this is highlighted by a very stirring speech given by one of the characters in the middle of the book. With all of the technology and scientific discoveries.. one of the main characters comes to a very profound insight: And through this, exposes young readers to these complex notions.. Hiroshima, the rain forest.. the world young adults are discovering, in all its horror and beauty, asking.. To what end, and for whose gain? How should science be used and for what motives? Zack comes to the conclusion that "We must understand ourselves, too."
In this, science and spirituality have been re-merged, something that has been broken since the beginning of the Cartesian model was developed, where all things are mechanistic and ethics were often set aside in the pursuit of pure science: the ends justifying the means. The 4 children that are central in this story question this premise, and hopefully the series will follow them as they discover a way to maintain the two in equal measure.
What I would like to see more of or would change:
Girls in skirts... didn't seem to serve any specific purpose, and it sends stereotype messages to kids who are reading.
Better depiction/ more gritty realistic of the life of native Americans on a Res.
For the aliens to be less human in their mannerisms and psychology.