Customer Reviews

The Killing Sea

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

So glad I'm not alone in giving this wonderful book 5 stars! It a small masterpiece.

Other reviewers have already done a great job of summarizing the plot, so I'll just say that this gripping young adult novel about the tsunami is so much more than a heart-thumping page-turner. It's about family, culture, religion, redemption, love and God. I'm eager for my children to read it, and recommend it to all adults, as well.

-Ellen Meister, author of Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA

I purchased The Killing Sea for my son but couldn't wait for him to get through a trilogy he is currently reading and so picked up The Killing Sea and read it myself. Am I glad I did! It's a wonderful read and a real page turner.

Two protagonists move through this story: Ruslan, a local Indonesian boy who works at a small beachside cafe in the town of Meulaboh; and Sarah, a teenager who is sailing with her family through the Indonesian islands over the Christmas holiday. The two meet briefly when Sarah's family anchors their sailboat near the cafe, searching for a mechanic to fix their engine. Ruslan (whose mechanic father ultimately fixes the engine) is captivated by Sarah's blue eyes. A budding artist, Ruslan returns home later that night and draws her in his sketchbook (against the teachings of a local cleric who deems any image-making to be a form of idolatry). At the cafe, Sarah barely registers Ruslan's existence before stalking off to the sailboat when her mother insists she don a headscarf out of respect for the local culture.

Lewis sensitively and deftly explores the notion of the spoiled American as we see Sarah undergo her own sea change after the tsunami rips her world apart. Both Ruslan and Sarah are left parentless: Ruslan, motherless since birth, cannot find his father after the tsunami; Sarah's parents disappear beneath the rising waters as they flee their stranded sailboat. She learns the fate of one shortly after the waters recede, the other she cannot find before she must embark on a search for a hospital for her younger brother who inhaled seawater and is having difficulty breathing.

Ruslan and Sarah's paths intersect again, post-tsunami, as the two teens struggle to survive against violent rebels, wild animals, contaminated water, blocked roads and mounting hunger. The trials they endure give the teenagers a strong bond of survivorship that transcends gender, race, and religion. In their journey, they are helped by a savvy feline named Surf Cat, a motley group of rebels who are strangely familiar, an unlikely crew of fellow survivors, and a number of cast-off items that are put to inventive good use.

The Killing Sea is a story born of the 2004 tsunami, yes (Lewis volunteered as an aid relief worker in the aftermath, and a portion of the proceeds from his book will go to support local relief organizations), but it is not only about the tragedy. It is also about an unlikely friendship that transcends ethnic and religious boundaries. It is an enduring, timeless story--a story of hope and survival, of human triumph against enormous odds.

More than any footage I saw, more than any news articles I read, this book made me feel what it was like to go through the great Indonesian tsumami with its devastating human cost. But this book is much more. It's also a high stakes adventure story.

Richard Lewis has taken an unimaginably immense, cataclysmic event and brought it down to the human scale, so that adult and young adult readers can feel the pain and witness the resourceful human spirit in action. This novel has no dull moments. From the momentous tsunami itself to the great labor of survival after it, he makes you identify with Sarah and the great change she goes through, lets you see this world clearly through the artist eyes of Ruslan, and has you care about their long and difficult journey. Sarah, the spoiled American teenager, like Kipling's rich boy in Captains Courageous, is forever changed and deepened by this tragedy in a world so foreign to her and to most American readers. Read it, then give it to a young person you care about. Neither of you will be disappointed.

Richard Lewis's The Killing Sea is a fast-paced adventure based on the 2004 tsunami in Aceh. Skillfully crafted chapters alternate between telling the story of Indonesian boy, Ruslan, and Sarah, the Western tourist.

After surviving the tsunami (and witnessing a haunting amount of people who didn't), Ruslan begins searching for his father, who he believes has gone to Ie Mameh. After being held hostage by the military and then kidnapped by rebels, Ruslan escapes and eventually meets up with blue-eyed Sarah.

Sarah must also find her father, but first she needs to get her younger brother to a hospital. Peter swallowed a lot of water and is getting sicker by the day. Along with Aisya (whom Sarah pulled out of corpse-ridden waters), the three of them set off in search of medical attention.

A tug-of-war between hope and despair occurs, as they trek over mountains only to find more flattened villages. They are joined by fellow survivors and finally arrive in Calang. There they are told that the hospital has been destroyed and the medicine, washed away.

The Killing Sea is as visually stimulating as watching a movie. It's tastefully written and surely a winner with proceeds going to local Acehnese charities. The most compelling thing about the novel, however, is its sincerity. Even though the book is a work of imagination, Lewis creates a reality. From the water buffalo trying to clamber onto the fishing boat to the detachment Sarah feels upon finding her dead mother, I believed every word.

We bought this book for our son for Christmas, but my wife and I both loved it, too.

Richard Lewis takes readers on a gut-wrenching tale of grief and desperation in the aftermath of the tsunami that that struck Indonesia on Christmas Eve 2004.

The Killing Sea doesn't dwell on the horrors of the destruction, but it does not shrink from them either. From the terror and disgust that overwhelms Ruslan as he hides in a dumptruck full of decaying corpses to the Sarah's relief when a helicopter lands in front of her, Richard Lewis makes the reader feel what his characters feel. His description of the tsunami itself is a great piece of writing.

I would recommend it to anyone.

Bought this book for my Grandson who had a summer assignment to read. I read it too, and it is very good.

The Killing Sea is the story of Ruslan, Sarah and Peter who fight to survive the Tsunami that hit Indonesia December 26, 2004. Ruslan is a young boy who lives in the small harbor town of Meulaboh, Indonesia with his father. Sarah and Peter are Americans who have stopped in Aceh to have their sailboat motor fixed by Ruslan's father. This is their first meeting. The next time they will meet will be under different and difficult circumstances. The tsunami has hit Indonesia. Sarah and Peter have found their dead mother's body. Unable to find their father they decide to make their way back to Meulaboh to seek help. Ruslan had run to higher ground when the tsunami hit. He is trying to make his way into rebel territory to find his father when he finds Sarah and Peter. Peter has become very sick from swallowing contaminated water when caught in the tsunami. Ruslan is determined to help them find a hospital to help Peter. This means he is putting these strangers before his own need to find his father. I felt the terror and frustration at such a helpless loss of life. I cried as Sarah seemed to face one challenge after another. I got angry with the way the media was handling the situation. They seemed to be interested in the Americans who survived and not so much the native people who had lost so much. I gave this book a rating of 5 out of 5

THE KILLING SEA is a thrilling book that talks about a tsunami hitting the coast of Indonesia. There are three main characters involved in this fictionalized account: Ruslan, who is an Indonesian, and Sarah and Steve, who are Americans that are visiting the country.

Sarah's and Steve's mom and dad asked to see Ruslan's dad to repair their boat that they needed to have fixed. Ruslan doesn't have a mother because she died a few years ago so he has to work. His dad is a mechanic.

Then a tsunami hits the coast. Ruslan knows that his dad is working on an oil tanker out at sea so he thinks he is okay. Sarah and Steve are on their boat when the tsunami hits. They run for their lives but lose track of their parents.

The book tells you those two stories and what they do after the tsunami. When an exciting part happens, they switch over to another point of view to make you want to read more.

I loved THE KILLING SEA and I hope when you read it you do, too.

Reviewed by: Mike

Ruslan slipped away from the crowd and the curious onlookers. He began to run, not knowing exactly why. But instanced told him to get away from the sea.
INDONESIA DECEMBER 2004

An Indonesian boy, and an all American girl are brought together in the aftermath of the devastating tsunami. The girl Sara has a 15-year-old brother named Peter that is with her. Sara and Peter have lost their mother in the tidal wave but their dad is still alive. But Sara And Peter are separated from their father by all of the rubble on the ground beneath there feet. The Indonesian boy is on Sara's and Peters side the whole time. Ruslan, the Indonesian boy has no mother but has a father but lost him like Sara and Peter. They are living on the ocean side in a tent that one of the tourists had waiting for rescue. Will Sara, Peter, and Ruslan be rescued or will they be there for a while.


Opinion

I thought that this book was the best book in the world and every one should read it. It gets you hooked from the very first sentence. It is a must read.

Richard lewis has through this story portrayed the victims of the asian tsunami as human beings. He has maintained their dignity, this is a rare skill in writing that should be praised. I would recommend this book to those who have spent time helping after the tsunami as well as those who only know of it from the news.
From one who did go to help thank you for telling this important story, it was important for me to read. Thank you Richard Lewis!