Customer Reviews

the guardians

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The year is 2053 in England, a nation where people live either in the Conurb or the County. The psychological chasm that exits between the two lifestyles is vast, although there are those Commuters who straddle both worlds. Rob Randall is a boy raised in the Conurb--a sprawling, densely-packed megalopolis, whose masses are entertained with controlled riots and bloody sports events. But propaganda has made him scorn life in the County, where the Gentry (What would England be without her strict class division?) deliberately live in simple but antiquated styles, and even the servants seem satisfied. Both sets of people despise and distrust the other; their worlds are separated by a physical Barrier with guarded gates.

After Rob's father dies in a mysterious work-related accident, orphaned Rob is packed off to a state-run boarding school. But the grim regimen is too much for the puzzled, grieving youngster, who decides to cross the forbidden Barrier and escape to freedom in the unknown County. But citified Rob can not cope with roughing it outdoors, nor hide for long on a rich estate. He soon discovers that Freedom isn't Free.

Unexpectedly Rob is befriended by a County boy, whose family agrees to shelter him and provide him with a false identity. How long can Rob hope to fool the County authorities? Will he endanger his compassionate hosts? Gradually we discover that there are two sides of the Barrier--but ONE set of Guardians, who exist to protect the status quo. Who are these shadowy manipulators anyway? What right do they have to defy government rules about No Guns or to condition their people to acquiescence--on both sides! Which lifestyle will Rob ultimately choose?

This is a good read but unevenly paced: 75% of this novel is slow, which is great for our hero, but not exciting to read. However the last chapter is quite long, full of surprise twists before we reach the final ending! The New York Times writes: "the novel is sparsely written, exciting and based on valid soci! al trends." Mankind is doomed to disillusion and social slavery if that judgment is correct. Just what does Rob suspect and learn about his father's death back in the Conurb? Will he join the Guardians or the rebels? Where will he make his home in the future, or can he fit in anywhere? A serious, thought-provoking read for peole who ponder possible scenarios for the Future.

I have never been a fan of "young adult sci fi" as an independent genre, but, having been introduced to Christoper's legendary "Tripods" trilogy (from which even the 2005 movie version of "War of the Worlds" borrowed liberally) as a young boy, I figured I'd read "The Guardians" when I stumbled across it on a library table and had two hours to kill.

Despite what many here have said, I would without compunction characterize "The Guardians" as a fast-paced adventure story. It details the adventures of one Rob Randall, a boy raised in a not-too-distant England, which has been subdivided into "the Conurb"--where Rob grew up, devolved into a bread-and-circuses-type situation where the masses can only be kept at bay through government-sponsored violence--and "the County"--where wealthy families and their live-in staffs luxuriate in nineteenth-century torpor. Afer Rob's father dies, he is spirited off to a rigorous boarding school where he runs afoul of the military-style discipline and is impelled to flight by his classmates' sadism. Rob succeeds in escaping under the legendary, underwhelming "fence" that divides the Conurb from the County. After injuring his foot and finding himself quite helpless, Rob is befriended by Mike, a well-to-do country boy who discovers Rob while out riding his horse one day. Mike's mother--discovering food missing from the kitchen and extracting the truth from a recently-fallen-ill Mike--rescues Rob and quickly incorporates him into the family. Rob and Mike are fast friends and are both quite happy until, one day, a wealthy visitor sees through Rob's thin veneer of "I'm Mike's cousin from Nepal"--backed up by Rob's having read a book or two about Nepalese customs, fauna, tourist attractions, etc.--and is about to deliver him to the authorities. We ultimately learn that, while Mike's father was long ago biotechnologically "subdued" (reminiscent of the "capping" in the Tripods trilogy), Mike is quite a rebel himself, "escaping" the superficial happiness of the County for the challenge of the Conurb. At the end of the story, a trepidation-filled Rob slips back under the fence to hunt for Mike, who provided Rob a forwarding address. The story wraps up rather too quickly, and I personally would have enjoyed following Rob's life story for at least a bit longer, yet Christopher does an admirable job of painting the essential elements of an imperfect future world and exploring the tormented psyche of a nice boy inextricably caught in that unforgiving world.

This is an interesting story about freedom, and in particular, our ability to make choices that could affect the rest of our lives.

Rob Randall lives in the Conurb - an overcrowded urban maze, where reading and thinking for yourself is unpopular, and life revolves around sport, holovision, and riots. When Rob's father is electrocuted, he is sent to a boarding school where life becomes a nightmare of over-zealous discipline and torment.

Rob hears about the Barrier, which divides the Conurb from the rural, open spaces known as the County. Rob runs away from the boarding school and crosses the Barrier, hoping for a better life. On the surface, life in the County seems perfect. But Rob soon learned that appearances are very deceptive...

Although "The Guardians" is not as fast-moving as the "Tripods Trilogy", it's an interesting book nevertheless. Some of the things John Christopher writes about in his imaginary future are rather close to the bone. In the culture I live in, sport is treated with much more reverence than literature and the arts. There are signs that people devote less time to reading, as it's much easier to slump in front of the screen, watching sentimental drivel. More than ever, our lives are controlled by the media and a growing lack of privacy.

The two worlds John Christopher writes about here are deceptively utopian, but are in fact places where people are ruled by a cynical elite. Books like "The Guardians" remind us that the freedom we have is something we must never take for granted.

The Guardians by John Christopher

The year is 2053, and Britain is divided into the tightly packed Conurb and the leisurely County. The people in the County don't work, and they live a very easy life, with hobbies such as growing miniature trees. The Conurbans work in crowded cities with hi-tech entertainment, such as Terraplaning, the bloodthirsty Games and lots of riots. Rob is a Conurban, but he doesn't fit in with everyone else. He would rather read books, while others watch Terraplaning and the Games. When Rob's father dies, Rob is sent off to Barnes Boarding School, which he hates. Rob decides to try and cross the barrier, which is supposed to be a hundred feet high and electrified, and enter the County. Rob finally finds the cave and to his amazement is only 12 feet high but his temptations soon catch up with him but he soon does the jump a quick scramble and he himself was on his way to freedom. A boy, about the same age as him, named Mike Gifford soon finds him. Mike shows him a cave, which Rob lives in for a few days. However, Mike's mother soon finds Rob, and offers to take him into the house, and pretend he is a cousin from Nepal. How long can Rob stay in the County, fooling the officials? How long will Rob be able to pretend to be one of the Gentry? How long will it be until someone finds out the truth?

This is quite a good book, but I feel that it is not evenly spaced out. For a long time, from when Rob crosses the barrier to the last chapter not a lot seems to be happening. Even the last chapter goes on for too long, although it does have a few twists. The whole point of the book is about freedom, and how most people are not free, because they all have to go along with everything else in the Conurb. They are not free to do what they want to do. Equality takes a big part in the book I think this book could play apart in the war going on at the moment in Kosovo. It is a great book and a pleasure to read I think more people should read it.

THE GUARDIANS

The good points of this book are that the contents are generally good however in the beginning it starts rather slowly. This is a novel of debate; it has very little action and will not suit all readers. Where the novel falls down is that it has nothing to please anyone who wants action, This is a specialised book for debate. It would have been better if the author had put more into the book than he did because it seems to stop short of a full book in several areas namely fast paced action.

A Review of the Guardians

This book is about a boy called Rob in the year 2053. The country is split in two halves, the Conurb and the County. The book is about a boy who crosses the barrier separating the two halves because he is an orphan. He eventually gets mixed up in a revolutionary when he is befriended by a boy called Mike who lives in the County. This novel is full of ideas rather than action. Rob is told by the Gifford family that he can stay with them and he will be a distant cousin from Nepal. The Conurb is very high tech where as the County is very lazy with servants. The people there dress up in a grand style and use horses for transport, like in the 1900's. When Mike rebels with several others the Guardians question him. They know he is already from the Conurb, they found out within 24hours of his arrival at the Gifford house. Rob is considered by the Guardians as a potential recruit. They tell him the system and Rob finds out the rottenness of the system and the way in which people are made to live, as the Guardians want them to. Questions which were raised earlier by Mike, but which were rejected by Rob are now thought about. Should the government control people's lives, should there be freedom and should there be a choice of lifestyle? Rob finds out that people are brainwashed almost. In the Conurb people who have ideas stick out like a sore thumb and are sent to China where there is a war. Steam is let off in riots. Ideas are spread around that there is a huge barrier 150ft high, and electrified. These were no mistakes made, but rumors spread by the Guardians to discourage people crossing the barrier. In the County people have a revolt and they all gather together in one place. Then nerve gas is dropped, wiping out most rebels. Or people can have a bit of their brain removed so they are no longer rebellious. Rob's father died in a mysterious accident at work as an electrician. Rob begins to wonder if it was an accident? Did the Guardians kill him?

This is a good novel because it gives a good idea of what England may be like in the future. The last chapter is a very good one with lots of twists in it, which are not expected. The book is more a book full of ideas rather than action and this gives a lot of time to get to know the character.

Several questions are raised in the book about whether there should be a secret dictator who force people to do what they want or whether the country should be one of freedom where people make their own choice.

This is a slightly bad book because there is not much action (25%) which makes it run slowly. This makes it a bit boring.

I give it 3 out of 5.

Name : James McLeod Age : 12 School : St.Albans School

The Guardians

This is a book by John Christopher about how he thinks life will be like in the not-too-distant future. It stars a 13 year-old boy called Rob Randall who lives in the crowded, glitzy conurb. He is a likeable character who shares his emotions at every opportunity. Too often, for my liking. There are a lot of times when the pace of the novel slows to a crawl. But there are a few exciting parts, for example, when Rob is being interviewed by Sir Percy Gregory near the end of the book. The few pages on his dad before he dies (oops) say little about him except that he's an engineer, which is a shame because a strong father figure might have been more to the novel's advantage. Another drawback of the slow, boring plot is that the less patient reader may become bored and put it down way before he/she discovers it's best kept secrets. The story-line is flawed but there are a precious few nice twists, like when Mike's mother discovers Rob in the cave and tells him that she knew about it when she was a young girl, courting Mike's father. The characterization is impressive, providing likeable inhabitants of the County and not-so likeable members of the Conurb, Mr.Kenealy for example. Overall, a disappointing novel that could've been good. The execution lets it down though. Oh well.

Like other novels by John Christopher this is engaging and original. I was caputured by this story as a child when I read it and upon re-reading it as an adult I find that it has lost none of its magic.

The Guardians Book review.

This book is about a boy called Robin Randall who is has not settled into a boarding school called Barnes Boarding school and gets teased like a normal new boy would be. He decides to escape into the country where his mother was born. It was a hard decision to make and Rob shows his courage by crossing. It was a hard choice due to the County and Conurb were enemies. It was set in 2053 in the future.

This book I think is not well paced, as to much things happen in one chapter, especially in the 10th chapter as to many things happen as Robs true identify is spotted by Sir.Percy. I also do not like the story line, as it is very untrue but then again some readers find that good.

It is also a bit confusing so therefore you could get lost and confused. It is one of those books which start of boring then get exciting for the last 5 chapters and it finishes with you wondering what would happen next. That is why I thought it would be a good idea for the author to do another book following on as it does not finish well wondering well Mike meet Rob or not.

I recommend this book to people that like adventures and can get really into a book.

I give it 8/10.

THE GAURDIANS

This novel is based in 2053 and is about two places (in Britain) in which people in. The two places are The Conurb (which is a futuristic place with fast electocars, fighting gladiators, and holovision ), and The County (a place based in the past, plain and peaceful, with unspoiled views but uses the technology of the future, like the soft plastic for the horses to travel on).The main story is about a Conurban boy called Rob, whose father has been killed. He is sent to boarding school, but is forced to run away due to the unbearable torture he has been through. He has found some letters of his mums which show his mums address in Gloucestershire, which is in the County. He runs away here. Here he meets a boy called Mike. He lives in their house with a false identity as a distant cousin. Here he releases what the government is doing. They are making people live in one place not giving them the freedom if choosing weather to live in the County or Conurb. Mike and a few friends start a revolt. It gets stopped. After this Mike runs away to the Conurb to start a revolt there. Rob thinks about his fathers death and suspects about it. He decides to run away and help Mike. I think this book is a very good book but is a little slow to get started then is all crammed in at the end.