Zed

by Michael Frederick

"12/21/12 proved to me that a new frequency has come to us from a massive black hole at the centre of our galaxy. This frequency is changing the very pulse of earth and will eventually move ll humans to be concious and creative. This will be a new Earth. There will be resistance." -Zed/Generation 2012

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2011

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had vowed to never again read self-published books because if a publisher won't publish them, there probably is a good reason. Usually I think it is because they are not only filled with poor writing, but also filled with a lot of preachy religious, New Age, cosmic vibes that I really don't need to waste time on.

Anyway, I was waiting in line to check out my books at the library and browsing the new book shelves when I read the back of the book "...and will eventually move all humans to become conscious and creative. This will be the new Earth. There will be resistance" and assumed that this would be a sci-fi book along the lines of Doug Adams, full of sardonic wit and irony. Unfortunately, it is not. It is a boy meets girl book complete with buddy road trip and coming-of-age self-revelation with plenty of vibes coming from the Six Directions and Dusty Springfield.

While the story itself wasn't that bad (other than the preposterous thought that an 18-yr-old would be allowed to pull the plug on his mother without any legal or social services assistance and conviently leaving him a millionaire), the writing was mediocre. There wasn't a smooth flow between chapters and there was no real difference in first person narrative when changing between characters. Some grammatical errors, ie. one does not "inject" comments into a conversation, one interjects. The adjective fashionable should never be used with "mullet" unless a lot of sarcasm is involved. All things that having an editor would have fixed and/or improved upon. Kudos for the plot twist with Gale and for actually checking to see if a drive to Anchorage was even possible (yes, that is a snipe at the Celestine Prophecy). Overall better than expected for self-published.

[Colton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ooof, this was just irredeemably awful. Cardboard characters, lame plot, and terribly written dialogue. It read like a pamphlet for some geeky fake New Age cult written by a high schooler who stole some of his brother's weed. The synopsis makes it sound like some trippy, futuristic sci fi, but it's really just a boring story about a guy who inherited a lot of money, got a crush on a girl, and traveled to Alaska. I feel embarrassed for the author, as this story clearly needed a lot more work before it deserved to see the light of day, much less get published in book form. This is the kind of nonsense that gives self-published books a bad name.

[April Suter · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is 2012 and Zed's life is very different from 2011. During his senior year he has a new bipolar best friend, a girl enters his life and a big change where he lives and family condidtions.
Way too much repeating, no real direction for the characters and not much material for a high schooler that is worth reading. Sorry author...kids need positive things to look forward to and read about.
160 pages

[Dawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically a "coming of age" story. It is mixed in with a large amount of "New Age" self help. It got kind of preachy at points but overall I liked the central character. At a 170 pages, it was a fast read. My library has a collection of 5 or 6 short novels by the same author. I am just intrigued enough to try another one of his.

[Aferandora · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read until about page 50, I thought it would be my type of book but it was too slow for my liking.

[Trish Cates · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Recommended for young men. Some interesting concepts involving the metaphysical was a nice touch. Great ending.

[Pam Bustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

As Zed would say, “innaresting.”