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Omega Place
Book by Marks, Graham
- GenresYoung AdultTeen
Paperback
First published November 13, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 16, 2017
Overall, Graham Marks's young adult novel is an okay read. The book follows a young adult by the name of Paul who leaves home and eventually stumbles around a group called Omega Place. Omega Place is a group set on destroying government cameras to restore the privacy of the people. The whole book then tells the story of how Paul deals with being in the group and how Omega Place operates.
I would recommend it to people looking for a thriller centered around story and interactions but Omega Place lacks in certain character building aspects. Some (not all) of the characters feel underdeveloped and leaves the reader not caring about their situations or outcomes of their actions. On top of that, the book also is constantly adding in characters midway through the book which can leave readers confused. Some of them do not even matter to the plot and can be written around completely, which would not change anything story-wise. The novel also falls when dealing with pacing. The book jumps to the main character's interactions in Omega Place, to the police or government trying to hunt down Omega Place. This may sound good yet usually the interactions in Omega Place are way more centered around thrill and when it jumps to the side plot dealing with the police it spoils some of the thrill.
I would recommend it to people looking for a thriller centered around story and interactions but Omega Place lacks in certain character building aspects. Some (not all) of the characters feel underdeveloped and leaves the reader not caring about their situations or outcomes of their actions. On top of that, the book also is constantly adding in characters midway through the book which can leave readers confused. Some of them do not even matter to the plot and can be written around completely, which would not change anything story-wise. The novel also falls when dealing with pacing. The book jumps to the main character's interactions in Omega Place, to the police or government trying to hunt down Omega Place. This may sound good yet usually the interactions in Omega Place are way more centered around thrill and when it jumps to the side plot dealing with the police it spoils some of the thrill.
November 16, 2012
Reviewed by Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
George Orwell presented the idea of Big Brother in the book 1984. OMEGA PLACE brings the idea into the present tense. We are reminded of how things like closed-circuit television surveillance are infiltrating our lives, and we often don't even give it a thought. Should we be worried or are we just being protected?
Paul Hendry is seventeen. His parents are divorced. He lives with his mother and his less than likeable stepfather. Life has to be better somewhere else, and Paul is determined to find out where. He packs a few of his belongings and leaves.
While searching for that better than home life, Paul observes a guy and a girl about his age vandalizing a closed-circuit security camera. He picks up a paper left behind and discovers they are part of a group calling themselves Omega Place. Their purpose - to make the world aware of the Big Brother aspects of modern-day society. When Paul bumps into the partners yet again, he mentions the flyer and hints that he might be interested in helping out.
Rob and Terri let Paul tag along and even train him to help them with their next security camera hit. The heart-stopping intrigue is just what Paul has been looking for. It's definitely more exciting than the life he left at home. After revealing his trustworthiness, Terri says she'll check in with their mysterious boss, Orlando, and see if there is a permanent place in the organization for Paul.
Running parallel to Paul's adventures with Omega Place are two other storylines. One involves the police, who are interested in the vandalism and catching up with this mischievous crew. The other is the group who originally created Omega Place, who believe Orlando has overstepped the boundaries of his power and needs to be stopped. All together this creates a complex plot with enough twists and turns and adventure to challenge readers.
Graham Marks has created a story that is startlingly close to real life. With constant threats of attack worldwide, most people believe the governments of today are trying their best to protect their citizens -- but is some of the technology being used for more than just our protection? Readers will need to have some knowledge of today's global problems and quite a bit of concentration to follow this unusual plot, but they'll find it is worth the time and effort.
George Orwell presented the idea of Big Brother in the book 1984. OMEGA PLACE brings the idea into the present tense. We are reminded of how things like closed-circuit television surveillance are infiltrating our lives, and we often don't even give it a thought. Should we be worried or are we just being protected?
Paul Hendry is seventeen. His parents are divorced. He lives with his mother and his less than likeable stepfather. Life has to be better somewhere else, and Paul is determined to find out where. He packs a few of his belongings and leaves.
While searching for that better than home life, Paul observes a guy and a girl about his age vandalizing a closed-circuit security camera. He picks up a paper left behind and discovers they are part of a group calling themselves Omega Place. Their purpose - to make the world aware of the Big Brother aspects of modern-day society. When Paul bumps into the partners yet again, he mentions the flyer and hints that he might be interested in helping out.
Rob and Terri let Paul tag along and even train him to help them with their next security camera hit. The heart-stopping intrigue is just what Paul has been looking for. It's definitely more exciting than the life he left at home. After revealing his trustworthiness, Terri says she'll check in with their mysterious boss, Orlando, and see if there is a permanent place in the organization for Paul.
Running parallel to Paul's adventures with Omega Place are two other storylines. One involves the police, who are interested in the vandalism and catching up with this mischievous crew. The other is the group who originally created Omega Place, who believe Orlando has overstepped the boundaries of his power and needs to be stopped. All together this creates a complex plot with enough twists and turns and adventure to challenge readers.
Graham Marks has created a story that is startlingly close to real life. With constant threats of attack worldwide, most people believe the governments of today are trying their best to protect their citizens -- but is some of the technology being used for more than just our protection? Readers will need to have some knowledge of today's global problems and quite a bit of concentration to follow this unusual plot, but they'll find it is worth the time and effort.
January 26, 2010
This book is a perfect conspiracy theory for young adults. The book takes place in England, where security cameras are everywhere. A group of young adults, calling themselves Omega Place believe the cameras are in place to keep an eye on specific people’s everyday movement. At first this unnoticed gang of kids begins destroying the cameras to simply put them out of commission. When Paul runs away from home to get away from his new step-father he meets up with the gang. After some "tests" the gang agrees to let him be a member.
In a police station across town a detective is looking for the mole in the department. Someone is leaking information about the new security cameras and their purpose.
Will the kids and the cops cross paths? Will Paul die for his new cause? Something must give in this young adult mystery.
In a police station across town a detective is looking for the mole in the department. Someone is leaking information about the new security cameras and their purpose.
Will the kids and the cops cross paths? Will Paul die for his new cause? Something must give in this young adult mystery.
March 13, 2008
In England, there are cameras on every corner, one for every 14 citizens. They say a person is captured on film 300 times a day. Big Brother is definitely watching. When Paul runs away from home, he means to just make it to London and get a job, but instead, he meets some members of Omega Place, a "terrorist" organization that's trying to destroy the cameras and make people aware of all the monitoring. Stealing vans, living in squats, and vandalizing cameras starts out as fun, but with MI5 hot on their trail, Paul soon realizes that there may be other ways to let people know your beliefs. This is an exciting and suspenseful novel that makes you think about what could happen in our own country.
January 19, 2009
This book is completly random. The content was strange and I would not recommend it to really anyone.
The whole plot of the story revolves around an 18 year old boy named Paul who runs away from his home because he doesnt like his stepdad. He then joins the group named Omega Place because he read a memo left by a team of people that break the CCTV survailence cameras in place across the UK. They say the government doesnt need them. The story picks up when they add new information to the memos that reveals government top secrets. Now Homeland Defense is chasing them trying to find out how they got this information.It all builds up to the authorities being right on their tail.
This book is ok. Not real exciting and is often just plain stupid at times. Not a great read.
The whole plot of the story revolves around an 18 year old boy named Paul who runs away from his home because he doesnt like his stepdad. He then joins the group named Omega Place because he read a memo left by a team of people that break the CCTV survailence cameras in place across the UK. They say the government doesnt need them. The story picks up when they add new information to the memos that reveals government top secrets. Now Homeland Defense is chasing them trying to find out how they got this information.It all builds up to the authorities being right on their tail.
This book is ok. Not real exciting and is often just plain stupid at times. Not a great read.
May 3, 2010
If YA guys will persevere, they will have a great payoff in this suspenseful novel of Big Brother vs. well, Medium-sized Brother. Our hero, Paul, would qualify as Little Brother, then, in Graham Marks' world.
The setting is very likely the present, London. Paul is having a difficult time with his step-dad and flies the coop, only to run in with a crowd that is intent on distributing manifestos and disabling some of the many CCTV cameras the UK government uses to monitor the citizens. This all goes swimmingly, until Paul screws up an operation, and the happy few come to an abrupt end.
Interspersed in chapters, is the government's side of the story: how do they find this group, and how do they find the security leak that led to Omega Place in the beginning?
The setting is very likely the present, London. Paul is having a difficult time with his step-dad and flies the coop, only to run in with a crowd that is intent on distributing manifestos and disabling some of the many CCTV cameras the UK government uses to monitor the citizens. This all goes swimmingly, until Paul screws up an operation, and the happy few come to an abrupt end.
Interspersed in chapters, is the government's side of the story: how do they find this group, and how do they find the security leak that led to Omega Place in the beginning?
February 5, 2008
Got this one read while home sick from work! Paul, running away from his dysfunctional family, falls in with a group bent on drawing attention to the British Government's plan to keep its citizens under constant surveillance. His story operates on the plot's surface, while a number of other characters' stories move toward a violent intersection.
January 15, 2011
It was alright a bit boring but caught my intention in the middle of the book is we're it became clear that the book itself is good but quite mysterious in ways imaginable ;)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews