Reefs

The Journeys of McGill Feighan #2

by Kevin O'Donnell Jr.

In our last adventure, McGill Feighan was flinging across the universe in search of the Far Being...and the dread Organization was crisscrossing the galaxy aiming to atomize McGill Feighan! — Now we join our hero on the seaworld Delurc -- a planet whose inhabitants combine the sociability of sharks with the compassion of piranhas. Not exactly nirvana for a nineteen-year-old with healthy hormones...

But fortunately, McGill Feighan is unsinkable...

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

220 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Christopher Sutch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed this juvenile novel a lot more when I was 11 than I did upon rereading it. There are a couple of major problems with this second volume in O'Donnell's only series. The first is a problem that afflicts young adult fiction generally (at least, it used to before YA really flowered over the past 20 years of so), which is that authors sometimes "dumb down" their protagonists under the delusion that this makes a character more appealing to younger readers. In SF, Robert A. Heinlein famously argued that writing juvenile novels should be exactly the same as writing any other book, just with a protagonist who is younger than an adult. That is, Heinlein's protagonists are just as mentally alert and capable as the protagonists of his adult works were.

Sadly, O'Donnell's Feighan is _very_ stupid in this book: he can't think clearly about _anything_, he doesn't listen to _anyone_ (until it's too late), and he does things that don't often make good sense. As an educator, of course, I recognize these as common traits of human teenagers, but I also recognize the genuine ability of those same teenagers to _frequently_ make good choices and to learn from their mistakes. Feighan, in this book, is 19 years old but acts like he's 13. Not a protagonist I can relate to, sadly (but it does explain why my 11-year-old self was entertained by this book).

Second, the plot of this novel is nowhere near as complex or interesting as the first entry in the series was. There are whole (dull) passages of dozens of pages where _little to nothing_ actually happens. That is an unforgiveable writing error and something that should not have afflicted an author with three previous novels under his belt.

I'll see how the series develops (I intend to reread the two later novels as well), but I honestly don't know what to advise readers about this book: whether it can be skipped for the later ones or if you need to slog through this dud to reach something better in books 3 and 4.


Good luck, whatever you choose.

[Allyson E · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read that has the same strengths and weaknesses as the first book. McGill learns more about his flinging abilities and uses them in novel ways to save the lives of those he loves. However the protagonist is still a young adult and makes bad decisions or draws immature conclusions, especially when it comes to love. There are plot reasons (mind control and emotional manipulation) that explain some of McGill’s immature behavior, but it’s not pulled off very well and so the protagonist can feel unlikable if the reader doesn’t buy into the authors explanation.

I enjoyed the book all the same and look forward to reading Lava.

[James]

In our last adventure, McGill Feighan was flinging across the universe in search of the Far Being...and the dread Organization was crisscrossing the galaxy aiming to atomize McGill Feighan! — Now we join our hero on the seaworld Delurc -- a planet whose inhabitants combine the sociability of sharks with the compassion of piranhas. Not exactly nirvana for a nineteen-year-old with healthy hormones...But fortunately, McGill Feighan is unsinkable...

[Tom Jolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would be a 5 if the series had ever been completed.

[JW David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soft on the 'Science'-fiction continuing the story of the Flinger network and McGill's search for why.

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scattered attention, not giving my best to the book but it is as good as it was the first time around and that is what counts.