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Massachusetts
A HORSE...
A RACE...
A DEADLY CHALLENGE.
What happened to Massachusetts was a crying shame.
When Massachusetts qualified to run in the Kentucky Derby, he had no notion that he would soon be competing with Riders of the Seventh Plane in a very different kind of race.
And when a brash young Rider makes an ill-considered wager, the fate of a world hangs in the balance.
The stakes couldn't be higher...
A RACE...
A DEADLY CHALLENGE.
What happened to Massachusetts was a crying shame.
When Massachusetts qualified to run in the Kentucky Derby, he had no notion that he would soon be competing with Riders of the Seventh Plane in a very different kind of race.
And when a brash young Rider makes an ill-considered wager, the fate of a world hangs in the balance.
The stakes couldn't be higher...
167 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 28, 2019
5 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 25, 2019
Massachusetts is the story of a horse who shows a lot of promise as a racing champion, then gets his moment to shine and wins the Kentucky Derby...RIGHT??? WRONG!!! That's what I was expecting when I started reading. Roughly a quarter of the way into the story, the reader is thrown for a major loop when Massachusetts is taken from his world and plunged straight into the race of his life.
Warren Dean has done what I thought nobody could do. He has turned out a book that was like nothing I had ever read before! I read in many different genres, but this book is a true original. The story is gripping and the writing is stellar. Highly recommended!!
Warren Dean has done what I thought nobody could do. He has turned out a book that was like nothing I had ever read before! I read in many different genres, but this book is a true original. The story is gripping and the writing is stellar. Highly recommended!!
October 28, 2019
A Fantastic YA Adventure!
Massachusettes is a racehorse who has a great future ahead of him until something happens that changes him forever. Instead of racing on a regular track against other horses, he has to race against monstrosities and aliens through a course where the land itself is hostile and dangerous and his fellow 'speeders' and their riders won't stoop to murder if that means they will win.
What I enjoyed:
The journey of the story. This is pretty much an all-action romp from start to finish with nail-biting tension as Chouk-Tzie and Orin charge through an alien world.
The setting. The world where the Katerwaul Klash takes place and the strange Augurmasters who control it, is beautifully described. The atmosphere it conjures made me think of the pod race on Tatooine as featured in The Phantom Menace.
The writing style. Fluent and flawless, beautiful word choices, excellent description and direct and engaging dialogue. The author makes words dance across the page, swirling the reader along effortlessly.
What I struggled with:
The morality. A huge tension point in the book is that Orin voluntarily takes on a horrific wager to do something that, in my opinion, no decent individual would ever agree to. That made it very hard for me to see him as sympathetic.
The end. The resolution of the last climax felt unnecessarily contrived to me, which was a bit disappointing after the taut writing and superb storytelling of the rest of the book. But, that said, the way it was done kind of worked in a book aimed at children or young teens. The message it gave of parental oversight maybe helps take the enormity out of how things transpired for a younger reader and would provide a sense of security.
Overall thoughts:
This is a great book for a younger reader and is beautifully written. Highly recommended.
Massachusettes is a racehorse who has a great future ahead of him until something happens that changes him forever. Instead of racing on a regular track against other horses, he has to race against monstrosities and aliens through a course where the land itself is hostile and dangerous and his fellow 'speeders' and their riders won't stoop to murder if that means they will win.
What I enjoyed:
The journey of the story. This is pretty much an all-action romp from start to finish with nail-biting tension as Chouk-Tzie and Orin charge through an alien world.
The setting. The world where the Katerwaul Klash takes place and the strange Augurmasters who control it, is beautifully described. The atmosphere it conjures made me think of the pod race on Tatooine as featured in The Phantom Menace.
The writing style. Fluent and flawless, beautiful word choices, excellent description and direct and engaging dialogue. The author makes words dance across the page, swirling the reader along effortlessly.
What I struggled with:
The morality. A huge tension point in the book is that Orin voluntarily takes on a horrific wager to do something that, in my opinion, no decent individual would ever agree to. That made it very hard for me to see him as sympathetic.
The end. The resolution of the last climax felt unnecessarily contrived to me, which was a bit disappointing after the taut writing and superb storytelling of the rest of the book. But, that said, the way it was done kind of worked in a book aimed at children or young teens. The message it gave of parental oversight maybe helps take the enormity out of how things transpired for a younger reader and would provide a sense of security.
Overall thoughts:
This is a great book for a younger reader and is beautifully written. Highly recommended.
October 28, 2019
What happened to Massachusetts was a crying shame.
This is the first sentence of what seems, at the beginning, to be a folksy tale about a plucky little racehorse.
We come to know and love Massachusetts - or Chusey as the narrator fondly calls him - but all the time in the back of our minds we are wondering when we are going to encounter the ‘crying shame’.
When we do it’s more than somewhat surprising. Without giving too much away, the story moves from Kentucky to... somewhere else. And what started out as a simple story about horse racing becomes something completely different.
We move into what can be seen as science fiction or fable, and very well done it is too.
When we do find out what happened to Massachusetts it’s a very long way from anything we might have suspected - and the journey is a pretty enjoyable one.
Highly recommended. Not least of all for an equine hero with a big heart.
This is the first sentence of what seems, at the beginning, to be a folksy tale about a plucky little racehorse.
We come to know and love Massachusetts - or Chusey as the narrator fondly calls him - but all the time in the back of our minds we are wondering when we are going to encounter the ‘crying shame’.
When we do it’s more than somewhat surprising. Without giving too much away, the story moves from Kentucky to... somewhere else. And what started out as a simple story about horse racing becomes something completely different.
We move into what can be seen as science fiction or fable, and very well done it is too.
When we do find out what happened to Massachusetts it’s a very long way from anything we might have suspected - and the journey is a pretty enjoyable one.
Highly recommended. Not least of all for an equine hero with a big heart.
July 19, 2019
Enjoyable Story!
Reading the little bit at the beginning, a reader may think that the plot of the story has just been given away about a little horse who almost did something great, but bad luck intervened. Well, that’s not even a tenth of the story. Massachusetts is a plucky horse set to win an important race when... Something happens. The story is a fun mingling of horse pluck and science fiction which I enjoyed. Young kids who like both would likely enjoy this story!
Reading the little bit at the beginning, a reader may think that the plot of the story has just been given away about a little horse who almost did something great, but bad luck intervened. Well, that’s not even a tenth of the story. Massachusetts is a plucky horse set to win an important race when... Something happens. The story is a fun mingling of horse pluck and science fiction which I enjoyed. Young kids who like both would likely enjoy this story!
July 22, 2019
Fascinating Equine Hero Tale
Short, quick, inter dimensional horse racing story that builds up slowly and then abruptly changes gears to a life-or-death race over incredible obstacles in a Dante-esque landscape.
Short, quick, inter dimensional horse racing story that builds up slowly and then abruptly changes gears to a life-or-death race over incredible obstacles in a Dante-esque landscape.
August 29, 2019
3 1/2 Stars
This author is obviously very talented. I thoroughly enjoyed all the characters in the first part of the book, even the “voice” of Jimmy the Mouth. For some reason though, once the story took a “turn” and entered an alternate dimension, I quickly lost interest. I never quite understood the point of the otherworld activities, nor did I meet any characters in this realm that I felt inclined to root for. Even after we left this strange world behind, I was still baffled as to what (if anything) had been resolved. And what connection was it all supposed to have with the original story? Though I was happy to reconnect with Jimmy the Mouth at the end and hear his updates on the fate of the original characters, I would have much preferred “seeing” those characters again for myself. Even if only briefly.
The author clearly knows a lot about racehorses (or did a heck of a lot of research). Parts of Massachusetts almost seems like a Horses for Dummies type of book. Except this version comes to life! I felt as if I learned a lot from reading this book. I’m sure that many young adult readers will appreciate gaining newfound knowledge as well.
The author even gifted his readers with an afterward summary of the world’s most famous racehorses. Though I’m more of an animal rights type of person than a racing enthusiast, I’ll admit I headed straight to the racetrack when American Pharoah came to town. Watching this magnificent animal race (and win) was an incredible sight I’ll never forget. And yet (until now) I never had a clue that American Pharoah was a descendant of Secretariat. I learned that from this book!
Overall, Massachusetts is an impressive work. Though I couldn’t relate to portions of the story, it doesn’t mean that other readers will experience this book in the same way. Many readers could easily enjoy being swept away into the magical realms of the author’s vivid imagination. The entire story is really quite an adventure.
This author is obviously very talented. I thoroughly enjoyed all the characters in the first part of the book, even the “voice” of Jimmy the Mouth. For some reason though, once the story took a “turn” and entered an alternate dimension, I quickly lost interest. I never quite understood the point of the otherworld activities, nor did I meet any characters in this realm that I felt inclined to root for. Even after we left this strange world behind, I was still baffled as to what (if anything) had been resolved. And what connection was it all supposed to have with the original story? Though I was happy to reconnect with Jimmy the Mouth at the end and hear his updates on the fate of the original characters, I would have much preferred “seeing” those characters again for myself. Even if only briefly.
The author clearly knows a lot about racehorses (or did a heck of a lot of research). Parts of Massachusetts almost seems like a Horses for Dummies type of book. Except this version comes to life! I felt as if I learned a lot from reading this book. I’m sure that many young adult readers will appreciate gaining newfound knowledge as well.
The author even gifted his readers with an afterward summary of the world’s most famous racehorses. Though I’m more of an animal rights type of person than a racing enthusiast, I’ll admit I headed straight to the racetrack when American Pharoah came to town. Watching this magnificent animal race (and win) was an incredible sight I’ll never forget. And yet (until now) I never had a clue that American Pharoah was a descendant of Secretariat. I learned that from this book!
Overall, Massachusetts is an impressive work. Though I couldn’t relate to portions of the story, it doesn’t mean that other readers will experience this book in the same way. Many readers could easily enjoy being swept away into the magical realms of the author’s vivid imagination. The entire story is really quite an adventure.
September 8, 2019
I love that Massachusetts lulls you into thinking it’s a sunny book about horse racing and then abruptly turns on its head and plunges you into a gritty, sci-fi racing adventure. There’s a joyful fearlessness about that sort of plotting, and I appreciate ambitious storytelling.
Warren Dean writes a thrilling race scene, too. I’ve never been all that interested in horse racing, but I was still highly entertained by the racing scenes, in particular the Kentucky Derby (I love that it was narrated by the enthusiastic commentator Jimmy the Mouth.) The last stretch of the Katerwaul Klash was also exhilarating.
If I could ask for more from this book, it would be deeper insight into Orin’s character—and reading some of the other reviews, I think that might have helped acclimate readers into the sci-fi portion of the story better. But overall, this is a charming, fast-paced book, which kept me rooting for its unique protagonist, Chouk-Tzie.
I also appreciated the postscript about horse racing. So interesting!
Warren Dean writes a thrilling race scene, too. I’ve never been all that interested in horse racing, but I was still highly entertained by the racing scenes, in particular the Kentucky Derby (I love that it was narrated by the enthusiastic commentator Jimmy the Mouth.) The last stretch of the Katerwaul Klash was also exhilarating.
If I could ask for more from this book, it would be deeper insight into Orin’s character—and reading some of the other reviews, I think that might have helped acclimate readers into the sci-fi portion of the story better. But overall, this is a charming, fast-paced book, which kept me rooting for its unique protagonist, Chouk-Tzie.
I also appreciated the postscript about horse racing. So interesting!
March 31, 2020
Actual Rating 3.5
Enjoyable but somewhat superficial (though that sounds harsher than I intend.) The story and characters are straightforward without nuance or complexity and this prevents the story from achieving any real emotional impact or attachment. That's not to say the character aren't likable, because they are, they just serve mostly as plot pieces.
Something I greatly enjoyed were the horse and racing elements of the story, which are both detailed and an unusual plot element. The alternate dimension was also fun with a variety of lifeforms and creatures, which made the race significantly more interesting.
so, all-told a light, fun read.
My brother and I recorded a video review for this and it has twice the uneducated opinions since he's included his as well. What a bargain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cyuyo...
Enjoyable but somewhat superficial (though that sounds harsher than I intend.) The story and characters are straightforward without nuance or complexity and this prevents the story from achieving any real emotional impact or attachment. That's not to say the character aren't likable, because they are, they just serve mostly as plot pieces.
Something I greatly enjoyed were the horse and racing elements of the story, which are both detailed and an unusual plot element. The alternate dimension was also fun with a variety of lifeforms and creatures, which made the race significantly more interesting.
so, all-told a light, fun read.
My brother and I recorded a video review for this and it has twice the uneducated opinions since he's included his as well. What a bargain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cyuyo...
August 19, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning of this book. Dean's dialog and description of the life of a race horse felt spot on. Then the story takes a very bizarre turn that I never got into. It really felt like two different books and two different authors. The strength of writing that I saw in the first part of the book turned into a string of descriptive passages about an alien race I just didn't care about. It was very strange. I cared about the first part of the story and it felt like I got robbed when the real plot was revealed. I'm glad that we came back to the original story at the end and it wrapped up nicely.
September 8, 2019
MASSACHUSETTS opens as a down-to-earth tale with a relatable, folksy narrator detailing the story of a special racehorse. Then, the plot swerves into a science fiction narrative, as the horse is transported into an intergalactic racing competition. Certainly a unique take on the subject matter, of which the writer possesses a genuine fondness. The author’s affection for racing isn’t something I share, but he’s so passionate about the topic, I was drawn in easily. The sci-fi element, however, began to lose me after a certain point. Still, the story ends strong, as the closing chapter is perhaps the sharpest of the entire novel. A fun read for all ages.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews