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The Navigator Trilogy #1
The Navigator
Owen turned to Cat but she was staring into the woods, her face a mast of fear. Far off, but moving closer, were two figures, both white, both faceless, seeming to glide between the trees. "The Harsh" whispered Cati."They're here."
One day the world around Owen shifts Time flows backwards, and the world and family he knew disappear. Time can only be set right when the Resisters vanquish their ancient enemies, the Harsh. Unless they are stopped, everything Owen knows will vanish as if it has never been...And Owen discovers he has a terrifying role to play in this he is the Navigator.
From the Hardcover edition.
One day the world around Owen shifts Time flows backwards, and the world and family he knew disappear. Time can only be set right when the Resisters vanquish their ancient enemies, the Harsh. Unless they are stopped, everything Owen knows will vanish as if it has never been...And Owen discovers he has a terrifying role to play in this he is the Navigator.
From the Hardcover edition.
352 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 2006
19 people are currently reading
890 people want to read
About the author
Eoin McNamee
32 books65 followersMcNamee was awarded a Macaulay Fellowship for Irish Literature in 1990, after his 1989 novella The Last of Deeds (Raven Arts Press, Dublin), was shortlisted for the 1989 Irish Times/Aer Lingus Award for Irish Literature. The author currently lives in Ireland with his wife and two children, Owen and Kathleen.
He also writes as John Creed.
He also writes as John Creed.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
November 29, 2013
This was one of those books that taught me a lot about my own writing. The first word that comes to mind regarding this book is, "yikes". This slow-to-start book gave me shivers with it's ill-written grammatical errors and awkward plot points. I managed to ignore enough of that to move easily enough through the story. Of course, the poorly coordinated accents, speech, dialect and idioms frustrated me time and time again as apparently the author thought that just leaving words out made various people groups sound "country" or "ancient" or any number of weird things.
McNamee struggled so much with description that I couldn't even tell you what his main character looked like, though several other less important people are over described. I even felt throughout his work that the three drawings were his attempt to help out where he knew his descriptions completely failed. It was almost like he gave up.
But even though I managed to get past all of those confusing bits, I made one of the greatest discoveries about writing: I can't just "write" something into being. Every idea and premise comes with it a series of questions that the mind seems to need answered in order to accept the probability of things. If the writing be fantasy, the mind needs to start with a basic understanding of the principles of magic or a world in which magic exists. If the writing be historical fiction, the mind wants to understand where the truth melts and the fiction begins. If the writer doesn't answer those questions enough for the reader, then the whole story is unbelievable and can't be accepted. This is how it felt through this book. Things would happen that made no sense, as if the plot jumped into being and then back out again.
After all these negatives, I'm surprised at myself for giving it two stars instead of one. The reason I did was because it was "readable". I didn't hate the story. I reserve one stars for really truly disliking everything about a story.
McNamee struggled so much with description that I couldn't even tell you what his main character looked like, though several other less important people are over described. I even felt throughout his work that the three drawings were his attempt to help out where he knew his descriptions completely failed. It was almost like he gave up.
But even though I managed to get past all of those confusing bits, I made one of the greatest discoveries about writing: I can't just "write" something into being. Every idea and premise comes with it a series of questions that the mind seems to need answered in order to accept the probability of things. If the writing be fantasy, the mind needs to start with a basic understanding of the principles of magic or a world in which magic exists. If the writing be historical fiction, the mind wants to understand where the truth melts and the fiction begins. If the writer doesn't answer those questions enough for the reader, then the whole story is unbelievable and can't be accepted. This is how it felt through this book. Things would happen that made no sense, as if the plot jumped into being and then back out again.
After all these negatives, I'm surprised at myself for giving it two stars instead of one. The reason I did was because it was "readable". I didn't hate the story. I reserve one stars for really truly disliking everything about a story.
May 23, 2019
This was surprisingly super cute. The worldbuilding was a little confusing at times, but I thought it was pretty creative overall.
June 26, 2012
I swear that I need to lay off these time warp books! First of all, I thought that the author was the guy who wrote the Artemis Fowl books since the first name, Eoin, is the same. (I love that series) Not. This book had a LOT of flaws and didn't make much logical sense to me. I don't think that the author thought this time stuff out very well. In the story, time is hurtling backwards caused by these frozen beings called The Harsh. Why? When this happens, and it has happened before, a group of sleeping people called the Resisters awaken to combat the Harsh. Otherwise they sleep through the centuries. They didn't seem amazed by technology that would not have existed when they were awake earlier; in fact, nothing seemed new to them. Owen, the boy in the story, seems to be the only regular human who has survived the time race backwards so immediately the reader knows that he must be "The Navigator". As time goes backwards, and we're talking that it is quickly the middle ages and then earlier, there seems to be NO regular humans. Also, although time has gone back beyond when physical buildings existed, ruins of those buildings do exist. Huh? And the author seems to throw in a solution to any pressing problem at the last minute that should have been a clue inserted earlier. Reviews that I've read indicated that the ending was worth the whole book. I didn't find the ending to be any better or much more clarifying than the rest of the story. I'm sorry but I just found this a mess. I already own the sequel but doubt that I'll read it.
May 9, 2015
This novel is about a young boy who finds himself in a very strange situation.
Owen's father committed suicide, and people around town whisper that Owen will follow in his father's footsteps. Mom has sunk into a fog of depression. In Owen's forest hideaway, there is a huge flash, and everything has changed. Geographically, Owen is in the same place, but everything, and everyone, that he knew is gone. A person called the Sub-Commandant tells Owen that a rag-tag group of humans called the Resisters are at war with ethereal beings called the Harsh. They have succeeded in causing time to run backwards. The intention of the Harsh is to go back to a time before humans, take over Earth, and turn it into a frozen wasteland.
Some of the Resisters think that Owen is a spy for the Harsh, or, at minimum, a collaborator. Before he died, Owen's father played a significant part in causing the war. The only way to end the war, and to get time going in the right direction, is to bring a special piece called the Mortmain, to the Puissance, or Great Machine, far to the north. Then Owen must go down into the earth a great distance, and place the Mortmain in the right spot. Naturally, the Harsh will be waiting. Does Owen succeed? Does Own even survive? Is everything restored to the way it was?
As you may have guessed, this is a young adult novel, and, as such, it is pretty good. There are good characters, and plenty of action. Older young people, and adults, will also like this book.
Owen's father committed suicide, and people around town whisper that Owen will follow in his father's footsteps. Mom has sunk into a fog of depression. In Owen's forest hideaway, there is a huge flash, and everything has changed. Geographically, Owen is in the same place, but everything, and everyone, that he knew is gone. A person called the Sub-Commandant tells Owen that a rag-tag group of humans called the Resisters are at war with ethereal beings called the Harsh. They have succeeded in causing time to run backwards. The intention of the Harsh is to go back to a time before humans, take over Earth, and turn it into a frozen wasteland.
Some of the Resisters think that Owen is a spy for the Harsh, or, at minimum, a collaborator. Before he died, Owen's father played a significant part in causing the war. The only way to end the war, and to get time going in the right direction, is to bring a special piece called the Mortmain, to the Puissance, or Great Machine, far to the north. Then Owen must go down into the earth a great distance, and place the Mortmain in the right spot. Naturally, the Harsh will be waiting. Does Owen succeed? Does Own even survive? Is everything restored to the way it was?
As you may have guessed, this is a young adult novel, and, as such, it is pretty good. There are good characters, and plenty of action. Older young people, and adults, will also like this book.
September 2, 2013
One day the world around Owen shifts oddly: Time flows backwards, and the world and family he knew disappear. Time can only be set right when the Resisters vanquish their ancient enemies, the Harsh. Unless they are stopped, everything Owen knows will vanish as if it has never been...And Owen discovers he has a terrifying role to play in this battle: he is the Navigator. After reading this book, it made me go straight to Barnes and Noble and buy the next book in the trilogy.
May 5, 2015
I have read a ton of books, but this one of my favorites. The universe is interesting, the plot is unique, and the characters so real. When I read I pretend I'm a friend of the main characters, or that I'm making a documentary about them and can hang out with them and really get to know them - this book was written wonderfully. My only negative is the frequent use of damn. I really wish this book was more popular so that it'd be made into a movie.
February 4, 2021
Owen loves his tree house but a sense of someone watching draws him outside. A man is watching, alert and a dark flash across the sky changes Owen’s world.
Time has changed, and Owen is confused, where is he? What has happened. What has happened to his mother, house and all the people he knew?
A world of people, children without families and monsters opens up and Owen is being chased.
I enjoyed the otherworld of this novel.
Time has changed, and Owen is confused, where is he? What has happened. What has happened to his mother, house and all the people he knew?
A world of people, children without families and monsters opens up and Owen is being chased.
I enjoyed the otherworld of this novel.
March 17, 2008
If you know any 9-12 year olds who need a new, exciting fantasy, this is a good one. The Irish author has published adult books previously. Young Owen is called on to save the world from those who want to make time go backwards to a period before humans. The twists and turns and scary villains make this a page turner.
October 12, 2021
For some reason, I remember excitedly begging my mom to buy me this book from Barnes and Noble when I was ~10. And as I pulled this book from my boyhood bookshelf on Friday night after cleaning out my old room (my parents are moving), an Uno-card-turned-bookmark fell from somewhere in the first hundred pages, where it had rested for ~15 years. I wondered why I had never finished it. But over the last four days, I remembered why.
Eoin McNamee creates an imaginative and interesting world; one with wacky and relatively advanced inventions, one with eccentric characters and off-the-wall-accents, one with a complex but surprisingly digestible plot concerning a fight for the very fabric of time. But that's where my commendations end and my criticisms begin.
For a kid's book, it was boring. At its slowest points, it dragged its feet through the setting, regularly feeling purposeless, which is ironic because McNamee jumps right into the thick of the plot, and at its most exhilarating points, it felt rushed and sparse, which made his plot developments feel forced, contrived, and confusing. Maybe I'm being too critical, but for the amount of free-time I had this weekend to fall into this book, I constantly felt myself forcefully eking out pages in the name of finishing a children's book.
But I'm not done with my denigration of the plot. While McNamee used foreshadowing well at times, there were many instances where he indulged in a deus ex machina to keep the plot moving? To create suspense? To throw some unexpected twists? I honestly don't know, but these instances, which were regular toward the end of the book, felt contrived and left me rolling my eyes. For example, about three quarters of the way through the novel, Owen finds himself hogtied and at the whim of enemy actors who are taking him to see the Harsh (the pseudo-White walker antagonists of the series). And although McNamee acceptably develops a plot to save Owen, the plot comes to fruition following some absolutely ridiculous turn of events. The captors, who up to this point are sometimes serious and sometimes exaggeratedly inane, just drink themselves into a stupor until they foil their own plans. And then(!!!), they add insult to injury by just screwing off in a local water hole (not a watering hole, just a hole of water) instead of picking up the pieces and getting back on the road. I literally could not believe it, like not at all, and these are the circumstances that lead to Owen's salvation. Phew.
I might read the next book in the series, but it might also end up with an Uno card tucked somewhere between two pages for ten or twenty years...
Eoin McNamee creates an imaginative and interesting world; one with wacky and relatively advanced inventions, one with eccentric characters and off-the-wall-accents, one with a complex but surprisingly digestible plot concerning a fight for the very fabric of time. But that's where my commendations end and my criticisms begin.
For a kid's book, it was boring. At its slowest points, it dragged its feet through the setting, regularly feeling purposeless, which is ironic because McNamee jumps right into the thick of the plot, and at its most exhilarating points, it felt rushed and sparse, which made his plot developments feel forced, contrived, and confusing. Maybe I'm being too critical, but for the amount of free-time I had this weekend to fall into this book, I constantly felt myself forcefully eking out pages in the name of finishing a children's book.
But I'm not done with my denigration of the plot. While McNamee used foreshadowing well at times, there were many instances where he indulged in a deus ex machina to keep the plot moving? To create suspense? To throw some unexpected twists? I honestly don't know, but these instances, which were regular toward the end of the book, felt contrived and left me rolling my eyes. For example, about three quarters of the way through the novel, Owen finds himself hogtied and at the whim of enemy actors who are taking him to see the Harsh (the pseudo-White walker antagonists of the series). And although McNamee acceptably develops a plot to save Owen, the plot comes to fruition following some absolutely ridiculous turn of events. The captors, who up to this point are sometimes serious and sometimes exaggeratedly inane, just drink themselves into a stupor until they foil their own plans. And then(!!!), they add insult to injury by just screwing off in a local water hole (not a watering hole, just a hole of water) instead of picking up the pieces and getting back on the road. I literally could not believe it, like not at all, and these are the circumstances that lead to Owen's salvation. Phew.
I might read the next book in the series, but it might also end up with an Uno card tucked somewhere between two pages for ten or twenty years...
December 11, 2023
While the pacing of this book is a bit hetler-skelter (much like how time is flowing in the story), and many questions were either answered poorly or not at all... I still found the book engaging and connected emotionally to the characters. The whole adventure reminded me a bit of how children really play when they do make-believe. A lot of really fantastic things happen, there are enemies and good guys, some tragedy is present but not explored fully (children are always aware, but not necessarily ready to go into depth, of tragedy around them), and in the end the hero comes back to his bedroom where everything is better than before. Of course as an adult I see the "imperfections" of this story.. but this is what makes the story perfect for children, and the child in all of us. The story that leaves children with 1000 questions, that can afterwards be discussed and even expanded upon in totally different directions by each child. So, well done to the author, I would be curious to compare the writing here to an "adult" book of his.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2022
“Your father was a unique man, what was he like?” “They say….he killed himself.” Overall this story was interesting science fiction novel. However The two negatives I would take from this novel was how slow and at times boring, the story was. Other negative would be the bad descriptions and characterization of characters. On the other hand the novel was a god science fiction read with interesting concepts and exciting uses of time and space. The novel also provided a good example of man vs himself. Owen being a young kid struggling with inner conflicts provided a good way for Owen to come to conclusions or ideas that can change his life. Lastly I enjoyed how the story line flowed. At times the story could be slow but it still flowed and managed to tell a interesting story.
November 13, 2018
The Navigator had really cool concepts and well written action scenes but the overall plot and form of this writing was low level and fantasy cookie cutter. I felt as if I could predict every scene as they were unfolding. There were writing stylistic choices I disagreed with as well as repetition of certain strategies that made them boring. The naming of the fantastical world coupled with no explanation for another 100 pages happened for like 5 different things. Not challenging to read either. Dry sentences that seemed formulaic and repeated occurred very often. Overall would not recommend this book.
January 30, 2024
I read this in just a few days - I couldn't put it down. I don't know how I didn't know about this author and this story! It has so many great features - mystery, inventions - similar to steam punk, great characters and settings. You can't help but feel cold as you read the descriptions of the icy world Owen suddenly finds himself in. Why is he there? Why is he so important to the people living in the Warehouse, of a different time? How does he get back to his own time? I can't help but hope there is a sequel! There is ongoing action throughout most of the story.
February 2, 2021
An exciting and extremely unique plot. A fleshed-out universe different from our real-life one. A clear good-vs-evil stage.
Although there are several typos and uses of "damn" which I wish weren't there, this is simply one of my favorite books out of the hundreds I've read. I feel the same way about its two sequels.
Although there are several typos and uses of "damn" which I wish weren't there, this is simply one of my favorite books out of the hundreds I've read. I feel the same way about its two sequels.
July 5, 2017
I enjoyed this as an audiobook...there were parts that seemed rather hard to believe, but still it was a good 'read.'
April 6, 2018
it was a book.....
August 19, 2019
This book should burning in hell
March 3, 2020
A good story about time problems. A little slow though.
May 5, 2020
DNF I just couldn't get into it.
May 29, 2020
dull, unimaginative monomyth-type novel. plenty of things happen, but with characters, threats, and a world a shallow as this, who cares?
July 17, 2020
Good clean entertainment
Thank you!
Thank you!
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
December 31, 2020
Fun read. Lots of action.
August 20, 2022
This book was amazing, a true masterpiece!
April 6, 2020
Hell yeah-- space(?) travel with porpoise.
January 20, 2015
Bookworm Speaks!
The Navigator by Eoin McNamee
****
The Story: One day the world around Owen shifts oddly: Time flows backwards, and the world and family he knew disappear. Time can only be set right when the Resisters vanquish their ancient enemies, the Harsh. Unless they are stopped, everything Owen knows will vanish as if it has never been...And Owen discovers he has a terrifying role to play in this battle: he is the Navigator.
The Good: At first glance, this book can seem like an ordinary youth adventure story. It has all of the ingredients. Outsider kid who doesn’t fit in, turns out he has an extraordinary destiny waiting for him and gets swept up in a new dangerous world. Not an incorrect formula, but one has to work hard to make their particular version of this story unique. In this case, the author did work hard to make his vision unique.
Bookworm is not entirely sure but he has read several books by Irish authors, like Eoin McNamee, and he has noticed a common theme. Irish authors tend to focus on more ethereal concepts in their writing. It not is that hard to come to that conclusion. Ireland is an ancient land, steeped in history and legend, and the people who live there are breed of their own. The stories they tell are more about emotions and abstractions. This is evident in the Navigator. There is not a lot of exposition in the text, it is more feeling and imagery. This sets it apart from other books in this genre as youth fiction tends to be very straightforward. This is a fact and not a positive or negative. This creates a novel that is more about feel rather than thought which makes it contrast in a pleasing way with many adrenaline junkie festivals that make up a large percentage of youth fiction.
The illustrations contained in the book are very nice and allow the reader a glimpse into the world that the author is attempting to show us. Emphasis is given to the various vehicles Owen encounters which are very creative.
The Flaws: Creativity is a virtue but it can be a double edged sword if one is not careful. In the case of this book, the author was not careful. The story makes no sense. You get an inkling of a coherent story near the beginning but it all fall’s apart once the main plot gets going. It just moves from one scene to the next.
Vague is the best word that popped into the mind of Bookworm while perusing this tome. As stated above, this book is about feeling, but it feels too much to be of any real consistency.
Owen gets little to no characterization. He is caught up in the rapids of his situation and does little to affect his environment. Neither to the rest of the characters. There is next to no inklings of the character’s motivations except for some ill-defined reason of time flowing backward.
Feeling is good but it his difficult to convey in the written word, and you need a little exposition in order to pull it off. Maybe Bookworm did not read it as well as he should have but most of this book just passed in front of his eyes and made very little impressions.
Time travel is a common speculative fiction motif but it needs to be done carefully. It not, it becomes confusing and turns away the reader, which is exactly what occurs here. It is very difficult to follow what exactly is happening in the book and what exactly is happening to the time stream.
Final Verdict: A lot of potential could have explored hear, but ultimately its lofty ideals were wasted on poor execution.
Two out of Five Stars
thecultureworm.blogspot.com.
The Navigator by Eoin McNamee
****
The Story: One day the world around Owen shifts oddly: Time flows backwards, and the world and family he knew disappear. Time can only be set right when the Resisters vanquish their ancient enemies, the Harsh. Unless they are stopped, everything Owen knows will vanish as if it has never been...And Owen discovers he has a terrifying role to play in this battle: he is the Navigator.
The Good: At first glance, this book can seem like an ordinary youth adventure story. It has all of the ingredients. Outsider kid who doesn’t fit in, turns out he has an extraordinary destiny waiting for him and gets swept up in a new dangerous world. Not an incorrect formula, but one has to work hard to make their particular version of this story unique. In this case, the author did work hard to make his vision unique.
Bookworm is not entirely sure but he has read several books by Irish authors, like Eoin McNamee, and he has noticed a common theme. Irish authors tend to focus on more ethereal concepts in their writing. It not is that hard to come to that conclusion. Ireland is an ancient land, steeped in history and legend, and the people who live there are breed of their own. The stories they tell are more about emotions and abstractions. This is evident in the Navigator. There is not a lot of exposition in the text, it is more feeling and imagery. This sets it apart from other books in this genre as youth fiction tends to be very straightforward. This is a fact and not a positive or negative. This creates a novel that is more about feel rather than thought which makes it contrast in a pleasing way with many adrenaline junkie festivals that make up a large percentage of youth fiction.
The illustrations contained in the book are very nice and allow the reader a glimpse into the world that the author is attempting to show us. Emphasis is given to the various vehicles Owen encounters which are very creative.
The Flaws: Creativity is a virtue but it can be a double edged sword if one is not careful. In the case of this book, the author was not careful. The story makes no sense. You get an inkling of a coherent story near the beginning but it all fall’s apart once the main plot gets going. It just moves from one scene to the next.
Vague is the best word that popped into the mind of Bookworm while perusing this tome. As stated above, this book is about feeling, but it feels too much to be of any real consistency.
Owen gets little to no characterization. He is caught up in the rapids of his situation and does little to affect his environment. Neither to the rest of the characters. There is next to no inklings of the character’s motivations except for some ill-defined reason of time flowing backward.
Feeling is good but it his difficult to convey in the written word, and you need a little exposition in order to pull it off. Maybe Bookworm did not read it as well as he should have but most of this book just passed in front of his eyes and made very little impressions.
Time travel is a common speculative fiction motif but it needs to be done carefully. It not, it becomes confusing and turns away the reader, which is exactly what occurs here. It is very difficult to follow what exactly is happening in the book and what exactly is happening to the time stream.
Final Verdict: A lot of potential could have explored hear, but ultimately its lofty ideals were wasted on poor execution.
Two out of Five Stars
thecultureworm.blogspot.com.
November 17, 2012
Reviewed by Candace Cunard for TeensReadToo.com
Owen is ostracized by the other children around him for his father's death long ago, a presumed suicide that resulted in his mother being thrown into a haze of depression from which she cannot escape. By his young teens, he's quietly self-reliant, managing the house on his own and taking care of his mother who is forgetful and not always lucid. He spends his time wandering around the terrain outside of his house, by a river and an abandoned old building that was once a workhouse.
One day, Owen meets a strange man near the river right before witnessing a strange flash of darkness. The man, who introduces himself as the Sub-Commandant, explains to Owen that the mysterious flash signifies that a group of creatures known as the Harsh have succeeded in turning back time to before human habitation, so that they can live alone in solitude and turn the Earth to a barren, ice-encrusted waste. Owen does not believe the Sub-Commandant at first, but when he runs away to find his home, he is faced with nothing but ruins.
The Sub-Commandant brings Owen back to the Workhouse, which Owen learns is situated on an "island in time" that the Harsh cannot touch, and home to the Resisters, a rag-tag fighting force whose purpose it is to defeat the Harsh and prevent them from tampering with Earth's timeflow. Owen quickly becomes swept up in the affairs of the Resisters, who do not understand why he did not disappear along with all of the other people and signs of human life in the world. Some even suspect that he is a Harsh spy, and mistrust him. Along the way he meets with several compelling characters, including Cati, the Sub-Commandant's daughter, and Dr. Diamond, an expert in the science of time. While with the Resisters, Owen learns things about time that he can barely believe, and begins to delve into the secrets of his past and his father's connection to the strange object known as the Mortmain that will allow the Resisters to defeat the Harsh once and for all.
The concept for this book was quite inventive, and I enjoyed the author's concept of a world in which time itself is in danger from antagonistic forces. The action moved along at a good pace, and although some of the scenarios were initially confusing, the reader learns more about the situation as Owen does, and things start to fall into place, leading up to a conclusion that closes up enough loose ends to be satisfying but leaves enough new possibilities open to be interesting.
Owen is ostracized by the other children around him for his father's death long ago, a presumed suicide that resulted in his mother being thrown into a haze of depression from which she cannot escape. By his young teens, he's quietly self-reliant, managing the house on his own and taking care of his mother who is forgetful and not always lucid. He spends his time wandering around the terrain outside of his house, by a river and an abandoned old building that was once a workhouse.
One day, Owen meets a strange man near the river right before witnessing a strange flash of darkness. The man, who introduces himself as the Sub-Commandant, explains to Owen that the mysterious flash signifies that a group of creatures known as the Harsh have succeeded in turning back time to before human habitation, so that they can live alone in solitude and turn the Earth to a barren, ice-encrusted waste. Owen does not believe the Sub-Commandant at first, but when he runs away to find his home, he is faced with nothing but ruins.
The Sub-Commandant brings Owen back to the Workhouse, which Owen learns is situated on an "island in time" that the Harsh cannot touch, and home to the Resisters, a rag-tag fighting force whose purpose it is to defeat the Harsh and prevent them from tampering with Earth's timeflow. Owen quickly becomes swept up in the affairs of the Resisters, who do not understand why he did not disappear along with all of the other people and signs of human life in the world. Some even suspect that he is a Harsh spy, and mistrust him. Along the way he meets with several compelling characters, including Cati, the Sub-Commandant's daughter, and Dr. Diamond, an expert in the science of time. While with the Resisters, Owen learns things about time that he can barely believe, and begins to delve into the secrets of his past and his father's connection to the strange object known as the Mortmain that will allow the Resisters to defeat the Harsh once and for all.
The concept for this book was quite inventive, and I enjoyed the author's concept of a world in which time itself is in danger from antagonistic forces. The action moved along at a good pace, and although some of the scenarios were initially confusing, the reader learns more about the situation as Owen does, and things start to fall into place, leading up to a conclusion that closes up enough loose ends to be satisfying but leaves enough new possibilities open to be interesting.
February 14, 2009
What I wrote when the Times Review came out:
Steam-punk young-adult weird-fiction? I'm there! The review was positive (though it did say there was a heavy debt well-worn Harry Potter and Star Wars cliches), but it still sounded good, AND the illustrations look awesome. Not enough illustrations these days.
Now that I've read it:
Wow, what a disappointment. The book was headed for a three star review for the first two-thirds, but it crashed and burned in the final stretch. At first, the McNamee did a fine job of mixing his fairly cliched premise (young boy wakes up in Alternate-Magic-Land and finds he has a Destiny) with some interesting material (the evil villains, the Harsh, are stealing time). While at times the book fell into the trap that plagues most Alternate-Magic-Land books, namely endless exposition as the confused protagonist has to be caught up on history, culture, language, and technology while the natives constantly forget he is a foreigner, at other times it did a good job of skirting that issue with quick summaries. From time to time the "originality" of the premise seemed forced, but I suppose I can't complain about being too cliched and trying to hard to be original (well, I can and just did).
But slowly more elements crept in that were just annoying. It starts with Johnston and his men, who read like terribly written knock of off Peter Pan pirates -- evil yet silly -- and their keystone cops routine and repetitively forced dialect started to grate at once. Then, in the last third of the book, the prose skidded entirely into over-written melodrama; its as if the editor told McNamee that he had one week to publishing, and they both stopped re-reading passages. The prose always drifted a bit to the over-blown, but tolerably so, but the last half dozen chapters had Mulzer and I laughing aloud with its "I can't go on without you!" "No, leave me behind -- this is more important than me!" style drivel.
And to add insult to injury, I realized that it's part one in a series, so I labored through the whole thing just to finish part of a story I have no interest in following. At least the plot is self-contained -- there is a climax, an end point, an intolerable "Was-it-all-a-dream?" falling action sequence.
Without the fantastic YA being published out there today, this is definitely one you can skip.
Steam-punk young-adult weird-fiction? I'm there! The review was positive (though it did say there was a heavy debt well-worn Harry Potter and Star Wars cliches), but it still sounded good, AND the illustrations look awesome. Not enough illustrations these days.
Now that I've read it:
Wow, what a disappointment. The book was headed for a three star review for the first two-thirds, but it crashed and burned in the final stretch. At first, the McNamee did a fine job of mixing his fairly cliched premise (young boy wakes up in Alternate-Magic-Land and finds he has a Destiny) with some interesting material (the evil villains, the Harsh, are stealing time). While at times the book fell into the trap that plagues most Alternate-Magic-Land books, namely endless exposition as the confused protagonist has to be caught up on history, culture, language, and technology while the natives constantly forget he is a foreigner, at other times it did a good job of skirting that issue with quick summaries. From time to time the "originality" of the premise seemed forced, but I suppose I can't complain about being too cliched and trying to hard to be original (well, I can and just did).
But slowly more elements crept in that were just annoying. It starts with Johnston and his men, who read like terribly written knock of off Peter Pan pirates -- evil yet silly -- and their keystone cops routine and repetitively forced dialect started to grate at once. Then, in the last third of the book, the prose skidded entirely into over-written melodrama; its as if the editor told McNamee that he had one week to publishing, and they both stopped re-reading passages. The prose always drifted a bit to the over-blown, but tolerably so, but the last half dozen chapters had Mulzer and I laughing aloud with its "I can't go on without you!" "No, leave me behind -- this is more important than me!" style drivel.
And to add insult to injury, I realized that it's part one in a series, so I labored through the whole thing just to finish part of a story I have no interest in following. At least the plot is self-contained -- there is a climax, an end point, an intolerable "Was-it-all-a-dream?" falling action sequence.
Without the fantastic YA being published out there today, this is definitely one you can skip.
March 4, 2012
[Warning: Spoilers ahead!]
Required Category(ies) Satisfied: Fantasy
This novel operates on an interesting--though not wholly original--premise. Young Owen's sad and humdrum life is changed when he learns that a secret society called the Resisters, long asleep, has awakened to protect the world, and that he has a special destiny to help them--Hm! Kind of like Will Stanton and the Old Ones in Susan Cooper's series The Dark is Rising. Owen and his new friends from the Resisters must protect The Workhouse, their base of operations, from the evil Mr. Johnston and the spectral, icy creatures he serves, the Harsh--kind of like the dementors in the Harry Potter series, with a little bit of Tolkien's Ringwraiths mixed in. The Harsh have created a "Great Machine" in the north that is causing time to flow backward--and thus the world to reenter the Ice Age--and upon learning of this, Owen and a group of Resisters set out to the frozen north to save the world . . . kind of like in Philip Pullman's novel "The Golden Compass."
Don't get me wrong here. McNamee's novel was an interesting read, and I highly enjoyed many of the scenes and characters (especially the warrior woman Pieta). But throughout much of the novel, I was left wanting something more. The narrative grew blocky in some areas, plot holes opened up that were never addressed, and I ultimately probably wouldn't have read through the rest of the book--or the series--if I hadn't been doing it for a class assignment. (The aforementioned problems reoccur throughout the series--see my other Navigator series reviews for more information.) However, The Navigator was populated with enough imagination that it made my reading worthwhile; it didn't give me a headache like Paolini's Brisingr did.
The novel has a bit of violence, as well as some foul language (the "d***" word is used mostly), but not at a level that would be inappropriate for younger readers. Middle grade readers could even tackle this book, and they would probably enjoy it, and there's enough in there to keep older readers like me entertained, too. The novel has a fairly simple and accessible style throughout. I ultimately liked this book more than not, but you would have to read it yourself to see what you think--as other "Goodreads" users who have left vastly differing reviews have done.
Required Category(ies) Satisfied: Fantasy
This novel operates on an interesting--though not wholly original--premise. Young Owen's sad and humdrum life is changed when he learns that a secret society called the Resisters, long asleep, has awakened to protect the world, and that he has a special destiny to help them--Hm! Kind of like Will Stanton and the Old Ones in Susan Cooper's series The Dark is Rising. Owen and his new friends from the Resisters must protect The Workhouse, their base of operations, from the evil Mr. Johnston and the spectral, icy creatures he serves, the Harsh--kind of like the dementors in the Harry Potter series, with a little bit of Tolkien's Ringwraiths mixed in. The Harsh have created a "Great Machine" in the north that is causing time to flow backward--and thus the world to reenter the Ice Age--and upon learning of this, Owen and a group of Resisters set out to the frozen north to save the world . . . kind of like in Philip Pullman's novel "The Golden Compass."
Don't get me wrong here. McNamee's novel was an interesting read, and I highly enjoyed many of the scenes and characters (especially the warrior woman Pieta). But throughout much of the novel, I was left wanting something more. The narrative grew blocky in some areas, plot holes opened up that were never addressed, and I ultimately probably wouldn't have read through the rest of the book--or the series--if I hadn't been doing it for a class assignment. (The aforementioned problems reoccur throughout the series--see my other Navigator series reviews for more information.) However, The Navigator was populated with enough imagination that it made my reading worthwhile; it didn't give me a headache like Paolini's Brisingr did.
The novel has a bit of violence, as well as some foul language (the "d***" word is used mostly), but not at a level that would be inappropriate for younger readers. Middle grade readers could even tackle this book, and they would probably enjoy it, and there's enough in there to keep older readers like me entertained, too. The novel has a fairly simple and accessible style throughout. I ultimately liked this book more than not, but you would have to read it yourself to see what you think--as other "Goodreads" users who have left vastly differing reviews have done.
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