McNamee, Eoin. 2006. The Navigator."There was something different about the afternoon. It seemed dark although there wasn't much cloud. It seemed cold although the sun shone. And the alder trees along the river stirred and shivered although the wind did not seem to blow. Owen came over the three fields and crossed the river just below the Workhouse on an old beech tree that had fallen several years before, climbing from branch to branch with his eyes almost closed, trying not to look down, even though he knew the river was narrow and sluggish at that point and that there were many trailing branches to cling to if he fell. Only when he reached the other side did he dare to look down, and even then the black, unreflecting surface seemed to be beckoning to him so that he turned away with a shudder." (1)
Owen is the boy seemingly "chosen to save the world." When The Harsh (the bad guys, feel free to boo and hiss, etc.) create a machine that makes Time run backward, it is up to Owen and his newfound friends--The Watcher and the other Resisters--to stop them and set things right. Again. As Owen discovers this won't be the first or last time that The Harsh will attack humans, attack Time, attack progress. Among other things these Harsh people want to go to a time and place before humans existed. Their perfect world is a frozen one. (Don't ask me why.) These faceless enemies pose quite a threat. Fortunately, Owen and Kati and friends are there to fight them day by day to the bitter (or not so bitter) end. Come what may, these Resisters won't give up without a fight. Owen is fighting for his life, fighting for everything he has ever known and loved. (The world as Owen knows it has vanished. Every person he has ever known has vanished. All signs of human life have begun to vanish. Though some of the ruins of their civilization have remained.)
The Navigator was a bit confusing to me--at least at first--it took a good many chapters for me to feel comfortable in this world that McNamee created. But once I got a certain familiarity with it, I admit that it was an entertaining read. For those that love adventure, love books with quests, love books with young heroes (and heroines) that set out to save the world, then this one might be just the thing.
© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
1 comment:
At first, I thought this was the book the movie The Navigator was based on. But after reading your review, this is not the same book.
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