Thursday, October 9, 2008

Thursday, October 2, 2008

The Earthborn

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The Earthborn
PAUL COLLINS


A space station called the 'colony' was launched thousands of years ago in the hope of finding the a new earth. However, when they cannot find the fabled new Earth, the ship comes back to Earth. However time has travelled differently in space, than it has on Earth. What has only been a couple of hundred of years for the colony has been thousands of years for the citizens of earth.

The main character, Welkin Quinn is raised on the colony and is used to the militaristic culture of the skyborn (people on the colony). As this society prepares for its return to earth, its leaders-an order of elders- brainwash the people of colony, using misinformation to induce a hatred of the Earthborn and a fear of Earth. Using these emotions, the elders plan to commit global genocide of the 'savages on Earths surface'.
When his transport vehicle is forced to abort his mission and crash lands on Earth, 13-year-old Welkin Roberts has a problem. Having been born and raised in space Welkin has no idea what to expect. All he knows about Earth is what he has learned from the Colony's archives. And what he does know is not encouraging. For Skyborn kids, the Earthborn are savages and barbarians. That prejudice is put to the test when Welkin and some fellow Skyborn are attacked by Jabbers, a savage a murderous gang of Earthborn. He is saved by a girl named Sarah, the leader of a group of children, who takes him under her wing and take him to a hide away which is safe. As he experiences now things, Welkin is forced to re-evaluate his situations and beliefs. He even questions the colony and together, he and Sarah must prevent the global genocide, if he can manage to decide which side he is on.


Its quite a complex plot, and I can't explain it much simpler than that!

Once again, this book is one of three and I finished reading this series ages ago. The concept is very good and original; also the psychology of Welkin is beyond fascinating. Its captivating and draws you into the book. I have read lots of reviews on this book and many say that it is 'a disappointment'. I personally don't understand this. Sure, there is lots of complex fight scenes and sometimes Welkin's naivety is frustrating but the plot and the excitement outweigh the negatives.




Cover without writing (One of my favourite books covers of all time):

More Information :
Amazon
Paul Collin's Website

Oh and by the by, Paul Collins is an Australian author and this book is set in Australia.

Truesight

Its finally the holidays again, and we now have enough time to read instead of constantly doing school work.

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Truesight
DAVID STAHLER JR.

On a frontier world is a colony called Harmony.
Like everyone who lives there, Jacob is blind.

Growing up in Harmony Station, a colony established on a distant planet by an association of blind people who have had themselves genetically altered so that their offspring will be blind too, Jacob is approaching his 13th birthday when, in the wake of a series of severe headaches, he realises that he can see. What he sees, besides previously unsuspected natural beauty all around, is that his supposedly pious, tightly knit, morally upright community harbors food thieves, adulterers, and hypocrites.

This is the journey of one young man who will discover how much there is too see- if only you are willing to look.


I really enjoyed this book, it is the first of the Truesight trilogy. This book is based in a tight knit community which has strong morals and relationships. But underneath the surface there is so much, basically corruption. I really enjoyed this book, it is all about Jacob, the main character, breaking free and forming his own opinions. Although the plot does take a while to get running, the next few books follow this one up beautifully. The whole book is about conforming with your society, and sometimes its not right!
A previous statement that I made about 'not liking science fiction', is pretty must destroyed. I have lately dipped more into this genre and I am loving some of the books which I have found.

More Information
Amazon
Author's Official Website
Fantastic Fiction

Captain Libeka.
ps. I am halfway through reading a star wars novel and will be reviewing that soon :)