Have you ever suspected that an unfortunate event such as a flat tyre on a dark and deserted country road could send you tumbling into a strange world where substantial objects appear invisible, where you can fly past the moon in a train carriage, where deadly creatures aren’t necessarily the ones with big teeth and sharp claws, and where you can finally appear to be more intelligent than your older sibling?
Believe it or not, this is what happened to fourteen-year-old Evie Bamford when she bumped into a tall, mysterious, sometimes-invisible stranger who claimed he could save her older brother and close friend after they’d completely vanished without trace on this dark and deserted road I mentioned.
Of course, all these exciting things happening at once gave Evie an appetite for adventure, but throw in a giant, unearthly creature that is prowling the halls of a satellite 17 million light years from Earth and sucking the life out of its victims to get what it wants – not to mention a virtual time-bomb, a restless crowd of people and a long-repressed secret that is slowly simmering to the surface of Evie’s conscience – and she’s having second thoughts about keeping the acquaintance of this so-called Captain, who seems to go looking for trouble for a hobby.
Desperate times call for drastic measures. The fate of so many lives is uncertain. But all along, the Captain seems to think everything is under control. The question is, under whose control? And just who is this mysterious friend he keeps mentioning?
This is a debut Christian Sci-Fi novel for this Author, and it is delightful to see her confidence in her writing grow as the novel progresses.
The faith of the characters is presented in a natural, realistic manner without “preaching”, and the Christian world view shown in the book reminded me of that of The Chronicles of Narnia. Despite the characters being nicely developed, I just could not connect with the female lead character. This could be because I like my leads to be decisive and strong, someone I can connect to and travel with, throughout the book, not a procrastinator who waits for things to happen to them, then reacts accordingly. However, where the female lead was too wishy washy for my tastes, The Captain made up for her lack of personality, and it was this character that boosted the thumb rating for this book, he was a truly memorable character with a quirky sense of humour that managed to entertain.
The descriptions in the novel are well done, however, I felt like I was reading a Dr. Who novel at some points, as the Whovian influence is very apparent throughout the book. There are also other influences at work in this novel, which I am sure readers will recognise as they progress through the book or the series. But despite these influences, or maybe because of them who knows, the story is well written and moves along a fast, but unrushed, pace.
Overall, this book was a pleasure to read in the sense that I enjoyed the adventure. The novel was well written, fun and imaginative. I probably wouldn’t read any more in the series, not because it wasn’t good—it just wasn’t my thing; I enjoy hard core Sci-fi/fantasy that examines the technologies and motivations of the characters with more depth, and there really wasn’t much of either with this novel, possibly because of the Christian influence.
I would highly recommend this novel to those in the target audience, Juvenile/Teen and Young Adult readers, but I would also recommend it to adult readers who enjoy Christian fiction (like my Mother-In-Law), or those just wanting a quick fun read.
Cate's Book Nut Hut 