Walls of the Universe
Author: Paul Melko
Publication Date: 2/3/09
Publisher: Tor

Blurb (GR): John Rayburn thought all of his problems were the mundane ones of an Ohio farm boy in his last year in high school. Then his doppelgänger appeared, tempted him with a device that let him travel across worlds, and stole his life from him. John soon finds himself caroming through universes, unable to return home—the device is broken. John settles in a new universe to unravel its secrets and fix it. 

Meanwhile, his doppelgänger tries to exploit the commercial technology he’s stolen from other Earths: the Rubik’s Cube! John’s attempts to lie low in his new universe backfire when he inadvertently introduces pinball. It becomes a huge success. Both actions draw the notice of other, more dangerous travelers, who are exploiting worlds for ominous purposes. Fast-paced and exciting, this is SF adventure at its best from a rising star. 

Review:
I picked this book up from the library after it was mentioned in an io9.com article about great sci-fi stories (and that also mentioned the movie rights to this book had recently been sold). Anyway, this book tells the story of a young man in Ohio who is visited one day by a version of himself from another universe. The story is set along the lines of a many worlds theory about universes wherein there are infinite (rather, not infinite but who knows how many) universes coexisting at the same time and some people have transfer devices to travel between them. John, the main character, is visited by John Prime and the plot runs at a fast pace from that point. 

This novel started out as an award-winning shorter version of itself and, regrettably, I could tell. I was four star enjoying it for most of the ride and then I completely lost interest during the CLIMAX. When the hell does that happen? I felt like the last 30 or so pages of the book were rushed and the Visigoths and Corrundrum were not as well developed as they could've been. 

I also thought the one sex scene between John (Farm Boy) and Casey was ridiculous. It was like two sentences long and completely unnecessary to any part of the story or character development. And, frankly, I couldn't see any real reason why the Johns wanted to be with the Caseys so badly anyway. I know this is sci-fi and not romance, but I've read sci-fi that had better relationship development and this book lacked a little in that area. 

I'm giving this book 4 stars because it definitely kept me interested. I thought the author did a great job of creating universes that had slight differences and altogether different options. My favorite part was when John Farm Boy was traveling through the universes one at a time. However, I feel that the book is somewhere between a 3 and a 4 for me. 

3.5/5 stars

The Web of Titan (Galahad, #2)
Author: Dom Testa
Publication Date: 12/1/05
Publisher: Tor

Blurb (GR): When the tail of the comet Bhaktul flicks through the Earth's atmosphere, deadly particles are left in its wake, and mankind is confronted with a virus that devastates the adult population. A renowned scientist proposes a bold plan: to build a ship that will carry a crew of 251 teenagers to a home in a distant solar system. Two years later,Galahad and its crew is launched. If their mission fails, it will be the end of the human race…

After triumphing over a saboteur bent on destroying Galahad, Triana and her Council are eager to avoid any further complications. But as Galahad swings around the ringed planet Saturn, they encounter a mysterious metal pod orbiting the moon of Titan. The teens prepare to bring the pod and its contents aboard, only to be faced with a another crisis: an illness that is beyond their medical experience. Dozens of crew members fall into a comatose state, only to awaken with strangely glowing eyes. To make matters worse, the systems of Galahad begin to fail. With time running out, can Triana and her shipmates escape the Web of Titan?

Review:
I see no reason why my first drunk book review shouldn’t be a young adult book about space. I love space stories…almost as much as I love Red Hook’s summer seasonal Wit ale. Their slogan for it is “Made with Ginger, but still digs Mary Ann.” LOL Sometimes I wonder who I’d be on Gilligan’s Island. Who am I kidding? I’d probably be Gilligan. That one guy on that show was kind of a babe. The Professor. Then again, I keep picturing him looking like Captain Kirk and look at that! I’m back on my space topic. This second installment in the Galahad series is decidedly less suspenseful than the last. It is funny to read a series when you know there are already two more books released so, going into it, I was thinking, “Welp, they obviously get out of this pickle.” It really diminishes the thrill of it.

As most of you probably remember (HA, yeah right!), I found the fourth one of these randomly in the library while Bird Brian, Eh?Eh!, Jackie the Librarian, and BB’s wife were perusing the bookstore upstairs. In case you guys are wondering, I am that drunk person who realizes that they have been staring off into space for five minutes and not remembering they were writing a review. I’ve already done that a few times. But I will NEVER spell incorrectly or type slow. Remember Mario Teaches Typing? Also, randomly, I remember being in keyboarding class in junior high when we listened to the OJ verdict on the radio. OMG, this isn’t even a review. We should just change it to drunk diary entries.

Dear Diary,

Today I saw so-and-so. He is such a babe.

XO
Flann

Fine. Here we go,

Dear Diary,

The other day I read The Web of Titan. I was super into it because I have a female boner for space and all that it entails. All the teens are still on Galahad (duh) and this time, they are tasked to pick up a pod in open space near Saturn that the equivalent of the ISS launched. Earth( well the peeps on Earth) have been unable to contact the scientists there for a while so no one knows what will be on the pod. Geez, I don’t want to spoil anything. Do they catch it? I won’t tell you. Do they find a cat on it? Maaaaaybe, if they do catch it. (yes I know I kind of maybe just spoiled a tiny bit. It really doesn’t matter, though) OMG THERE’S CATS HERE. After a bit, people on the ship are getting sick and their eyes are turning orange and they are speaking some weird language. Want to know why? Then I guess you’ll just have to read this book, suckaaaaahs.

XO
Flannery

I will totally be continuing this series. It is not the awesomest thing that ever was but I enjoy a few of the characters (not all of them, some of them are really frakking annoying) and it is kind of like watching a dating reality show. All of them are going to start dating soon and lord knows I love reading about high school-age relationships…especially when everyone is a genius. (which they obvi are)

I’m just gonna post this without rereading it. I think it would take away from the effect if I tried to make myself sound better.

3.5/5 stars

A War of Gifts (Ender Saga, #5)
Author: Orson Scott Card
Publication Date: 10/30/07
Publisher: Tor

Blurb (GR): Orson Scott Card offers a Christmas gift to his millions of fans with this short novel set during Ender's first years at the Battle School where it is forbidden to celebrate religious holidays.

The children come from many nations, many religions; while they are being trained for war, religious conflict between them is not on the curriculum. But Dink Meeker, one of the older students, doesn't see it that way. He thinks that giving gifts isn't exactly a religious observation, and on Sinterklaas Day he tucks a present into another student's shoe.

This small act of rebellion sets off a battle royal between the students and the staff, but some surprising alliances form when Ender comes up against a new student, Zeck Morgan. The War over Santa Claus will force everyone to make a choice.

Review:
You know that part in Good Will Hunting when Robin Williams finally gets Matt Damon to realize that his childhood abuse was not his fault? Yeah, this book is kind of like that except I didn't want to sleep with the main character (which would be illegal since he is 8) and I didn't get the visual of how weird looking Matt Damon is when he cries.

What's that? You want an actual review? Well, FU. I think that's in the spirit of all the gift-giving and moral value reaffirmations that abound in this book.

3/5 stars

The Comet's Curse (Galahad Series, #1)
Author: Dom Testa
Publication Date: 10/10/04
Publisher: Tor

Blurb (GR): When the tail of the comet Bhaktul flicks through the Earth’s atmosphere, deadly particles are left in its wake. Suddenly, mankind is confronted with a virus that devastates the adult population. Only those under the age of eighteen seem to be immune. Desperate to save humanity, a renowned scientist proposes a bold plan: to create a ship that will carry a crew of 251 teenagers to a home in a distant solar system. Two years later, the Galahad and its crew—none over the age of sixteen—is launched.Two years of training have prepared the crew for the challenges of space travel. But soon after departing Earth, they discover that a saboteur is hiding on the Galahad! Faced with escalating acts of vandalism and terrorized by threatening messages, sixteen-year-old Triana Martell and her council soon realize that the stowaway will do anything to ensure that the Galahad never reaches its destination. The teens must find a way to neutralize their enemy. For if their mission fails, it will mean the end of the human race….

Review: I can pinpoint the start of my obsession with space stories to a date:  January 17-24, 1988. I was not even 5 yet but I remember watching Earth Star Voyager, a miniseries presented by The Wonderful World of Disney. We taped it and watched it over and over until the VHS started to get all crappy--well, crappier quality than VHS tapes already were.  No worries, though, because mon frère got all of his sisters DVD copies off of ebay a few years back so I can watch it over and over as an adult. Anyway, I love space. And YA.  I will watch any show that features teenagers in space and I’ll read any book of the same variety.

Here's a youtube video of the first few minutes of Earth Star Voyager in all its shiny glory:

Earlier this year, I started reading Across the Universe. I thought it rather interesting to start out but I got bored and passed it to a friend (are you reading this? Read it and give it back, jerk). After reading this book, I feel like AtU wasn’t as original as I had initially thought. (though I'm sure I will still enjoy that one when I get it back) I’m happy that more YA authors seem to be hopping on the space wagon, (visual image: space wagon)  especially because the genre is not yet saturated. Oldie but goodies Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Connie Willis have added quite a bit to the collection but newer stuff? There isn’t a ton. (I know there’s some)  Most recently, I’ve read Academy 7 and continued with OSC’s Enderverse books—but I like my space to be minus religion, heavy political strategy discussions, and with strong female characters who don’t go baby-crazy and turn whackadoo. (I’m talking to you, Petra Arkanian)

So, the other day I had a few Goodreaders over to my house. I took them to a local bookstore and went downstairs to peruse a small branch of my library. (Two things: (1) Crazy that the library is downstairs from a bookstore, right?; and (2) Way to go me for trying not to spend money!) I looked at the YA shelves and saw a book that said, “251 TEENS ARE SENT INTO SPACE TO SAVE MANKIND. WILL THEY SUCCEED?” Okay, I’m frakking sold. Then I found out it was number 4 in a series and they didn’t have #1. Screw you, library! But they had it at the bookstore upstairs.  (and I put the rest of them on hold and picked them up the next day. I was just kidding about being angry at the library. King County Library System is the shit.)

Fun, fun, fun.  This book is set in a future wherein a comet flew extremely close to Earth’s atmosphere and yadda, yadda, yadda, the comet’s particles create a deadly disease that is slowly killing most of the population. (Plausible? I didn’t really care.)  A few scientists pitch the idea of building a spaceship and sending 15/16 year olds off to colonize somewhere new in the galaxy. (adults are more susceptible to the disease and no one under 18 has developed it but they make the cutoff lower to be sure) The spaceship design is strikingly similar to that in Across the Universe or really, the opposite is true.  The narrative style was interesting, as it shifted from first person (the hilariously snarky ship computer that retains the personality of its creator) to third person, covering several of the primary council members. We learn the backstories of the characters as well as the history of how the project was developed and implemented.  Oh, happy day! Nearly every time I had a question, Dom Testa answered it.

The first installment of the series follows the crew as they head out and encounter a saboteur in their midst during the first week. The way each of them dealt with the situation and how they interacted with each other made me really excited to continue with the series. This book was exactly what I wanted to read at that moment and I hope the following installments will entertain me as much.  I don’t know if this will be as much of a homerun for regular YA readers, but for those who, like me, enjoy both traditional sci-fi and YA (there is some romance going on), this series is for us. NERDS UNITE!

3.5/5 stars