In the final volume of Hamilton's thoughtful but disappointing "Justice" trilogy, the four psychic children once more form the "first unit" and travel through the Crossover to the desolate future Dustland. There they help some of Dustland's inhabitants, who have been exiled by the dread presence Mal, to escape back to a domed city in "domity," run by creatures who are part human, part machine. Among those who escape from Dustland are the humanlike three-legged Slakers and the doglike Miacus, both met before, and a new group of primitive, wandering young humans who travel in a "packen" of 15, divided into five "trips," each containing a leader, Duster, a "leggen," Siv, and a "smooth-keep," Glass. (The "youngens" in the other four trips are mere duplicates of the lead group.) As the children in the Unit "trace" to communicate, those in Dustland and domity "tone," and Justice now enters the master machine Colossus to absorb knowledge of the post-disaster society and its history. She learns too the Unit's role in the Grand Design: as Levy and Thomas are "twinned," so too is Justice. The mission of the Unit is to leave the Watcher in Justice behind; and as it splits from her the four children return to the present, to stay safe and normal until their power once more wells up and finds a mission. By the end of the third volume, then, Hamilton has established a future world as the children find it, complete with a range of mutant and created creatures, philosophical challenges, and the alternative revolutionary and social arrangements so dear to future fantasy creators. But that is where we might expect to be at the end of volume one, and we arrive there through expository conversation. We never see the four childrens' powers satisfactorily fulfilled, or see the time their formation as the "first unit" foretold. We never actually see any crisis or confrontation in the tightly controlled domity; and we never actually see the questions raised by the society's Master Plan played out in action.
Pub Date: April 6, 1981
ISBN: 059036216X
Page Count: 214
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1981
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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