Wednesday, March 24, 2010

The Comet's Curse by Dom Testa



Excerpt from the front flap of the book:

“When the tail of the comet Bhaktul flicks through 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 realizes 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.

Let me say that Dom Testa has a new fan of his work.  This was one of the best books I have read in a while.  It is obvious he has done a lot of research on space.  I don’t know if it is a hobby of his or just research he did for this series, but he is spot on.  I try to look up the author whenever I read a book by one I am unfamiliar with.  I was very impressed by his site. There is a lot of information about the other books in the series and my favorite part was the science.  As a teacher this part was important to me.  The more students I can direct there the more knowledge will be passed down to them.  Check it out.

Now to the review of this fabulous book. 
You can’t help but get into the heads of the main characters in this book.  I tried to imagine what it would be like to be one of 251 teens selected from thousands to carry on the human race.  How would I feel leaving a younger sibling at home knowing I would never see my family again, and worse yet I would be leaving my younger siblings to eventually die.  Couple those feelings with the overwhelming responsibility I would be faced with and knowing the person I am, I don’t thing I would do very well.

This book hooks you from the beginning.  It hints at things to come in following books.  Mystery, romance possibly?  The coolest thing was the narrator of the story is the ships human like computer named ROC.  He gives no hints at the end of the book.  He leads you with a question then tells you that you will need to read more.  My advice to you is “read more”.  This is a book for which I eagerly await the sequel, which is due June of 2010. I was so pleased with this book that I started sharing bits and pieces of the story with my students.  This in turn lead to a waiting list.  I loved hearing them argue about who would get to take it home over Spring Break.  Any book that can inspire my reluctant reading students is a great book.  Well done Mr. Testa.

I welcome the opportunity to read and review any and all upcoming books.

2 comments:

  1. This definitely sounds like a book I could wrap my head around. I enjoyed your review and will write this title down so I do not forget.

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  2. I totally agree with you. I read this book during winter break and I was amazed! I was totally sucked into Galahad and when the book was over, I almost screamed because I didn't want it to end. The Web of Titan is set to release on June 24, 2010.

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