Every Hiddden Thing by Kenneth Oppel
| Every Hiddden Thing by Kenneth Oppel | |
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| Category: Teens | |
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Reviewer: John Lloyd
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| Summary: Being sent back to such a specific era of our scientific history is at little off-putting at first, but on the whole this is another cracking read from this expert narrator. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 370 | Date: March 2017 |
| Publisher: David Fickling Books | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 9781910989579 | |
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Three things stir Samuel's teenaged heart. Duty to his father is one, and another is admiration for the man's career as a dinosaur hunter and aspiration to follow in his tracks. Dad has never been a professor as such, but gets called it anyway, having lucked into being quite a pioneer in the field of finding fossils. And the third thing? Rachel. Not conventionally beautiful, Samuel still finds enough in her to arouse things. But that's where the trouble lies, for Rachel's father and his are confirmed enemies and rivals. And as luck would have it, they're all four headed to the same remote, outlawish region in search of notable remains. How can they be loyal to the science, and to their families, and to their hearts?
There's only one thing more remarkable about an author that makes such a fantastic novel as The Nest – and that's to write a novel that's anywhere near as good, and yet is totally different. And our author has done that here. In one book there's alien majesty in the everyday, modern world, and in the other a historically-set drama that combines the most unlikely things, of teenaged love and fossil hunts. Two more different books coming in quick succession from one author it would be hard to find.
That historical setting, first. Without expecting such a historical setting on the basis of reading The Nest, it was a welcome surprise, but it comes at you with no information or exposition – you have to remember when the early discoveries in the world of dinosaurs were made to pinpoint these times. Also, at times, however, it didn't quite work – for example, Samuel overtly telling us of getting an erection early on in response to Rachel, didn't really gel – it has to be said that his voice is too modern. Slightly more effective and realistic is her voice, even if her side of things is in a modern-looking sans serif font that again didn't quite sit with the historical feel. Those slight incongruities made me wonder if this was a sort of steampunk world, where we weave between now and a sort of faux-Victorian life where dragons are only freshly being found, but no, we really are in the olden times for the duration.
And the prime concerns are that this is a strong story from a sterling storyteller. This has a real page-turning quality, partly borne from the unusual mix of themes and topics. There are some really memorable images here, on the whole due to some characters I've not mentioned, and the setting is strange and unusual enough in teen reads to make this a really distinctive drama. It's not perfect at times – when the 'lovers' are confined to meeting every few days they end up just telling the other what we already know, but things are allowed to further themselves before long, and by the end everything here has either compelled with its drama or emotionally engaged you – from the treasure hunt to the rivalry to the third party and the danger they bring, right down to Samuel's emotions and Rachel's wish for emancipation.
All in all it's a clever and surprising amalgam of subjects, and a heck of a lot of it works, and very well. All in all I'm just annoyed – annoyed that an author this good and who's been published for twenty years or more has only just come under my radar.
I must thank the publishers for my review copy.
If you did want a more fantasy-based story about the science of finding magical beasts, we can point you towards A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent by Marie Brennan.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Every Hiddden Thing by Kenneth Oppel at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Every Hiddden Thing by Kenneth Oppel at Amazon.com.
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