Currently I'm reading: Jenseits vom Tatort by Horst Brandt
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6 July 2015
Title
| Shimmer |
Author
| Matthew Keith |
Publisher
| CreateSpace |
Publication Date
|
May 2015
|
Pages
| 720 |
Genre
| Romance |
Description (from Amazon)
Volume One of the Lost Colony of Roanoke
July, 1587
115 men, women, and children vanished from the Island Colony of Roanokewith no explanation. The only clue left was a single word carved into a post
on the fence surrounding the village: “CROATOAN”.
This is their story, and the story of the family who was the cause of the
colony's downfall.
My thoughts:
If you have read Keith's Watcher's series, you will agree with me that he is firmly establishing himself as author of books of slightly odd teenage boy who gets thrown into a strange world which will become his world.
Alex, a college kid, is regarded as slightly odd by his peers, as he has withdrawn himself from most of his friends since his mother vanished a few years prior. He lives with his father who owns a electro-magnetics research company. They both clearly are deeply effected but are supporting each other. On the 6th anniversary of his mother's disappearance, Alex gets called away in school to the head's office where he finds Silas, who works at his father company. Silas tells Alex that his father has also vanished and Silas has been made Alex' guardian. Silas behaves very strange, and Alex does not like him at all. Silas then tells him about the research Alex' father was working on which involved teleportation from one place to the next within a second using a special suit. He wants to know if Alex can provide him with any information, whether his dad has told him anything. Alex fears that Silas' interest might have an ulterior motive, and goes to investigate. He finds the suit and instructions from his dad to destroy everything. But all Alex wants is to find his dad, and maybe even his mum and hopefully this place where they have vanished to. Only one way to find out, and this is to try the suit to teleport himself. The world he will find is nothing like he could have imagined.
I did not know the original story of the 'Missing Colony of Roanoke'. and while the author has spun a wonderful story around it, it is not a historical book, but firmly set in the present day.
What I like about the book, apart form that it is easy to read, is that even though 'The Under' is of course an invention of the author - a different world and there are supernatural elements - it is still completely believable and I could imagine inventions like that can happen. Or maybe I should not let my reading cloud my perception of the world? Oh no, long may it continue and long may we receive wonderful books like this to take us into different worlds.
This is a great start book to a new series, and I can't wait to see how it continues for Alex and everyone in 'The Under'.
