Library Binding ©2014 | -- |
Paperback ©2015 | -- |
Space and time. Fiction.
Religion. Fiction.
Missing persons. Fiction.
Uncles. Fiction.
Tucker is trapped atop a Romulan pyramid in the year 3,000 CE with no interdimensional disko. What, you're lost already? In this final book of the Klaatu Diskos trilogy, the multitalented Hautman paragon of prose clarity ncludes this most unclear of literary experiments. As before, it's a head-scratcher nearly impossible to follow at times, and yet d yet! rich with fascinating ideas and unusual themes that bold readers will keep turning pages. The action this time is mostly divided between Tucker's futuristic search for ex Pure Girl Lia and two different time planes involving Tucker's uncle, Kosh, whose relationship with Emily/Emma progresses in both 1997 and 2012. Characters echo throughout the ages, giving the book, and the series, the feel of a less linear take (if you can believe that) on Marcus Sedgwick's Midwinterblood (2013). What sticks out the most are Hautman's always deft hand at believable romance and his ability to use a sci-fi plot to generate Chariots of the Gods style legends. Though not always fully cooked, this is one hell of a stew.
Horn BookTucker and Lia (The Obsidian Blade; The Cydonian Pyramid) join together in the end stage of their journey through the millennia and the final confrontation with the murderous Lah Sept; Tucker uncovers his own role in Lah Sept history. Pulling together elaborate strands of the first two books, this conclusion rewards readers with a surprising yet cogent and satisfying chronicle across time.
Kirkus ReviewsA dazzlingly imaginative science-fiction trilogy, spanning the rise and fall of religions, civilizations and the human race itself, deflates into an oddly pedestrian conclusion. Tucker Feye and Lia are finally reunited after ping-ponging through time and space; now, the focus shifts to Tucker's uncle Kosh and mother, Emily. The storyline alternates between 1997, when the two first met, and 2012, as Kosh frantically tries to rescue Emily's look-alike, "Emma," from the remnants of a fanatical cult. Interspersed are snippets describing the Boggsian invention of the diskos, the factions among the transhuman Klaatu, and Tucker and Lia's efforts to return to the present. Hautman builds any number of rich, intriguing settings: small rural towns, post-apocalyptic jungles and even the surface of another planet. Unfortunately, he piles fascinating details upon thought-provoking concepts at such a frenetic pace that the whole structure collapses. Most characters die at least once, but recurrent medical miracles drain away any suspense. Nearly everyone is rewarded at the end with (somewhat-creepy) bland domesticity, and with every plot loop tidily snipped off, the entire grand narrative edifice is reduced to the recursive repercussions of a teenage love triangle. Stories aren't required to provide answers to the big questions they raise about faith, choice, identity and responsibility, but these deserve better than to be dismissed with an uncaring shrug. (Science fiction. 12-18)
School Library Journal (Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)Gr 9 Up-In the final installment of Hautman's "Klaatu Diskos" trilogy (Candlewick), questions are finally answered and puzzle pieces are put in place. The book's events cover the rise and fall of the Romelas and Hopewell civilizations, alternating among different dates, including 1997, 2012, and a thousand years in the distant future. Tucker Feye and Lah Lia are finally together after being chased in and out of various time periods. The plot focuses on the life of 17-year-old Kosh, who is also Tucker Feye's uncle. Kosh's struggles are divided between the physical challenges needed to keep members of the Boggsian sect and the Cult of the Lamb at bay and trying to control the emotions that have developed between him and his brother Adrian's fiance, Emily. Adrian is also author of the final book in the Cult of the Lamb's Bible, and Emily, besides being Tucker Feye's mother, is identical to a woman whom Kosh rescues from the Lambs. The action is fast-paced with settings alternating between the small rural towns of the close past, and the postapocalyptic jungle of the distant future. This is one conclusion that is best read in sequence for better clarity. Ending in a somewhat Twilight Zone eeriness of happily-ever-after, readers will not feel cheated out of the creep factor. Sabrina Carnesi, Crittenden Middle School, Newport News, VA
Voice of Youth AdvocatesKosh, Tucker, Lia, and company are back in this third and final installment of The Klaatu Diskos series. Time and space find a way to connect the histories of Kosh and his nephew Tucker as they finally conquer the Boggsians and discover the hidden agenda of the diskos. Kosh tries to conceal his feelings for Emily, Adrian's fiancÚe, and it seems the feeling is mutual. When he meets Emma, a dead ringer for Emily, who is in need of help, Kosh goes above and beyond to keep her safe. Lia is hurdled through a diskos well into the future while battling her father, Master Gheen, who attempts to lure her in to his madness once again. This time, Lia's fear does not suppress her. The past, present, and future come to a crashing halt as the Klaatu fade and transcendent technology becomes but a memory.Hautman's series is action-packed and his characters come to life on the page. The Feye family has endured centuries of uncertainty and heartache but in the end, everything is right with their world and they live together in "Harmony," the aptly named town where they will begin a new life. Time travel is exhausting and so are maggots, diskos, and scary Amish-dressed men. This and more await the reader who has been waiting for answers and a happy ending. Hautman delivers.Tanya Paglia.
ALA Booklist (Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Horn Book
Kirkus Reviews
School Library Journal (Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)
Voice of Youth Advocates
Wilson's Children's Catalog
Wilson's Junior High Catalog
National Book Award winner Pete Hautman weaves several diverging time streams into one satisfying masterwork in this stunning and revelatory series finale.
In a far distant future, Tucker Feye and the inscrutable Lia find themselves atop a crumbling pyramid in an abandoned city. In present-day Hopewell, Tucker’s uncle Kosh faces armed resistance and painful memories as he attempts to help a terrorized woman named Emma, who is being held captive by a violent man. And on a train platform in 1997, a seventeen-year-old Kosh is given an instruction that will change his life, and the lives of others, forever. Tucker, Lia, and Kosh must evade the pursuit of maggot-like Timesweeps, battle Master Gheen’s cult of Lambs, all while they puzzle out the enigmatic Boggsians as they search for one another and the secrets of the diskos. Who built them? Who is destroying them? Where — and when — will it all end?