ALA Booklist (Sun May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

The author of Kid vs. Squid (2010) offers another quirky, high-stakes adventure hung about with oddball ideas and life-threatening hazards. The only human survivor of a mysterious attack on his huge underground "Ark," Fisher abruptly awakes from suspended animation and escapes to the surface discover that, many centuries after an ecological collapse, cities lie in ruins, humanity has vanished, and deadly predators like swarms of tiny crocodiles and elephant-sized parrots wait hungrily for unwary prey. Driven by hints that other Arks may lie far to the south and west, Fisher sets out with a damaged C-3PO type robot and a surprisingly intelligent young mammoth for company and encounters terrifying challenges from a mad collective of nanobots to an equally dangerous colony of genetically altered technowarrior prairie dogs. Van Eekhout leaves some things, such as the origin of that initial attack, unexplained, but he moves his tale along briskly to a violent, suspenseful climax and supplies an Eve for his Adam at the end. A pleaser for readers who prefer their sf livened up with unpredictable elements and emotional complexity.

Horn Book (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

When Fisher looks out upon the world he has inherited, he sees ruins; his robot Click tells him, "Humans are no more." Fisher sets off in search of other people, heading across a landscape inhabited by piranha-crocs, giant prairie dogs, and carnivorous plants. His adventures, told in fast-paced prose and set in a boldly imagined future, will be exciting for young readers.

Kirkus Reviews

A boy, a robot and a mammoth struggle to survive after the apocalypse. Fisher "becomes born," as he thinks of it, out of a gel-filled pod in a destroyed Ark meant to preserve dozens of species along with human life after environmental cataclysm. He seems to have been endowed with a complete understanding of language and of his surroundings, and with, as he notes in awe, an awareness of hundreds of ways to catch fish: "I know all of them." He is accompanied by the somewhat damaged guardian robot Fisher christens Click and by a juvenile mammoth Fisher calls Protein (after deciding not to kill and eat the gentle giant...just yet). This trio makes its way across the North American continent in search of a second and finally a third Ark in order to help Fisher fulfill his mission of continuing the human species. Self-reinventing weaponry meant to defend each of the Arks leads to the destruction both of Fisher's birthplace and the Southern Ark, where an encounter with nano-technology is by turns hilarious and creepy. Part speculative fiction, part cinematic survival adventure, the novel features a brisk pace and clever and snappy dialogue. The real, scary possibility of human destruction of our own environment is tempered by this diverting tale of the possibilities of continued existence and the meaning of hope, friendship and community. (Science fiction. 8-12)

School Library Journal (Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

Gr 5-7 "This is what he knew: His name was Fisher. The world was dangerous. He was alone." Thousands of years before, a dying civilization created the Life Ark and filled it with perfectly preserved genetic specimens so that one day human culture might rise again. But when Fisher awakens among the Ark's twisted, smoking ruins, he realizes that he is the only survivor except for a slightly off-kilter robot he calls Click. Its stated purpose is to help Fisher "continue existing," but its rather wonky programming is not always reliable. They find clues that the long-dead scientists may have planted more than one Ark. If they can find that other installation, there may be hope. However, evolution hasn't been idle, and nature and the terrain have changed in unexpected and dangerous ways. The cross-continent trek parallels Fisher's own journey toward realizing his humanity. The story is set in a fascinating and at times chillingly altered North America in which scattered relics of the pre-cataclysm era will seem hauntingly familiar to 21 st -century readers. Robot Click is a surprisingly complex character, and his deadpan insights add a welcome touch of humor to the sometimes dark plot. With strong themes of courage and self-reliance, this challenging and thought-provoking adventure is a fine choice for science-fiction collections. Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL