The books follow twelve year old Todd Hewitt and Viola Eade
as they discover and fight for the world they live in. The books are set on
‘New World’. Earth has become too full of people and too full of war so some
people chose to leave and start a peaceful life on a new planet. Todd’s family
were among the first to land on the planet. Viola is from a second wave of
people about to land on the planet. Her family were sent to scout out the
planet but crash-landed leaving her stuck on a new planet by herself. She soon
finds Todd and they set off for the big city in the hopes that they’ll be able
to contact the people on the motherships to let them know what happened to
Viola.
However, it’s not that easy. They are held back by a tyrant
ruler who, if can’t have everything, wants to destroy the world they’ve
created. There is also the native species who aren’t too happy about their
planet being taken from them and have decided they want it back.
There is an unexpected aspect to the planet too. Everyone
can hear what the men are thinking all the time. They can’t hear what the women
are thinking. The native species known to the humans as ‘Spackle’ communicate
through their minds as both males and females can hear each other’s thoughts. Where
being able to hear thoughts freaks the humans out, the Spackle have embraced it
and communicate freely between each other using their minds, even if the person
they want to talk to isn’t near them. They’ve connected themselves to the
world, which is why they refer to themselves as ‘The Land’.
The idea of having men and women being able to hear men’s
thoughts but not women’s is interesting. In the case of the Mayor, the tyrant,
he hates this and so tries to wipe out all of the women from the planet. He
succeeds is ridding them all from his town but other towns and the city still
have women and are even governed by women. Most men don’t resent the women for
not having ‘Noise’, in fact some find it helpful to their relationship as both
parties are more open with each other and are stronger as a result.
‘Noise’ can also be a dangerous thing in the wrong hands.
The Mayor and some of his minions learn to control their minds so that people
can’t hear their thoughts. The Mayor even goes so far as to be able to invade
men’s minds and get them to do what he wants. He creates armies and sends them
off by using his mind so that they won’t question his orders. The only way to
stop them is to kill the army’s Captain, which then releases the rest of the
army from the hold that’s been put on them.
The native species of the planet are sort of what humans would
be like if we didn’t have the desire to destroy everything around us. They are
one with their planet and look after it and help it grow. They have life
partners who they live with and stay with forever. The Land are ruled by their
leader ‘The Sky’. The Sky makes the big decisions like whether to go to war
with the human invaders but generally The Sky just keeps everyone together and
living peacefully.
The main character, Todd has lost both parents to the war
that the first settlers had with The Land and was then raised by two men. The
book never specifically states that they are a gay couple but Todd does know
that they both love each other, and obviously they both live together too. The
main Spackle that we follow also has a male life partner and the Spackle is
also male. Again, it is never said that they are gay but they too both love
each other.
The author doesn’t address the issue of homosexuality and
gay parents raising children. It’s not relevant to the story and I guess it’s
not really that big of a deal any more in real life. It’s getting more common
for same-sex couples to have children and so why should you have to state
someone’s sexual orientation. It doesn’t affect whether they’re a good parent.
If it was mentioned in a book that a man and a woman were living together and
had a child you would probably assume they were together and it wouldn’t need
to be said. So the same should be true for same-sex couples. I think not making
anything of it helps it feel natural and that those sorts of things don’t
matter any more in the future. Especially when everyone is too busy trying to
create a new world.
The story is told from the point of view of Todd, Viola and
one of the Spackle. It’s told in first person which I don’t always like but the
story drew me in and I got used to it. I think it maybe helped, having multiple
points of view, I might not have got on with it as much if it was just Todd.
Being a trilogy of books it’s set over a few months and has a lot of action and
emotion in it. Also, with the world being a vast place, while at some points
the characters are in the same place, most of the time they’re having their own
problems and fighting their own battles in different areas. Multiple points of
view is also handy for building a situation up and then switching person at the
crucial moment.
I really enjoyed this series of books and read them one
after the other. It explores the human mind and human nature in an interesting
way. Humans like to think of themselves as a superior species when actually
they aren’t all that great. The books are categorised as teenage and this is
the right age to be reading this sort of thing. There’s lots of action in it to
keep you interested but it also looks at some interesting issues. While you
know that the Mayor is a baddie, he does do a few good things and at certain
points they do need him. Todd is his opposite, being a good person but they get
along worryingly well and the Mayor begins to control Todd’s mind.
I think a message of this book is that we’re stronger and
better together. Love conquers evil and everyone has a partner who is perfect
for them. Family is a big part of the book. Sometimes people make their own
family and this helps them grow and become better people. Humans are dangerous
creatures and it can all go to shit very quickly. In order to get to peace
sometimes you need to fight for it. Viola and Todd yearn for peace but very
quickly learn that it’s not an easy thing to achieve and have to grow up almost
instantly. It’s sort of in a similar
vein to The Hunger Games so I think if you like those you’ll like these. It’s
gets you thinking and learning without you realising which I think is a good
thing.
Overall rating 5 out of 5.
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