Marty Gingras

Share Profile

Marty Gingras

Marty Gingras’s book reviews

I won\'t give away the ending, but I was not heartened. Does anybody else see a problem with this conflict? I\'m hoping we\'re not really like the people from the city.">I read this book as a teen but now as an adult I can clearly see the disturbing message Hamilton has used as a theme for this teen novel.
My review mentions a major story line that is a bit of a spoiler.

As we know, the city is catapulted into the distant future. The Earth is dying, the sun is dying, and they are trapped in a futuristic city they will never figure out. When future humans arrive to transport them to a beautiful, inhabitable planet, they threaten violence.

There are a number of problems with this sick response. They don\'t want to leave because they believe they belong on Earth, not among the stars. There are no intelligent humans in the group that realize that the next generation will never know Earth and will naturally adopt a new planet as their home. With the thousands of adults present and not a single one realizing that, Mr. Hamilton has shown the perversity of the human race, its arrogance, narcissism, and its selfishness. Does anybody care for the welfare of the city\'s future children? Not in this story.
Another possibility is that the author is showing just how stubborn our race is, \"by golly, we ain\'t goin\' off in no dang machines to a paradise. You can\'t make us move from this here dyin\' planet and that\'s final!\"
I won\'t give away the ending, but I was not heartened. Does anybody else see a problem with this conflict? I\'m hoping we\'re not really like the people from the city.
10/23/2012