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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ever-changing seas for the imagination, 3 Sep 2007
In his third expedition into children's science fiction, Pirie once again immerses us in a whole new world complete with a whole new range of characters and, this time, it's own ecosystem and economy.
Immersed is, perhaps, an appropriate word to describe The Waters of Andros, for it is an adventure set not on the high seas, but below and within them. Andros is a planet almost entirely covered by ocean and it is within these waters that the children and the plesiosaurs to which they are almost symbiotically attached, spend much of their time.
Our plucky protagonist, Mikal, soon - with his friends, love interest, and their plesiosaurs - discover a mysterious object in the murky waters that seems to threaten the ecosystem and uncover the hypocrisy the dissidents find endemic in the quasi-Governmental "Company".
Andros reads, at a fundamental level, as a coming-of-age adventure. Mikal wins the affections of his sweetheart, battles and - importantly - becomes mature in the eyes of his father. On top of this, he becomes a hero and planet-wide celebrity, battles evil capitalists, and risks life and limb on many occasions. Aimed at younger audience than Dark Visitor and Children of the Night, the adventure element Andros is strong and compelling. We also see relationships with parents developed more fully, and play a central role - in stark contrast to Dark Visitor.
As with his earlier works, Pirie's descriptions are as minimalistic as possible: the reader is left to construct a world in their own mind for the characters to inhabit. Pirie's spartan descriptions do, however, allow enough detail for this world to be vibrant and almost real. Pleasingly, all the characters - even the plesiosaurs - are well-rounded and leap fully formed from page into mind. Perhaps, as Tash notes, it is because the plesiosaurs are the children's closest friends (with humans a close second) that Pirie expends effort in the characterisations of these beasts of the sea.
Writ large at the close of the book is the word 'sequel.' As Mikal's dangerous adventures draw to a head, and he and his friends triumph, the author is allowing himself - or, more realistically, the eager reader - the space to construct the future adventures of Andros, its people, and their plesiosaurs.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Science Fiction Rides Again!, 12 Sep 2007
Think of Robert Heinlein or Isaac Asimov at their best and you're not far off in The Waters of Andros. But it is pacier than those youth-targeted sci-fi classics of the 1940s and 1950s -- it's a chair-gripper but not that alone.
Andros is a strangely enchanting world, part past and part future. Life is organic and closely-knit, reminiscent of somewhere on earth but two generations ago. It is rare, in these sorts of books, to find something breath-takingly fast-paced and yet periodically poignant, as the well-developed characters begin to grow up and understand friendship and love and risk. There is the added benefit of bonding between young humans and aquatic dinosaurs, which is as touching as it is adventuresome (so touchihng, indeed, that Hollywood won't pass up on this for long!) Meanwhile, there is no shortage of intrigue as the biosphere turns on the human inhabitants and man-made evil begins to show its shadow if not yet its bare face.
The author, Madsen Pirie, writes with commanding skill: the plot keeps one excited yet it periodically turns endearingly lyrical. As in Ray Bradbury's masterful Something Wicked This Way Comes, throughout Andros runs bittersweet evocations of the end of summers past, as waning youth effortlessly evolves into young adulthood. We all recall such times -- rare, clear moments when we saw things as they were and lived content for a time, neither looking back longingly nor impatient for days ahead. This makes Andros a worthwhile read for adults as well as teenagers.
Another important point: The Waters of Andros offers good science. It has all the imagination and warmth and adventure of fantasy (a genre more popular than science fiction nowadays) but it is fascinatingly and respectably scientific in an unobtrusive way. This makes it a splendid antidote for young readers stuck in the nursery of wizards and dwarves.
This is a excellent book physically -- not a junky paperback, but rather a 'keeper,' a book well-bound on good paper. It will make a marvellous present for young people, lads or lasses. But order it early enough to read it before you send it off to that favourite godchild.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Playful, yet mature, 9 Sep 2007
This is my third outing with Madsen Pirie's characters, and though every time I have doubts about creativity drying up, so far he has not disappointed. This book is certainly the most action-packed yet, as we are plunged into a life or death situation immediately in the first chapter! The pace never relents, if adapted into film it would probably feel more at home in the action genre rather than adventure. The characterisation within this book is so strong - the whole cast is fleshed out fully and they appear alive and vibrant. Each were distinct and their unique personalities balanced each other harmoniously. Funnily enough, I felt this book read much like an exciting spy novel. Fans of the Alex Rider series will enjoy this, as it maintains much of the youthful expertise and espionage thrills whilst under a drastically different Atlantis-like setting. A perfect example of how "mature" and "playful" can be used to describe the same book.
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