Deadzone

September 1, 2017
Nielsen takes the baton from Scott Westerfeld in the newest installment of the Horizon series, raising the stakes for the seven young plane crash survivors, now all honorary Team Killbot members. Though suffering from an unusual injury inflicted by the "dreadful duck of doom," Molly, an African-American girl from New York City, has stepped up to lead the group across the dangerous and impossible arctic rift they've found themselves in. Hopefully, on the other side of the desert they've named the Blood Sand they'll find both answers and help. But the Blood Sand holds dangers, both natural (or unnatural, as the case may be) and mechanical, that will test them in both body and spirit. With every threat and loss, they come closer to learning why they were saved and by whom. In third-person-limited chapters that offer the barest glimpses into the histories of Molly and three other members of Team Killbot (Yoshi, who's biracial, Japanese and white; Anna, who's white, and Javi, who's black Latino), Nielsen moves the story arc forward, setting up the next episode. While the book doesn't stand alone (and isn't meant to), the action is smooth, and the diversity of the cast (accurately represented on the book cover) refreshing, making for an engaging read. Part survival story, part video game mystery, all solid fun that readers will easily get caught up in. (Science fiction. 9-12)

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mybooksandi - Ok, lets go... Horizon; Deadzone was a book that makes you sit at the edge of your seat when you read it. It's so intense, with so many scenes happening at one time that you just give up and stay up all night reading. I finished this novel quickly, for it was such a short story with lots of things attacking you at one time. But , I made a list of the pros and cons so, let's go- Cons- I thought it was kind of obvious that the group of authors that wrote these books so far ( Scott Westerfield and Jennifer A. Nielsen ) are stretching the series so they can make the novels a "seven book series". In my opinion, the series should have been done by the second book. I think the only "Cons" in this book was that, affecting the whole series. Now.. Pros- I really loved how JN put everything together at the end. I loved how a question is born and when you finish the book you get your answer. I also love how every character has their backstory and own personality. In all, I really liked this one. It gave you a break from all those contemporary novels. So do I like it? Yes, yes I do. Do I want to be with the characters on their adventure? No, no I do not