Science
fiction and time-travel books are two genres that can either make you or break
you. Blue into the Rip by Kev Heritage takes a golden trophy in the
former. It is an awe-wonder-some
read!
The story
focuses on Blue, who gets his name from his strange blue eyes. He is a
fifteen-year-old boy who lives with his odd parents Eddi and Newt and his
sister Annie. The story
begins in the past with the setting shifting between the past and the future in
the year 2454.
When his
sister, Annie, disappears, Blue goes out to search for her in Dooley’s Wood. From
there, Blue is hurled 450 years into the future, where he finds himself in The
Academy where he is supposed to live, train and study. Blue constantly reminds himself – and the reader – that the future is
just a transition and that he needs to go back in time to his parents and
younger sister. He
eventually realises that The Academy and his
friends are all that he has and accordingly goes out of his way to save them.
Time-travel
stories are not easy to manipulate but Kev Heritage outdid himself with Blue
into the Rip. It is a grand puzzle where every piece falls into place at
the end.
Blue
into the Rip
is a post-apocalyptic novel. Many people have died and due to global warming,
it has become impossible to live on the earth’s surface. The Amazon Jungle has
become the Amazon Desert and it is impossible to endure the scorching sun.
The
novel moves at a fairly quick pace with a good tension-relief scheme. The language
in Blue into the Rip mixes slang with some interesting blends such as awe-wonder-some and cra-mazing (crazy + amazing), among others. The dialogue is
fun, quick-paced and is the main source of information. Each character is seen
through both their attitudes and their dialogue. Although the story is narrated
in the third person, the reader feels that the opinions and descriptions are
those of Blue rather than anyone else.
Blue
into the Rip
is rich with characters from the protagonist Blue, who is rather selfish but
means well, to his friends Corvus – who for some reason reminds me of Draco
Malfoy from the Harry Potter books – the assumed-bully Wurtz, the
Ganymedian Hermans with his highly formal almost Shakespearean language, to the
rule-book-adhering Morgana, and others.
The
novel entails intrigues and games, friendships and betrayals mixed with power
and ambition. There is a rat in Saturn Squad and there is the mystery of Blue’s
identity.
Kev
Heritage’s use of imagery in Blue into the Rip is just wicked! It fits the
sci-fi theme and scenery. Amongst the images I fell in love with are: “Electricity
pylons poked from the murky waters like the masts of sunken ships.” (p. 11), “A car exploded through the playground wall like a high-velocity
bullet through a watermelon.” (p. 13), and “It
would be like trying to find a single and special grain of sand in the whole of
the Desert Amazon.” (p.
319).
Kev Heritage masterfully ties up all of the loose ends in the final
chapters and the Epilogue, all of which are intense, exciting and are a
roller-coaster ride of their own.
Overall: I was not expecting to be this impressed by the novel, since
I’ve had several unhappy sci-fi reads. Blue into the Rip is ‘swick’ and I look forward to its sequel Blue
into the Planet.
Special thanks to Kev Heritage for sending me a copy of
Blue into the Rip to review for my blog.
Find his book on Smashwords (most formats): http://ow.ly/pYpsh/ Barnes & Noble
(Nook): http://ow.ly/qsy0q/ KINDLE UK http://ow.ly/qr8CI Amazon.com: http://ow.ly/qmjOK
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