jbronderbookreviews

The Incredible Origins of the Onyx Sun by Christopher Mahoney

5 stars

(Excerpt from Goodreads) The Incredible Origins of the Onyx Sun is an award-winning space adventure for young adults that has earned the acclaim of Publisher’s Weekly, Writer’s Digest, Amazon.com, and kids and parents everywhere.

The book follows Zack Goodspeed, a perfectly normal 11-year old boy, who discovers his eccentric grandfather has invented a source of unlimited power, called the Onyx Sun and harnessed that power to fuel a spaceship. Stowing away on the ship with his mischievous neighbor Angelina “Max” Maximillian, Zack is thrust into a journey that strands him on the Moon, introduces him to bold new friends, and pits him against Dr. Machvel, a rouge member of crew bent on turning the Onyx Sun into a weapon of mass destruction.

Zach doesn’t really fit in with his parents. They are almost boringly ordinary. They seem to have no creativity or imagination and it is almost painful how they don’t understand their son. Zach does take after his grandpa Fyodor, an inventor. Although his parents don’t want his grandfathers oddness rubbing off on their son, Zach tried to be with his grandfather every chance he gets.

The problem is Fy is often gone for long periods of time. So, when Zach’s classmate Angelina “Max” Maximillian tells him that she knows where Fy goes. Zach and Max follow Fy and sneak aboard The Onyx Pioneer. There they learn that Fy is planning on setting up a colony on he moon and using his unlimited power source, the Onyx Sun, to power the colony.

Unfortunately, other people are interested in the Onyx Sun’s powers, but not for such a good cause. Now Zach, Max, and Sanjay, a boy from the colonists, are trying to figure out where the Onyx Sun’s thief is hiding on the moon. They are on a race with time since the colony cannot survive for long without the Onyx Sun powering the colony.

I really liked this book. There was great action and adventure, a wonderful story, and a great lead character. Zach learns to appreciate his boring parents and understand why his grandfather goes away for long periods. I had a hard time putting the book down. This book is geared toward children but I feel everyone will like this book.

I received this book for free from the Library Thing First Reader program in exchange for an honest review.

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The Last Zombie by Brian Keene

5 stars

(Excerpt from Good Reads) Follow the frantic journey of a man seeking his one ray of hope in a post-apocalyptic nightmare United States. The zombies have come and (mostly) gone, but the disease is still out there, threatening the survivors. The country swarms with roving packs of wild animals – and worse, desperate humans ready to do whatever it takes to survive. Through it all, one man must drive from California to New York to reunite with the woman he loves before it’s too late for either of them!

Check your fuel tanks, weapons, and supplies; buckle down tight; and get ready for a thrill ride that may leave you breathless – or not even breathing! Brian Keene, the horror novelist acclaimed as one of the major forces behind the new era of zombie popularity, is bringing an all-new, fright-filled feature to Antarctic Press.

We start with Day 27 of the zombie attack and Dr. Scott being transported to the Colorado FEMA bunker. Zombies are everywhere, his fiancé is in the West Virginia FEMA bunker, he should be getting married today, and he is the one with a possible cure to the zombie virus.

Fast-forward two years. Zombies have disappeared but other illnesses, like bubonic plague, leprosy, and others, are out there from the decomposing corpses. Also, the West Virginia Bunker has gone offline. A helicopter was sent to check on them and it crashed. Unable to find out what is going on, the Colorado base plans on sending in a two-vehicle team to find out how the county is fairing and to find out what is going on in West Virginia.

The convoy starts off and gets to a local town where they find a mother and daughter scavenging. They also stumble upon some zombies and raiders. This is going to be harder than they first though.

I really liked this graphic novel. I love Brian Keene and zombies so it just goes to say that I had to get it. I got sucked in and was so disappointed that it was so short. I really liked how they portrayed the raiders, a very realistic situation.

Zombie lovers, you will want to get this graphic novel.

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