A little background before I get into this review. I found this book on the young readers book shelf at my local library. It was on display for some holiday or theme. I forget the reason, honestly. Anyways, the image of the ghostly ship and promise of a time travel adventure is what drew me in. I had no idea who the author was and I wasn't 100% sure it was the first book in a series or now. But I liked what I saw and so I checked it out.
A few days later, the local radio show I listen to mentioned the author and the film The Golden Compass as the answer to a trivia question. It was at this point I realized just who Philip Pullman was! While I've never read any of Pullman's previous works, I knew that the British author was rather critical of religion to the point members of my church or maybe my mother-in-law's deemed his books unreadable.
While I have retained this library book for a few weeks, I debated over whether to read and later review this book or not. I didn't want to read something that hates my savior, Jesus Christ. But I also felt that I needed to research Pullman's beliefs about Christianity before passing judgement on this book. So I read up some of him and came to feel that while I don't agree with his views on God/Christ/The Bible, I wouldn't deny him the chance to say it- as long as Philip Pullman allows me to have my views. First Amendment Rights, Baby!
I was also a bit concerned about making parents upset about reviewing and possibly promoting a book from such a controversial writer. But after thinking about it, I realized that I didn't start Family Comic Friday to ban books but to help parents and guardians navigate the tricky road that is all ages comics and graphic novels. So as long as there wasn't something evil to the level of demon possession or those kind of horror films, I would give The Adventures of John Blake a read.
Now my review...
The Adventures of John Blake is about the title hero, a young boy who finds himself stranded on an 1920s era ocean steamer that roams through the seven seas of the past, present and future. A shadowy billionaire is aware of the reports of a time-travelling ship. This magnate is the creator of a pervasive piece of social media tech. It is the tycoon's hope to discover the secret of John Blake's ability to time travel, in order to complete his goal of global domination!
Meanwhile in the modern day, a family takes a gap year to sail around the world. During a maelstrom, one of the children is knocked into the swirling Pacific Ocean. To the rescue is John ,who fishes the young girl out of the ocean just before the boat treks once more through a time warp. Now stuck in the distant past, this young girl must battle pirates, the elements and time itself in order to get back home!
I really thought that this book was great. It's just not for kids. Well, young kids, at least. There's mild swears, killing and violence galore. I just don't see this as being for Amazon's recommended audience of 8-12 years old. I think even with the college level of technobabble about time travel and quantum physics, I'm not sure if a lot of 12 year olds will enjoy this book. But a reader aged 15 or older will probably be all over this book.
As for my fear of this Phillip Pullman work being anti-Christian, there was nothing to fear. If anything, The Adventures of John Blake is Pullman's dissertation warning against the dangers of social media. Instead of Jesus Christ, I see Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg being the objects of scorn in this book.
This is the first appearance of John Blake in any medium. But with this book having been published in early 2017, I'm not sure if there will ever be a follow-up. True, the pandemic has thrown everything for a loop. But considering that most young adult series have a new release every year to 18 months in order to maintain an active readership, waiting 5 years in between releases seems to indicate that Mr. Pullman doesn't have any plans to follow-up with further adventures of young John Blake.
A great book that showed promise for more. It's just unlikely we'll ever see a book 2.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
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