Sean Williams (1) (1967–)

Twinmaker drew me in as no book has in a very long time. I've read a lot of dystopian YA books, but very few have been as fast-paced as this one. Williams has created an absolutely fantastic world--it's very clear that every single detail has been hashed out in his mind. There's no time wasted with menial explanation of minor terms, but instead, we as readers pick up the terminology as we go.

Though initially the characters feel a little superficial, once the main conflict comes out, we're show more confronted with characters who are very three-dimensional. Clair, our main character, is faced with struggles that are given no obvious solution and is quite relatable. Though she's from a futuristic society that is quite dissimilar to ours, she's easy to relate to.

The world is about a hundred years from now, and as such, technology has vastly advanced, as has government. Despite this, the world fels realistic--we can see this happening in our society. We don't need to be computer geeks or tech whizzes to understand the way things are and how the world operates. Society is immensely different yet it still has the same basic fundamentals that mean we can easily put ourselves in the shoes of the characters.

And Twinmaker is far from just-another-one-of-those-dystopian-books. It raises moral and philosophical questions that seem to have no answer and have us thinking even when we're not reading.

However, I am a very frustrated reader right now, because I need the third book, and I need it now. show less

Grades: 9-12
Characterization: Very Good
Literary Value: Very Good
Recommendation: Recommended

Summary:
Sean wakes up one morning to a strangely silent world and soon comes to the realization that he has lost his hearing. After many visits to specialists, it becomes clear that Sean’s hearing will most likely never return. This would be a blow to anyone, but Sean is a musician and cannot conceive of life without music. Being deaf has seemingly taken away his greatest passion and at the same time show more left him without a plan for the future since his goal had been to major in music in college. Sean begins attending classes to learn sign language and even meets G, a girl he really likes and can understand what he is going through better than most people because she has tinnitus, a condition in which ears detect sounds that aren’t really there. Even with G’s friendship and the support of his family, Sean hasn’t really accepted his fate. He resists learning Auslan (Australian sign language), relying on app on his phone to communicate, and he rejects his therapist’s efforts to get him to become a part of the (capital D) Deaf community. Then Sean has an idea to create silent music that would be experienced by deaf and hearing people in the same way, and he begins to contemplate what his life as a Deaf person could be.

Review:
Impossible Music is a unique coming of age tale about a guy who thinks he has his life figured out until an unexpected and inexplicable event occurs. Sean is a very realistic and relatable character, especially for readers who have experienced the sudden onset of an illness or medical condition. The novel also offers insight into the Deaf community - and the audism (prejudice against Deaf people) that they often experience. As Sean discovers, “It turns out the Deaf are not just one monolithic organization of identical clones.” Secondary characters including Sean’s parents and sister are well developed and realistically show the struggle to be supportive and understanding to someone in denial about their situation. Recommended for teens who enjoy realistic fiction especially those interested in reading about a teen with a disability. show less

"Odo and Eleanor did not set out to find their destiny. At best, they were hoping for eels."

These first two sentences set the tone for the whole story, which is full of wry humor, excellent characters, and dangerous adventure. Odo, seventh child of a miller, has no appetite for adventure, but when he pulls a sword out of the dwindling river, he has knighthood thrust upon him. Eleanor, who has always dreamed of being a knight like her mother, agrees to be Odo's squire, and the three of them show more head upriver to find the source of the problem. Along the way, they encounter kind people and bandits, blacksmiths and "urthkin" and apprentices and a knight who is not what she appears - and, at last, a dragon, Quenwulf, who dispenses justice to all.

See also: The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde (YA), Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains by Laurel Snyder, Minor Mage by Ursula Vernon/T. Kingfisher; Into the Land of the Unicorns by Bruce Coville, Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

"It's nothing to do with being a knight. It's just doing what's right."(Odo, 171)

"But Time marches on forgetful feet, as they say." (Wenneth, 196)

He'd been so sure when he left that he didn't want to be a knight. Now...he was almost sure he didn't want to be a miller's son again. (249) show less

Thank goodness for technology--I finished Twinmaker and had Crashland on my kindle within five minutes. These books are addictive.

While I knew I had to read this, I was skeptical going into Crashland. I thought that Twinmaker could easily have been a stand alone book and been tied up quite simply. So often, trilogies geared towards young adults have very strong leads and very lucklaster sequels. However, Crashland kept me tense and on the edge of my seat the whole way through.

The world show more Williams has created is very complex. Though at times it can be difficult to understand, we're guided with relative ease through the various groups of people that emerge politically in this sequel. While it's not about politics at all, there's a small gleam that raises interesting points about governance and how society would work under one government.

Like Twinmaker, Crashland raises a lot of interesting philosophical questions. It builds on ones previously raised--just when we thought these moral dilemmas were complex, they get even more so.

Clair really grows as a character, as she observes herself. She doesn't change too drastically--she evolves in a logical progression. The characters in these books are very well developed, many of them having their own motives and staying unpredictable in a way that makes sense.

There really was no way to guess where this book would go--Crashland moves at a rapid pace and despite the complexities of the world it's set in, is definitely comprehensible, though at times the plot gets rather complex and various groups of people are hard to keep track of.

Twinmaker and Crashland are fantastic--but Crashland's cliffhanger is immense. I need Hollowgirl, and I need it now. show less