The Supernaturalist

Colfer is best known for his humorous fantasies -- like the Artemis Fowl series -- and I expected this to be more of the same. Although this has some humour interspersed, especially early on, in fact it's a pretty dour -- and really fairly damn' fine -- piece of science fiction. In a future dystopian city, young Cosmo escapes from the sadistic clutches of those who run the orphanage in which he's been incarcerated and used as a guinea pig for various potentially lethal drugs and allies himself with a gang of outcasts who, like himself, can see the ethereal parasites that, Valkyrie-like, cluster to any scene of death, the grosser the better, and feast upon the souls of the dying. Using technology they have developed, the outcasts show more slaughter as many of these being as they can, despite the ignorant efforts of the city authorities to stop them. But is everything the way Cosmo and his buddies think it is? This is a surprisingly serious, surprisingly good piece of work. show less

Cosmo Hill, nosponsor, orphan at Clarissa Frayne. Guinea pig for new chemicals and medicines. One of hundreds of thousands who long to be free of the dreadful orphanages. He has one friend, Ziploc. Well, if you could call him a friend. He was a nosponser like the rest of them, and the only one with the audacity to talk more than needed. If anything, Ziploc would get him into more trouble than he already was.
And that’s exactly what happens. When Ziploc, chained to Cosmo, jumps off a building to avoid being taken back to Clarissa Frayne, Cosmo is pulled with him. With the accident comes terrible consequences – Ziploc dies almost immediately from the force of the impact. But Cosmo…Cosmo is different. He’s alive, yes, but he’s show more also seeing things. The little blue creatures around him are sucking the life out of him - he can see the life flowing through their small bodies and back into the sky. It is then that the Supernaturalists come to Cosmo’s rescue, saving his life and killing many of the life-sucking Parasites. Cosmo soon discovers that he and only a few other people can see these blue Parasites, and he is pulled right into a mystery that he never would have dreamed existed.
If you’ve read my review for Colfer’s newer novel, Airman, you know that I’m a fan. This was my second Colfer book and once again, I was thoroughly impressed. I picked it up because I needed a filler for my free time, unsure of what I would find behind the cover of the book or if I would like it. However, I found within the first twenty pages that I loved it. Not only is it written fantastically well, but it has an atmosphere that was entirely unexpected. It takes place in a futuristic world, one where you would expect people to be living large. A world where everything is perfect. Where everyone has jobs and everyone is happy. At least, that’s what you would believe if you lived in the upper class of society. But this book takes place in the slums, where food is scarce, clothes are torn and used thin. Where children are trying to survive and gangs are strong and hard and cold.
The characters are believable, even with their strange, futuristic attributes and/or their flaws. Stephan is by far my favorite. Dark, handsome, tall…trying to be a leader but unsure of how exactly to help those around him. He loves his friends with a sacrificial love and only wants to rid the world of the Parasites that are sucking the life out of us all.
And the writing… Colfer is one of those writers who knows what he’s doing. He’s got the story structure, the characters – and the style. He is his own voice, and his voice carries like a shout in the mountains – one that echoes and echoes and echoes. One that will always be remembered.
I encourage you to read this book. show less

As an unwanted child, fourteen year old Cosmo Hill is determined to be free from the forbidding Clarissa Frayne Institute for Parentally Challenged Boys. The orphans are treated like lab rats and the average life expectancy at the institute is just fifteen years. Cosmo knows he must escape. But in the dark streets of Satellite City, in a time not too far from now, greater dangers await him in the outside world…
A ghost-like blue creature lands on Cosmo’s chest and starts to feed on his life force. In the nick of time a curious gang of kids turn up and rescue him. They are the Supernaturalists: dedicated to ridding the world of these life-sucking blue parasites. The gang adopt Cosmo and in this unlikely new ‘family’ he must learn show more fast; on each death-defying mission, using Bond-type technology, to help the Supernaturalists destroy the creatures. The missions lead Cosmo into a world of high-level corruption where the gang must avoid the authorities, especially the Lawyers and Paralegals, who act like present-day Police. Paralegals are a ‘three-way cross between lawyers, paratroopers and pit bulls’. The adults of the Supercity, however, should not underestimate the Supernaturalists, as they prove themselves a force to be reckoned with and certainly not a bunch of ‘naturists running around with no clothes on’.
This is fantastic, non-stop action for the older reader. Colfer’s use of technology – from texting to nitrous injection drag racing – enriches his futuristic tale. The soulless Satellite City, full of gangs and garbage, may paint a somewhat bleak future but this is mainly a story about extreme heroism and friendship.

The Artemis Fowl series has been described as Die Hard with fairies. The Supernaturalist is heralded as the Matrix meets Ghostbusters. Colfer has carved out a funky little genre all on his own: he writes exciting adventures that are funny and futuristic, page-turning and realistic. They're not fantasy, but his books are fantastical. They've got a bit of magic about them, without being overtly magical in the Harry Potter sense.
To create one memorable fictional kid is a talent, to create a second is mastery. The world of Cosmo Hill may be far removed from that of Artemis Fowl but the air tastes the same, the action is break neck and the underlying themes of crazy adolescence, noisy shoot outs and nothing being quite what it seems should keep Colfer fans panting for more. show less

Summary: In Satellite City, a huge metropolis controlled by the Myishi Corp. satellite hovering overhead, private teams of rapid-response lawyers arrive at crime scenes before the city police, suspects are tagged with guns that shoot immobilizing cellophane wrap, and all manner of horrible substances are product-tested on the city's "no-sponsor" orphans. Cosmo Hill is a 14-year old orphans, until the day when a malfunction of the satellite causes an accident, allowing him to escape from his sadistic keepers. Unfortunately, his escape attempt goes wrong, and he has to be rescued by The Supernaturalists - a rag-tag group including an ex-gang member mechanic, a 28-year-old stuck in the body of a 6-year-old due to genetic manipulation, and show more a moody obsessive ex-police cadet. Their mission is to hunt and destroy the parasites: blue creatures only they - and Cosmo - can see, that suck the life force from injured people... and are multiplying out of control.

Review: This is the second Eoin Colfer book I've read (the other is Half-Moon Investigations), and although I haven't read the Artemis Fowl books for which he's most famous, what's impressed me the most so far is his ability to write relatively gender-neutral young adult books that are slick, intelligent, funny, believable, and most importantly, don't talk down to their audience. The Supernaturalist is not a whiz-bang stand-out, but I liked the characters, thought the world-building was creative and self-consistent, laughed more than once, and got absorbed enough in the plot that I barely noticed the time passing (important when on a long-distance drive!). Parts of the ending I predicted almost from the outset, but there were still enough twists and turns to keep me surprised and interested. Also, I thought Chiwetel Ejiofor (yes, the actor) did a very nice job with the narration, doing a good job making the characters distinguishable and giving the book a bit of gravitas it might not have had on its own. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: I didn't love this book, but I definitely enjoyed it, and sometimes that's all you really need. Not an "oh-my-god-you-must-read-this-NOW" recommendation, but if you're in the mood for a dose of quick-reading young-adult sci-fi escapism, Eoin Colfer's The Supernaturalist is definitely a name to keep in mind. show less

In this gem of teen speculative fiction, Cosmo Hill makes a death-defying escape from an abusive orphanage, only to be propelled into a rogue group of spook-chasing youths. As the plot unfolds, Cosmo learns about eerie similarities between life in the orphanage and his new life as a Supernaturalist. Fans of Colfer’s typical wit, humor, and creativity will again be thrilled. However, I have to admit that I was a much bigger fan of the Artemis Fowl books. This book had a more obvious opening for a sequel, and some of the plot twists were predictable, even if they were cute. If you are an Eoin Colfer fan, this book is definitely well worth a read. If you are new to the author, try Artemis Fowl first.

This is definitely not a book to be read in a ‘silence-only’ place, as Colfer’s unmistakeable brand of humour is present on every page, with witty quips and hilarious one-liners that will have a reader laughing out loud with glee. A style of humour that is briefly glimpsed in the Artemis Fowl series lives up to its full potential in The Supernaturalist, made possible by a series of cleverly designed, wisecracking characters.

Colfer’s skill with writing fast paced action scenes is incredible. Having read a few books recently that had a go at action and failed, I noticed an impressive contrast with the action in The Supernaturalist. Scenes involving nitrous-oxide-powered-car racing, warehouse gun-fights and nuclear explosions all show more enable Colfer to brew up more of his masterfully-written, fast-as-a-movie style action that will have readers on the edges of their seats, grinning madly.

In my opinion, however, the most brilliant aspect of this book is the setting. Colfer has succeeded spectacularly in creating a realistic, imaginative future scene, and has even more realistically practised talking about that future as though he were in it, and everything were perfectly normal. Comments such as those regarding a very old truck, (so old that it actually had real rubber tyres instead of plastic treads,) make real a dingy future where the modern city is situated under a satellite that stores information, and nobody ventures outside without a gas mask when the refraction of sunlight turns the city smog any colour too close to red. It was this wonderful ambience that gave me such fond memories of The Supernaturalist from my first reading two years ago, and compelled me to read it again. It’s a must-have for people such as Future Problem Solvers who want to practise thinking futuristically and creatively.

This book gets both thumbs up from me – in my opinion, it’s just as good as Artemis Fowl. Highly recommended for fans of Colfer’s work, and anybody else who likes books. show less

Satellite City: the city of the future, where air pollution has changed the color of the sky, lawyers are the first responders to accidents or violence, and orphans are sent to the Clarissa Frayne Institute for Paternally Challenged Boys where they serve as guinea pigs for product, drug and weapons testing until they die. One such orphan is Cosmo Hill, who dreams of escape. One day he gets his chance when a malicious guard chases him and he is nearly killed. As he lies in excruciating pain, a blue creature, invisible to most people, begins to suck away his life force. He is rescued by three young people who take him and nurse him back to health. This group is the Supernaturalists. They are the self-appointed guardians of the human race show more who are trying to annihilate the blue creatures that are invisible to most people. As Cosmo starts to work with them he feels part of a family for the first time. However, the group soon discovers that they are working for the very thing they thought they were working against. Their friendship is tested and nobility prevails.

This is a disturbing and believable portrait of a future world, destroyed by pollution and corrupted by greed. The rules of this world are consistently followed and internally logical. The characters and events are compelling. Colfer creates tense action scenes and build suspense through the book. It is appropriate for grades 5 and up. show less