Sean Randall reviewed Idlewild by Nick Sagan
Review of 'Idlewild' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
People are calling Sagan everything from a revolutionary to a thief, this debut novel has folk up in arms with rapture, for the most part.
I like Paul Skevington's character summation - he writes: "we are presented with a very realistic and credible depiction of a group of teenagers who are teetering on the edge of a grim precipice that they will be lucky to escape from."
I agree with the point, also; rather than just liking the sentiment - the characters are certainly nicely done and their world a terrifyingly real place.
what I wondered about was the perceived arrogance of the characters, running mostly throughout the book. because they've spent their lives in virtual reality, been educated to an extremely high standard, and placed in a world where the nature and the nurture are completely aligned, it's obvious that the native intelligence of the characters is higher than …
People are calling Sagan everything from a revolutionary to a thief, this debut novel has folk up in arms with rapture, for the most part.
I like Paul Skevington's character summation - he writes: "we are presented with a very realistic and credible depiction of a group of teenagers who are teetering on the edge of a grim precipice that they will be lucky to escape from."
I agree with the point, also; rather than just liking the sentiment - the characters are certainly nicely done and their world a terrifyingly real place.
what I wondered about was the perceived arrogance of the characters, running mostly throughout the book. because they've spent their lives in virtual reality, been educated to an extremely high standard, and placed in a world where the nature and the nurture are completely aligned, it's obvious that the native intelligence of the characters is higher than that of the average Human. Even working on the law of averages we can assume that despite whatever other weaknesses they may possess (immune system deficiencies, psychological disturbances etc), person for person they are rather clever. It's odd to see the reverse in fiction, the breed of 'superman' always seems to have brought with it a contempt for humankind. While the case is somewhat different here (the characters are teens, they have almost been programmed to save the world) there's still a great deal, an overwhelming number, of flaws in their makeup.
Still, that aside, it's an interesting read. Enjoyable, too - kept me on the edge of my seat and up until the wee hours. I've deliberately been vague about the plot because the thing comes together in its own time rather well and reading too much about it would have surely spoiled it for me.