Review: Treasure hunt in the future
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 14, 2013
"Eldorado" takes place in the future - when fossil fuels have almost disappeared and only the government and very rich are able to get supplies of oil and gasoline. Also climate change has affected the ability to produce hydroelectric power.Richard Hampton, a gardening teacher at East Vancouver Community College in British Columbia, is guardian to his younger brother, Danny.  This post-apocalyptic tale centers on Richard trying to find Danny after he disappears, running afoul of fellow survivors, gangs, a prostitution ring, and a quasi-militia group.I thought the main characters were well drawn, if a little naive. The story kept my interest all the way through. I loved Zonk, the dog. And the female characters were shown as strong, decisive, and flexible thinking.  The romances in the book were handled a bit awkwardly but then this is post-apocalyptic fiction, not a romance novel. It would have done better to leave most of the romance out IMO.My main negative of the book is that this future Vancouver-Surrey area is not described in very much detail. The cities and the people were rather vague. I would have liked to have read more about gardening techniques, feeding of the thousands of homeless people, etc. You know - the details.But the book was a fun read and I enjoyed it.