Review: Weak Compared to the Books That Came Before
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 6, 2013
I picked up one of the books in this series when it was offered for free.  I quickly became hooked on the series and have now read the first 5 books.  While I have a couple of complaints, overall the series has been well worth the read, and I know I will be purchasing the remaining books soon.Complaint #1: As has been mentioned by other reviewers, there are many spelling and grammar errors that slipped by the editor (if there was one), and this appears to be true of all of the books in the series, at least through the first 5 that I have read.  A word to Indie authors -- recruit more people to read your work and look for errors!  While this really turns some people off, I found it only a minor nuisance.  It has not prevented me from enjoying the stories.Complaint #2: The pace is way too slow in some places.  I'm not a reader who has to have non-stop action from beginning to end.  Slower moments can be used effectively to help us understand the characters and the situation, but in more than one of the books, some of these slow moments went on way too long and I found myself skimming the pages instead of reading them so that I could get to something more interesting.As for this particular book, I found it to be a little weaker than the books that preceded it (hence only 3 stars where I would give the series as a whole 4 stars).  Too much of the "slow moments."  Also, the characters of John and Colin bothered me even more than in book 4.  When reading fiction, it's not uncommon for readers to need to occasionally disconnect themselves from reality a bit in order to make the plot work, and I see nothing wrong with this depending on how often it happens and just how far I have to disconnect.  The actions that John was getting away with at school, and the treatment of Colin by staff and students went more than a little overboard, in my opinion.  I particularly was bothered with the scene in this book where Colin stops for the stranded motorists.  He knows things are falling apart.  News of civil unrest is constant.  The police officer warns him of trouble, yet he stops for people he doesn't know, notices all sorts of signs that there's something suspicious going on and ignores them, etc.  I have grandchildren half his age that wouldn't make the mistakes he made.  It just didn't ring true.In spite of these weaknesses, I could encourage you to read the Comet Clement series.  I think you will enjoy it.