Published by: Balzer+Bray, April 28th 2015
Genre: MG, Mystery, (slight) Science Fiction
Pages: 336
Format: Ebook
Source: Balzer+Bray, via Edelweiss
The first middle grade novel in an exciting new series from acclaimed author Diana Peterfreund, perfect for fans of The Goonies and The City of Ember.
Gillian Seagret doesn't listen to people who say her father's a crackpot. His conspiracy theories about the lost technology of Cold War–era rocket scientist Dr. Aloysius Underberg may have cost him his job and forced them to move to the middle of nowhere, but Gillian knows he's right and plans to prove it.
When she discovers a missing page from Dr. Underberg's diary in her father's mess of an office, she thinks she's found a big piece of the puzzle—a space-themed riddle promising to lead to Dr. Underberg's greatest invention. Enlisting the help of her skeptical younger brother, Eric, her best friend, Savannah, and Howard, their NASA-obsessed schoolmate, Gillian sets off on a journey into the ruins of Omega City, a vast doomsday bunker deep inside the earth,.
But they aren't alone inside its dark and flooded halls. For while Gillian wants to save her dad's reputation by bringing Dr. Underberg's secrets to light, there are others who will stop at nothing to make sure they stay buried . . . forever.
Continuing the trend of this years fine-but-not-amazing middle grade, Omega City is a pretty okay story. The mystery has lots of twists and turns but I did see a lot of them coming, some things were fairly fun (rocket; scuba diving up a lift chute) but I wasn't that interested, the characters are fine even if they don't stand out, but they do have a genuine motive for what they do, even if it's just wanting to get out of the city, or Gillian wanting to clear her dad's name. I liked that it wasn't just empty actions, or for the sake of fun, kids being kids. That was pretty good.
What really impressed me was the world of Omega City, the underground war bunker CITY. Now, that was just cool. I liked that it wasn't pristine, that it was in ruins, and that it still housed a perfectly functional rocket. I thought the snippets of history woven in fit the story perfectly and give the city - and Underberg - meaning.
But other than that? I was fairly bored, reading for the sake of finishing a novel. The sci-fi wasn't sci-fi enough for me, and the mystery wasn't all that mysterious. All in all, a decent story with a good concept but nothing to write home about in my opinion.
((I give it 3 stars but it's nearer 2.5 really))
What really impressed me was the world of Omega City, the underground war bunker CITY. Now, that was just cool. I liked that it wasn't pristine, that it was in ruins, and that it still housed a perfectly functional rocket. I thought the snippets of history woven in fit the story perfectly and give the city - and Underberg - meaning.
But other than that? I was fairly bored, reading for the sake of finishing a novel. The sci-fi wasn't sci-fi enough for me, and the mystery wasn't all that mysterious. All in all, a decent story with a good concept but nothing to write home about in my opinion.
((I give it 3 stars but it's nearer 2.5 really))
Characters ★★★☆☆
Setting/world-building ★★★☆☆
Writing ★★★☆☆
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