The Comet's Curse: Dom Testa: Young Adult Fiction Review

Book: The Comet's Curse: A Galahad Book
Author: Dom Testa
Pages: 240
Age Range: 12 and up 

Background: It's fairly common for me to run across a review that makes me want to read the book someday. What's less common is when a review makes me immediately click through to order the title, so that I can read it as soon as possible. Paige Y's review of The Comet's Curse: A Galahad Book had the latter effect. It's not so much that it was a rave review (though she calls it "a truly enjoyable read for me"), but that the premise struck me. The Comet's Curse reminds me of one of the first science fiction series to capture my imagination: Ben Bova's Exiles Trilogy. And I had to read it.

Review: The Comet's Curse, by Dom Testa, takes place in the not-too-distant future. When the comet Bhaktul passes close to earth, it leaves a terrible disease in its wake. A disease that begins slowly killing everyone over the age of 18. When a cure seems impossible, a far-thinking scientist, Dr. Zimmer, proposes an outrageous plan. He convinces various governments to work together to build a space ship, a ship to be populated entirely by 251 teenagers. These teens will travel through space for five years, and hopefully colonize an Earth-like planet in another solar system, thus preserving humanity.

The Comet's Curse, the first in a projected six-book series, charts the first stage in the teens' journey. The story begins with the Galahad's launch. Flashback chapters detail the background of Bhaktul, the development of the Galahad project, and the selection of the 251 teens. The present-day chapters, on the ship, are told from the shifting perspectives of a few of the teens, and from the perspective of the ship's intelligent computer controller, Roc. The flashbacks are mainly from the perspective of Dr. Zimmer, but also include various other adults, including the parents of some of the teens.

This structure makes the book feel more like an old-style science fiction novel (like the Exiles Trilogy) than modern young adult fiction. There's a lot of retrospective explanation, which slows the pace of the book a bit. And the shifting, frequently adult perspectives make it somewhat difficult for the reader to connect with the teen protagonists. However, the book still worked for me, perhaps because I found the premise so intriguing (or perhaps because the story had a nostalgic appeal). In any event, I would expect these issues of narration and backstory to be less of a factor in future books of the series, once the teens are fully off on their journey.

The primary teen protagonist, ship's captain Triana Martell from Colorado, though likeable, is self-contained to the point being aloof. The other members of the ship's governing Council are a multicultural lot (Chinese, black/British, Mexican, and Swedish), to the extent of feeling a tad contrived. I also noticed that although all of the teens have been selected on the basis of their physical and mental prowess and self-confidence, they seem to all be strikingly attractive, too. Kind of like the new 90210, except more diverse and set in space, complete with a love triangle or two. None of this makes the book any less readable - but these things did stand out for me.

I actually thought that the computer had the most engaging personality. (Reminiscent of Ender's A.I. friend Jane, in the Speaker for the Dead series by Orson Scott Card.) Here's my favorite passage (from Roc's perspective):

"Gap knew that I had seen the movies, so of course he had to be Joe Comedian one day and call me R2D2. What a shame the heat didn't work very well in his room the next couple of days. I don't know how that could've happened." (Page 89 - I like a computer with a sense of humor)

One issue that was not addressed in The Comet's Curse that I would have liked to see was the question of potential babies. Galahad is equipped for the 251 teens (all around 15-16 years old), and there are actually (due to technical problems) only 240 seats on the small "lifeboats" designed to transport them to their eventual destination. It seems to me that in five years, there would be a pretty good chance of some children being born on that spaceship. And it seems that this would be a good thing, if these kids are going to be all that's left of the human race. But this possibility is never mentioned, despite frequent references to which fellow members of the crew the protagonists "like". I found this glossing over of even the possibility of sex unrealistic in a young adult novel. 

Still, there are larger issues tackled in The Comet's Curse (as Paige mentioned in her review). There's the general question of whether it was right for scientists to devote scarce resources to saving 251 teens, instead of working on a cure for the billions of others people on earth. As a reader, I wondered whether there wouldn't have been some other way to keep humanity going - could people reproduce earlier in life? Was anyone immune to the disease? These are the kind of questions that make "end of the world" novels so endlessly compelling.

And make no mistake. I did find The Comet's Curse compelling. I'm eager to read the other books in the series (it appears that books 2 and 3 were previously self-published, but aren't yet available from new publisher Tor). Here's the opening passage of the book, to give you a sense of Testa's writing:

"There are few sights more beautiful. For all of the spectacular sunsets along a beach, or vivid rainbows arcing over a mist-covered forest, or high mountain pastures exploding with wildflowers, nothing could compare to this. This embraced every breathtaking scene. Mother Earth, in all of her supreme glory, spinning in a showcase of wonder. No picture, no television image, no movie scene could ever do her justice. From 200 miles up it's spellbinding, hypnotic.

Which made saying good-bye even more difficult." (Page 13, Chapter 1)

If the idea of 251 teens setting out on their own on a spaceship the size of a shopping mall captures your imagination, then this is the book for you. Worth a look for science fiction and dystopia fans, teens and adults.

Publisher: Tor Teen
Publication Date: January 20, 2009
Source of Book: Bought it
Other Blog Reviews: Reading and Breathing (this is the review that made me want to read the book), Kiss the Book, LibraryRocks, and BlogCritics. There's also a bit of a rant about this book (it's not a standard review) at The Friday Challenge

© 2010 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. All Amazon links in this post are affiliate links, and may result in my receiving a small commission on purchases (with no additional cost to you).

Comments

[PJ Hoover]

Okay, sold. I just added it to my wishlist for the next time I order.
I love TOR adult fantasy books but haven't read many of their YA titles. It seems like they're coming out with more and more.

[Jen Robinson]

I hope you like it, PJ. I'm glad to see Tor publishing more YA science fiction, too. I know that I loved SF when I was a teen - and I would have loved more books with teen protagonists then.

This book does feel more like an adult novel than many YA books (just in style, there's no mature content), which I guess makes sense, if Tor is just making their way in a YA direction. Thanks for helping me see this more clearly!

[Deva Fagan]

Ooo! Just added it to my to-read list. Nice to see more space-going science fiction!

The description reminds me a little of a tv show I remember enjoying very much as a kid in the 80s called Earth Star Voyager (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Star_Voyager), which also featured a spaceship full of hand-picked kids on a long journey.

[Jen Robinson]

I hope you like it, Deva. I missed Earth Star Voyager (looks like I would have been in college - didn't watch much TV them), but it sounds like something I would have enjoyed. There is something very appealing about the premise of kids going on a long journey through space.

[Tammy Dahle]

You sold me at comparison to Ender's Game-he's about the only author that can help me wrap my mind around Science Fiction. The Comet's Curse has been added to my wish list. Great review!

[Jen Robinson]

Thanks, Tammy. I hope that you like it!

[Deva Fagan]

Coming back to mention another book that just popped into my mind as I was thinking about books featuring teens on long space journeys, in case you haven't heard of it and were interested in possible read-alikes. The book is EARTHSEED by Pamela Sargent and it features a colony ship of teens who were born in space and raised by an AI.

It was one of my childhood favorites! (I blogged about it here)

[Jen Robinson]

Thanks for recommending this, Deva. I edited your link to make it live, so that it would be easier for people to click through. I've just ordered it from my library. It does sound like something that I would really like.

I'm thinking of re-reading Ben Bova's Exiles Trilogy, too...

[Paige Y.]

The author emailed me after I wrote the review, and I mentioned to him that the review reminded me of the Star Trek episode "Miri" -- the Enterprise goes to a planet where all the adults have died from a virus, leaving only the children. As the children reach adolescence, they too get the virus. Mr. Testa responded that he remembered the episode but didn't particularly like it.

I had not considered the sex angle. I guess I was so happy to find some pure science fiction that would be appropriate for the younger middle school crowd, that it didn't occur to me. Thanks for bringing it up.

[Jen Robinson]

Thanks for the recommendation, Paige. I wasn't a Star Trek person, so I never saw that episode. But it's neat that you got the author's feedback on it.

As for the sex angle, I do completely agree with you that it was nice that the book was clean, straight science fiction. I wouldn't have wanted it to be a romance novel or anything. But still, some contrary streak in me made me say "yeah, but those 251 kids aren't going to last 5 years without adult supervision without THIS being an issue". I'll be interested to see if this is addressed in future books.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1148479165]

Thanks for the review, Jen. We read this series when it was self-published. This is what our teen reader had to say at the end of book 1: "You really know you’ve read a good book when you start to feel as you read the last few pages that you don’t want the story to end. You start feeling pangs of regret that you’re about to leave characters you’ve become fond of and involved with and that you’ll never know what happens to them. This book has all the elements of a good story – plot situation, characters you care about, and believable dialogue."

It is interesting how we look at teens, though. I tend to "read" teenagers like you do, particularly when it comes to sex. I guess our teen didn't make make that leap.

[Jen Robinson]

Thanks for sharing that, Terry (others, the above is from Terry at The Reading Tub). It's great to see a kid's perspective on the book. Now sure what it says about me that I made that leap, but that your teen reader didn't. (grin). But really, that's a great little endorsement!

[Jaymie]

This one caught my attention, too, when I read about it on another blog. You are right - this is a must read.

[Jen Robinson]

Thanks for the feedback, Jaymie. It is an irresistible premise for sure.

[aquafortis]

Interesting--it does sound very old-style...including the lack of sex. :) But intriguing, for sure.

I couldn't help thinking about that movie Night of the Comet, which scared the heck out of me as a little kid. Not really similar, but evidently it left me with lifelong horrible memories!

[Kate Coombs]

Coincidentally, I just read this book last week, so it was fun to get your take on it. I thought it was a bit air-brushed stylistically, but basically a well-told tale. I'm interested to see how the story evolves. And frankly, there's not enough sci-fi out there for young readers, so I'm rooting for this series.

[Jen Robinson]

Oh, Sarah, I remember that movie! I was a bit older than you, so not so scarred by it. But I wonder if it contributed to my interest in apocalyptic sorts of stories.

And Kate, I'm rooting for this series, too. I completely agree that there's not enough SciFi coming out for younger readers.

[Michelle]

Now I'm adding this to my TBR pile. I wonder if some of the issues you mention (ie: potential for children) will be addressed in future books. Like you said, it seems odd not to have mentioned it at all.

[Jen Robinson]

I hope you like it, Michelle. The author actually emailed me, and he mentioned that he'd been thinking about that issue (children). So perhaps it will be addressed eventually. I'm looking forward to reading future books in the series, in part to learn the answers to questions like this...