Review of Sent to Watch
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Cosme Herrera Jr
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- Latest Review: Sent to Watch by David J. Lebenstein
Review of Sent to Watch
[Following is a volunteer review of "Sent to Watch" by David J. Lebenstein.]
The book Sent to Watch is a science fiction adventure that I believe anyone who wants to experience the complications life can throw at you while you try to adapt your life around it needs to read. I would rate the book a 4 out of 5 stars. It demonstrates through its characters how even if one's life does not go the way they planned it, that does not mean they did not live a good life.
The story follows several characters who change names throughout the story, so I will just list the names of three characters I believe should be considered main protagonists. Their names are Ortees, Ori, and Unna. If I were to describe these three, I would say that Unna starts off as a character that is so focused on making sure that everything goes according to plan that she forgets that part of the plan should involve her own happiness. Ortees is best described as the character that has everyone's back even at the cost of his own. Ori is someone who is focused on his goals, but as he experiences more things, he learns what he truly wants in life. These three and a few others come together to do one thing. They all want the mission to succeed. This mission brings love, loss, secrets, and more, and I encourage everyone to read it.
That being said, there are a few things that I believe could be changed to improve the book.
For example, there are mentions of several in-universe languages, such as Botvraytish and Omtvumxian, but we are never given any mention of how any of these languages sound. I believe the addition of a brief sentence or two about how these otherworldly languages sound would improve the reader's ability to imagine how comparable these languages are to the ones we have here in our world.
These additions could be placed in the glossary section in their own category or under the names of the places where languages come from. Another thing that I would like to mention about this book is there are sections within this book that I believe need to be revised for clarification purposes. For example, in chapter 27, on page 437, there is a line that says, "These moves were to occur in springtime, consistent with the concept of the natives." This line, I believe, needs to be revised because when I read that line in the story, it felt like there were a few words missing from it, or the quote was meant to justify why the characters did not execute those particular parts of the plan immediately when it was being discussed. Another example is a line from chapter 22,i] School Days/i] page 356, where there was a line that says, "Tell me, Grandma Weatherby, what policies would you enact to achieve your goal?"
This is said by one of the characters when referring to the other character's potential future son, so I believe this to be an error; however, I can also see it potentially being an in-universe misunderstanding of the phrase and levels of kinship by the older speaker, so clarification on that part would be most beneficial to the reader.
Overall, I believe that the book Sent to Watch has its flaws, but it does not stop one from enjoying this science fiction take on the curveballs life throws at you as you experience more of life.
******
Sent to Watch
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The book Sent to Watch is a science fiction adventure that I believe anyone who wants to experience the complications life can throw at you while you try to adapt your life around it needs to read. I would rate the book a 4 out of 5 stars. It demonstrates through its characters how even if one's life does not go the way they planned it, that does not mean they did not live a good life.
The story follows several characters who change names throughout the story, so I will just list the names of three characters I believe should be considered main protagonists. Their names are Ortees, Ori, and Unna. If I were to describe these three, I would say that Unna starts off as a character that is so focused on making sure that everything goes according to plan that she forgets that part of the plan should involve her own happiness. Ortees is best described as the character that has everyone's back even at the cost of his own. Ori is someone who is focused on his goals, but as he experiences more things, he learns what he truly wants in life. These three and a few others come together to do one thing. They all want the mission to succeed. This mission brings love, loss, secrets, and more, and I encourage everyone to read it.
That being said, there are a few things that I believe could be changed to improve the book.
For example, there are mentions of several in-universe languages, such as Botvraytish and Omtvumxian, but we are never given any mention of how any of these languages sound. I believe the addition of a brief sentence or two about how these otherworldly languages sound would improve the reader's ability to imagine how comparable these languages are to the ones we have here in our world.
These additions could be placed in the glossary section in their own category or under the names of the places where languages come from. Another thing that I would like to mention about this book is there are sections within this book that I believe need to be revised for clarification purposes. For example, in chapter 27, on page 437, there is a line that says, "These moves were to occur in springtime, consistent with the concept of the natives." This line, I believe, needs to be revised because when I read that line in the story, it felt like there were a few words missing from it, or the quote was meant to justify why the characters did not execute those particular parts of the plan immediately when it was being discussed. Another example is a line from chapter 22,i] School Days/i] page 356, where there was a line that says, "Tell me, Grandma Weatherby, what policies would you enact to achieve your goal?"
This is said by one of the characters when referring to the other character's potential future son, so I believe this to be an error; however, I can also see it potentially being an in-universe misunderstanding of the phrase and levels of kinship by the older speaker, so clarification on that part would be most beneficial to the reader.
Overall, I believe that the book Sent to Watch has its flaws, but it does not stop one from enjoying this science fiction take on the curveballs life throws at you as you experience more of life.
******
Sent to Watch
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Sent to Watch by David J. Lebenstein
