Review by Adel_7 -- The Decision by Michael D. Komeshak
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Review by Adel_7 -- The Decision by Michael D. Komeshak
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Decision" by Michael D. Komeshak.]
Thirteen individuals with different personalities coming from different countries have been chosen to decide the fate of the Earth. For each decision they make, the aliens will help them fulfill it to have a better life.
The Decision by Michael D. Komeshak is, basically, a story of making decisions, but with aliens. Their purpose, as told by its representative named Micah, is to improve human life and further their knowledge especially in technology. However, the aliens have foreseen that the greatest barrier in achieving success in its full potential is overpopulation. As if the first two decisions the group made were not enough to cause ruckus among the 13 of them, the task of reducing the Earth’s population to 2.5 billion just added to the agony of deciding itself.
The story started in a flashback where the lead character, Jason, and his girlfriend, Sarah, was doing a Buddhist meditation in a Zen garden that she created. The way I understand it, in the final chapter, the flashback with Sarah was when he reached Nirvana. It was the time when he went to the courtyard to take a breather from making the final decision of whether to banish 2.5 billion people from Earth or do nothing and let go of the alien’s promise (of help). Burdened with the task of coming up with a resolution that is only up to him, and in which the other chosen ones didn’t know of, he decided to go out for a while to clear his mind. When he reached the end of the courtyard, he started to meditate and chant the Buddhist mantra hoping to find peace from all of the drama that happened in the last two days that they’ve been making decisions.
I initially thought that this is some typical story of aliens and alienation like in the movies I’ve watched and other books I’ve read. But I was wrong.
As I go along each chapter, I got more interested in how the characters discussed and presented their reasons and arguments in the decisions they made. At some point, I agreed and disagreed in most of them, making my own view of it as if I were in their shoes.
Although this is a work of fiction, it made me think and imagine, what if it really happens in real life? How would I weigh things, my basis, to give the right decision? And if I have made the decision, what made me made that decision? Most of all, is it the right decision? I saw myself inside the banquet hall as one of the characters and I felt the burden each of them has.
I got too deep in coming up with my own decision that it angered me for a while when Jason said ‘I’ve made my decision’ and, then, it stopped there. The feeling of wanting more of the story to continue is so strong that I was ready to argue with Jason if he decides to end 2.5 billion people! But it just, literally, ended there. Then, again, a part two is, probably, in the making. It’s up to Michael.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because there are no grammatical errors or misspelled words. Plus, the story, itself, is thought-provoking. I would recommend this book to all readers. Even kids as young as elementary pupils would find it interesting. And if they read it in groups, I’m sure that they’ll have a discussion, as well, like the characters in the story.
******
The Decision
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Thirteen individuals with different personalities coming from different countries have been chosen to decide the fate of the Earth. For each decision they make, the aliens will help them fulfill it to have a better life.
The Decision by Michael D. Komeshak is, basically, a story of making decisions, but with aliens. Their purpose, as told by its representative named Micah, is to improve human life and further their knowledge especially in technology. However, the aliens have foreseen that the greatest barrier in achieving success in its full potential is overpopulation. As if the first two decisions the group made were not enough to cause ruckus among the 13 of them, the task of reducing the Earth’s population to 2.5 billion just added to the agony of deciding itself.
The story started in a flashback where the lead character, Jason, and his girlfriend, Sarah, was doing a Buddhist meditation in a Zen garden that she created. The way I understand it, in the final chapter, the flashback with Sarah was when he reached Nirvana. It was the time when he went to the courtyard to take a breather from making the final decision of whether to banish 2.5 billion people from Earth or do nothing and let go of the alien’s promise (of help). Burdened with the task of coming up with a resolution that is only up to him, and in which the other chosen ones didn’t know of, he decided to go out for a while to clear his mind. When he reached the end of the courtyard, he started to meditate and chant the Buddhist mantra hoping to find peace from all of the drama that happened in the last two days that they’ve been making decisions.
I initially thought that this is some typical story of aliens and alienation like in the movies I’ve watched and other books I’ve read. But I was wrong.
As I go along each chapter, I got more interested in how the characters discussed and presented their reasons and arguments in the decisions they made. At some point, I agreed and disagreed in most of them, making my own view of it as if I were in their shoes.
Although this is a work of fiction, it made me think and imagine, what if it really happens in real life? How would I weigh things, my basis, to give the right decision? And if I have made the decision, what made me made that decision? Most of all, is it the right decision? I saw myself inside the banquet hall as one of the characters and I felt the burden each of them has.
I got too deep in coming up with my own decision that it angered me for a while when Jason said ‘I’ve made my decision’ and, then, it stopped there. The feeling of wanting more of the story to continue is so strong that I was ready to argue with Jason if he decides to end 2.5 billion people! But it just, literally, ended there. Then, again, a part two is, probably, in the making. It’s up to Michael.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because there are no grammatical errors or misspelled words. Plus, the story, itself, is thought-provoking. I would recommend this book to all readers. Even kids as young as elementary pupils would find it interesting. And if they read it in groups, I’m sure that they’ll have a discussion, as well, like the characters in the story.
******
The Decision
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
