OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Missing Tomorrow" by Ken Scudero.]
Set on the planet of Nibiru, Missing Tomorrow is the science fiction story of Gem Jupiter, a private investigator on a mission to uncover the truth about mysterious and unnatural occurrences of his world. As Gem and his team are conducting their typical investigations, Gem begins to uncover clues that lead him to believe that certain unusual occurrences are all somehow connected to the work of a higher power – namely the Selectmen, a group of controlling political figures who might be out to destroy the less appealing areas of the world for their own gain. In his journey to reveal the destructive plans of the government, Gem encounters his first true love, life from other planets, and others in Nibiru who are trying to rid the world of its terrible injustice, only to find out that everything around them is all connected to the massive conspiracy for control of the world.

Scudero has created a completely different world with this work of science fiction, with well-planned cities, social ranks, and political figures, though it is relatively easy to find similarities between Nibiru and Earth. Problems and weaknesses in the economical, political, and social systems of the main cities of Nibiru (e.g., the use of illegal substances versus the government’s promotion of the use of more dangerous legal substances) are obviously comparable to situations in the present day United States. Much the story gives off the feeling of a subtle commentary to promote certain social opinions as facts.

Despite the often prevalent “conspiracy theory” theme that lingered throughout this story, I felt that roughly seventy-five percent of this book was extremely well-written. The imagery and setting were amazing, and I wish I could high-five the author for accomplishing this with such excellency. A lot of thought was put into this place, and I could easily picture myself within this completely fictional world. The pacing of the story was also great, and I never once felt bored while reading. In fact, I felt rather involved with the characters, questioning them when I thought they were acting childish and encouraging them when they were on the right path.

However, the other twenty-five percent of the book made me question if it was even written by the same person. Choppy sentences, bland action scenes, illogical decisions and irrational behavior from the characters, and a complete lack of emotion coming out of scenes that should have been highly emotional made me physically cringe while I was reading. Rather than just telling me what happened, I wish the author had consistently shown me what happened by using more colorful language and better descriptions like I saw in the majority of the book. Especially in the action and fighting scenes, it would have been more appealing to actually show some exciting action, instead of just simple declarations of what people did.

Overall, I give this story a rating of 3 out of 4, for the seventy-five percent that was amazing. It’s a great book for science fiction lovers, with a bit of mystery, paranormal, and romantic elements thrown in to keep fans of just about every genre interested as well.

***
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To see that you are well rounded when it comes to your reviews (meaning not just bias toward the YA genre) but can read a book and get deep into it, dissect it, and elaborate on it give me a new found respect for your well rounded abilities. I may just have you review my book whenever I get done with it and get it out there lol. Great Review!

Aw! You're so sweet! Thanks! I may come across as an airhead and a teenybopper on the forums (because I kind of am!), but actually, I am very well-educated and have a strong background in research and analysis. I'm secretly really good at "dissecting" things as you say! Thanks for noticing!
I actually feel like I could have said so much more about this book, but I couldn't go into too much detail without discussing spoilers, which we're not allowed to do in reviews.

And I would love to read/review your book!

I love when a fictional world is truly believable.
That is one of the reasons I read what I read.

How hard is it to imagine something that could very well be happening anywhere?
A divorced mother getting herself back? Happens.
A girl in school feels alone and alienated? Happens (unfortunately ).
Cops chasing a serial killer? Happens (again unfortunately).

But convince me that I may be a cyborg and not even know it and I'll love you forever.
Make me doubt whether or not my neighbor is a werewolf and I'll raptly wait for your next book.
When I can believe that your characters really are out there somewhere saving the world that's when I'm coming back for more!

This sounds like an interesting world!

Thank you for the lovely review. I don't think the book is for me though.

Very good review, ALynn! It does sound interesting, but the 25% you talked about has me a bit leery. I get really disappointed when books get me excited and then let me down in the end. But thank you for making my decision a better informed one with your thorough review.

rssllue wrote:Very good review, ALynn! It does sound interesting, but the 25% you talked about has me a bit leery. I get really disappointed when books get me excited and then let me down in the end. But thank you for making my decision a better informed one with your thorough review.

I have kind of wondered if it's because I'm a girl. That sounds weird, but I have my reasons for thinking that. For example, People would be having a conversation and blah blah blah, and then suddenly it would be, "They kissed." Or, "He punched him in the face." (These are made up examples, not direct quotes, by the way, but it's still the basic idea). And I'm sitting there like, "WHAT!?! That's it?!?" I thought there should have been more "feelings" or describing going on. But the story itself was actually pretty awesome.

ALynnPowers wrote:

rssllue wrote:Very good review, ALynn! It does sound interesting, but the 25% you talked about has me a bit leery. I get really disappointed when books get me excited and then let me down in the end. But thank you for making my decision a better informed one with your thorough review.

I have kind of wondered if it's because I'm a girl. That sounds weird, but I have my reasons for thinking that. For example, People would be having a conversation and blah blah blah, and then suddenly it would be, "They kissed." Or, "He punched him in the face." (These are made up examples, not direct quotes, by the way, but it's still the basic idea). And I'm sitting there like, "WHAT!?! That's it?!?" I thought there should have been more "feelings" or describing going on. But the story itself was actually pretty awesome.

Sounds like there wasn't enough of a lead in for you.
I've felt this way before when reading.
There will be a little interaction, maybe it seems like it's going somewhere, maybe not, and then wham! Full blown fight for what feels like no reason. Really?
Or two people are flirting a little and then way more happens than you feel is exactly realistic for the time frame.
Never makes alot of sense to me when that happens.
The balance just feels off.
But that's where constructive critisism can help!

Graverobber wrote:Sounds like there wasn't enough of a lead in for you.
I've felt this way before when reading.
There will be a little interaction, maybe it seems like it's going somewhere, maybe not, and then wham! Full blown fight for what feels like no reason. Really?
Or two people are flirting a little and then way more happens than you feel is exactly realistic for the time frame.
Never makes alot of sense to me when that happens.
The balance just feels off.
But that's where constructive critisism can help!

I don't know if was really the "lead in" ... maybe more like the "lead out" .... yeah, that doesn't make sense. But I think maybe the events leading up to the "action" were all right. But then once it hit the action, the emotion or excitement or whatever just kind of fizzled out quickly. Or it was almost too direct.

It would be like this: "He punched XXX in the face."
But I would have preferred to see something like this: "He clenched his fists together at his sides and took a deep breath, but he still couldn't hold himself back. Without thinking, he swung his fist toward XXX, a painful crack resonating throughout the silent room as he made contact."
So much of the book was written so colorfully like the second example (which I just made up, for the record), so those short, blunt sentences really threw me off.

Great review! And very odd. I would have been thrown off as well having the story build up to action sequence that was so stunted. Still sounds good though.

Skillian wrote:Great review! And very odd. I would have been thrown off as well having the story build up to action sequence that was so stunted. Still sounds good though.

Thanks for the feedback!

Thank you for a nice review! I love science fiction, and may add this to my TBR list.

ALynnPowers wrote:Aw! You're so sweet! Thanks! I may come across as an airhead and a teenybopper on the forums (because I kind of am!), but actually, I am very well-educated and have a strong background in research and analysis. I'm secretly really good at "dissecting" things as you say! Thanks for noticing!
I actually feel like I could have said so much more about this book, but I couldn't go into too much detail without discussing spoilers, which we're not allowed to do in reviews.

And I would love to read/review your book!

No, I've never thought that you're an airhead or a teenybopper--you're posts are very articulate! Great review!

Thanks for the feedback everyone! Glad I can provide some recommendations for your reading pleasure.

Hey, this is a really well-written review! I wish everyone were as skilled at summarizing the story. First paragraph is a model example of this, and your observations are very well expressed.

(Haha I'm approaching this like an editor, aren't I?)