Official Review: Weird Life by Ronald Printz

[bookowlie]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Weird Life" by Ronald Printz.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Weird Life by Ronald Printz is a science-fiction novel about a strange phenomenon involving trees in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It can be categorized in the Young Adult genre.

Air Force Captain Devin Grace is “abducted” in his driveway one night by a high school friend he hasn’t seen in years. Jay, now a forest ranger, temporarily holds Devin captive in his home, in order to tell him about something strange he discovered while on patrol over a year ago. He found two odd-looking, dead trees that were mirror images of each other and looked like a pair of enormous hands. After conducting extensive research and monthly surveillances, he becomes convinced of the existence of a giant creature lurking underground. According to Jay, there is historical evidence of enormous, human-like creatures. Although most were explained as being born in a traditional human way, some came out of the earth.

The plot is creative in a quirky sort of way. There are fun details such as Jay’s analysis of the photos he took, his father’s love of researching odd occurrences, and repeated references to “the Ripley thing” (Ripley’s Believe It or Not). I also enjoyed reading about the information Jay compiled regarding ancient drawings and similar descriptions of giants in several continents.

It took me a while to become absorbed in the story. Many sections plod along with an excess of dialogue. Although the crux of the plot is interesting, I was halfway through the story and Jay was still explaining the same long story to Devin. It started to feel like a rambling conversation with no end in sight. I think it would have helped if there were more of a balance of dialogue and narrative. The plot and pace picks up steam in the second half of the book, leading to a surprising climax.

Devin’s character is not fleshed out well. Throughout much of the story, he appears to be more of a plot device to listen and react to his old friend’s wild story. Jay’s character is vividly described with a detailed backstory. Although he had a tense relationship with his father as a teenager, they reconnect as his father passes along various snippets of information he finds on the internet.

A key part of the first half of the storyline didn’t seem realistic to me. A guy Devin hasn’t seen in eight or nine years keeps him tied up at gunpoint in his own home. All of this is done to get his undivided attention and possible assistance regarding two odd-looking trees. Then Devin shows little animosity toward Jay and continues to hold a normal conversation with him. Why is it so necessary for Devin to be held captive in order to listen to Jay’s explanation about a strange thing he witnessed in nature? Sure, this is a science-fiction story, but I still found the characters’ interactions difficult to believe.

Another issue I had with this book was the sheer volume of technical errors, such as missing punctuation and words, incorrect dialogue formatting, extra/missing apostrophes, plural vs. singular, capitalized words in the middle of sentences, etc. The story shows promise, but the numerous errors are distracting and unprofessional for a published work. Considering the targeted age group, a book with so many errors sets a poor example for young adult readers.

I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. The subject matter is unique and interesting, but the execution of the story needs improvement. As listed on Amazon, the target group is ages 10 through 18. However, the text includes curse words which are inappropriate for young adults, especially at the lower end of the recommended age range. With some polishing, this story would be a good, offbeat choice for science-fiction fans.

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Weird Life
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Like bookowlie's review? Post a comment saying so!

[gali]

The premise sounds interesting. Too bad the execution fell short. Thank you for the great and insightful review.

[bookowlie]

The premise sounds interesting. Too bad the execution fell short. Thank you for the great and insightful review.

Thanks for the feedback. The concept was certainly creative.

[Rachaelamb1]

I agree it is creative, but I don't think I could enjoy it with all the grammatical errors and lengthy dialogue!

[bookowlie]

I agree it is creative, but I don't think I could enjoy it with all the grammatical errors and lengthy dialogue!

Rachaelamb, thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. There were some parts of the story that were interesting.

[kimmyschemy06]

The premise sounds promising. Too bad, though, about the flaws. Great job on the review.

[bookowlie]

The premise sounds promising. Too bad, though, about the flaws. Great job on the review.

Kimmyschemy, I appreciate the feedback. The story had a lot of potential with the unique subject matter.