Doppelganger

by Michael Parker

An edgy science-fiction thriller from an exciting new author.

A black tunnel began to form around me. My room started to spin. Desperately I tried to cry out but I couldn't make a sound. Then, like shattering glass, I crashed straight through the tunnel and out to the other side. Propelled out of his safe, ordinary world, Andrew is caught in the midst of a desolate city, torn apart by vicious gang wars. Here, the rules of survival are simple - you follow the pack, or you die. Dragged into one gang's brutal takeover campaign, Andrew has no choice but to embark on an unthinkable mission, in an attempt to sever the connection between the two worlds forever. If he succeeds, he will destroy everything in his life. But if he fails, hundreds will die - in both worlds.

Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult, Paranormal, Audiobook, Fantasy

286 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Michael Parker is the Headmaster of Oxley College in Southern NSW. He received Arts and Law degrees from Sydney University and worked briefly in a corporate law firm before turning his attention to Education. He has a Masters Degree in teaching Philosophy to children and has written six textbooks in the areas of Legal Studies, Philosophy in Schools, and English.

Michael joined the Jane Curry Publishing team in 2012 with Ethics 101: Conversations to have with your kids. A great success, the book has since been published in the USA in August 2013. The second book in this series, Talk With Your Kids: Big Ideas, was published in May 2014, along with a second edition of Ethics 101, aptly renamed Talk With Your Kids: Ethics.

Michael’s talents don’t just lie in the world of Education publishing. He has had two novels published, including a Young Adult Novel Doppelganger, which was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Award in 2007, and a children’s picture book, You Are A Star, which was published with Bloomsbury in the USA in September 2012.

He is married and has two daughters.

Reviews

[Danni Hofinger · Rating 1 out of 5]

After a few chapters I realised I wasn't even listening. Did not interest me!

[Sand · Rating 1 out of 5]

Peronally, this book was not my cup of tea. It was very boring and it drags on a bit. It does explore elements of dystopia but i only read it to pass year 10 english. :)

[Courtney · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not usually so harsh when reviewing a book because I believe just because I didn't love a book doesn't mean someone else won't enjoy it. Maybe the writing is great but I just couldn't connect with the story. It perhaps the story is so fun I don't even care about the questionable writing skills. For that reason I usually specify what I didn't love so that future readers have the chance to consider whether those factors are important to them or not.

But this book was rubbish. The main concept is weak and while some of the themes explained such as bullying, sheepish following of bullies, recognizing who you do or don't want to be as a person, are relevant and important, they are either shoved in your face or take a back seat to some really vague references to chemistry and a lot of surprisingly easy underage drinking.

The author is a high school English teacher and that shocked me. It felt like every moment, every experience, every feeling was - described and then followed with a simile. And bad, terrible similes. One of the worst would be "... water so cold it was like liquid icicles on my skin" liquid icicles = water, cold water. The cold water was like cold water.

The ending was also terrible. I'm a proud Trekkie and a Vulcan saying is that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (or one). But I just can't see how it's possible for the main character to carry on with life when the story 'ends'. Some MAJOR issues are left totally unresolved and without wanting to reveal spoilers - crimes have been committed and morals have been thrown out the window. In fact it's such a poor ending I think I would actually have preferred the old "and then he woke up and it had all been a dream". And I never thought I'd say that.

If you can't quit a book midway, even if it's terrible, I suggest you don't start this book. The effort to finish it was not worth my precious reading time. I feel robbed.

[Leah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never been so mad at a book before, I had to read this for English and the lack of information the teacher gave us to complete the task related with the book just made it even worse. I could find NOTHING online to help me understand this book, Andrew had no personality and the story was just plain boring. Considering it was such a short book it took me wayyy too long to read it. Tempted to burn it instead of returning it. IT TOOK ME A MONTH TO READ A 300 PAGE BOOK WHAT

[Reilly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't get me started. I hate this book. Not only is it uninteresting, it is needlessly sexual, pointless, too long, ruined a good premise, and honestly just bad overall.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite fastpaced YA novel, clearly aimed at teenage boys. It was an interesting premise - love me some parallel universes - and the author is definitely a quality writer, but it just could've been so much better. I felt the world-building in the second world wasn't fleshed out enough. It lost its way in the second half and the big twist towards the end really let it down; it just lacked credibility that Andrew wouldn't have realised it before. We also never got to see what happened in the original world in terms of friendships etc that were integral to the story. Listened on audio, and the narration was just brilliant, he really captured the different character's voices and used a lot of voice expression.

[Eesha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this book for school and the only reason I gave it more than 1 star is that I LOVE the concept behind this book. Like come on; everyone is born with a dark heart and no matter how good of a person you are, we will do anything to survive. Ugh what an intriguing topic that really made me think and spark discussions with my friends. Unfortunately, I didn't think that the book was executed very well and I was a little disappointed, as the influences and messages of this book are great.

[Will Cordwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterpiece of modern literature. A timeless classic that I hope will be resonant throughout the ages. 10/10

[Shobana Krishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with lots of insights into the nature of humanity.

[AJ Hughes · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had to read it for school and the only reason i finished it was to spite the other smart kid by finish it first. Other than that it was boring and confusing

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is most certainly one of the best books I've read. There's pace, action and it dragged me in from the first few pages. Andrew is a mid teenaged boy who's best friends with Josh, not the best friend choices Andy could make, but he's always said, if you don't disturb the world, it won't disturb you. So Andy doesn't step in Josh's way as his anger and brutal, poor decisions including alcohol, even though they are only 15, become worse. He then realizes that he jumps to different worlds without any control over his whereabouts. The other world is exactly the same as Andy's normal world, with the exact same people, but a different, masked ruler who brutally and cruelly treats the people of the city. Josh is a ruler of a hiding gang, and his poor choices and his brutal attitude is no different, but worse, and to add to all the mayhem Andrew goes through, if he let's any of the people die in josh's gang or in the masked ruler's, the same person will die in Andy's real world, which includes his secret love obsession, Melanie, who he finds in the other world.

This book is about saving people from the ruler, especially Melanie, and also unmasking him. It says that the book is recommended for young teenagers, but I personally don't think it should be because of the mature references, language, sexual themes, and references to underaged drug and alcohol use. I would most certainly recommend this for mostly boys, but girls who enjoy a good thriller, I would recommend this to you too.

I read it within a week or two from cover to cover and loved it all. I enjoyed this book a lot and look forward to a second.

[Miranda]

I read an article by the author of this book about why he wrote it and what concepts he wanted to discuss, and was intrigued. He was talking about his struggles as a high school English teacher to get boys interested in books that contained actual substance (i.e. no action and explosions). But he was also interested in the idea of moral responsibility: the only difference between a middle class bully in Australia and a SS guard in Nazi Germany is that they happened to be born in a different place and time - to what extent we can hold someone morally responsible for something they have never done just because they never got the chance? So he wrote this book about two parallel Sydneys with the 'same' character in each, in one he's a school bully and the other he's a brutal gangland leader, and explored whether or not they really are the same person - but included enough action to keep the boys reading. Anyway I think it sounds fascinating and I want to read it now.

[Sharkcrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book to pull in reluctant teen readers. Sydney teens will enjoy picturing places they've been as a dystopian, violent city, and the themes that play out with the doppelgänger idea would be great to explore in the classroom. There is some violence, but nothing any worse than in classics like Lord of the Flies.

There are a few scenes that deal with some pretty heavy moral questions, and as a result, I recommend for grades 9+ that have the maturity to deal with the scenarios.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this teen novel as an audio tape. This is a story of parallel worlds where Andrew, a sydney teenager finds that he has a doppelganger who is distributing an alarming new drug in the other Sydney, causing teenagers to die in his sydney. Will appeal to male readers in particular. A bit violent in places, but a gripping read.

[Emily Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horny sewer boys wanting a better life

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's aimed at teens, and as a dad of one of them I quite liked it. It's nice that it's set in Sydney, somewhere where my teen has actually been.

[Eejay · Rating 3 out of 5]

havent finished

[Laraaaaaaa Habooubzz]

itssss a sickkkk booooooooooook,

[MsCrowshaw]

4 stars

[Jess White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting sci-fi concept of parallel universe. Not my personal favorite, but would be great for a young male audience.

[Don · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really hope this book was written with a pre-pubescent male audience in mind!

[Rachel]

It is okay so far... interesting plot

[Jack Ryder · Rating 5 out of 5]

i found this book highly entertaining and would definitely read this book again