I got the eBook of this novella because it was offered free. Authors use this as a way to attract new readers to their series. For me, this isn't going to result in the desired attraction to the other books.
Written as a journal of a thirteen-year-old boy in the year 1894, The Select is a prequel for the Seven Wonders series about a bunch of boys with special powers that could destroy the world, if they are not sacrificed before they come into their abilities. Burton Friedrich Wenders has been experiencing terrible headaches. Burton thinks they are caused by some sort of illness, but his father has evidence from some ancient archaeological discovery that indicates otherwise. The elder Wenders hires a ragtag bunch of sailors to man a decaying ship to take them to a mysterious island that he hopes will hold the answers to helping his son.
On the voyage to the island, the lad is riddled with debilitating nausea and headaches, but he's able to learn the Malay language by listening to the sailors talk. His father followed a map with a frightening inscription. After a terrifying storm, they found themselves shipwrecked, with few survivors, on an island populated with monstrous beasts and priests from a strange religious order. All the while, a haunting melody reverberates in Burt's mind and he isn't sure who's madder--himself or his dad.
After being captured by monkeys, the boy was taken to the priest's lair. He instantly learned their language and asked the wizened men what this was all about. They told him that he was the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy, and that they had to kill him, or risk the destruction of the entire world. He is running for his life from these priests, when Burt is injured and resorts to desperate measures to preserve the record of his life--and impending death?--on the island.
This story is jerky and disjointed, like one of those "B" movies filmed with a shaky camera. There are more questions than answers and you really don't feel connected to the characters at all. The author is clearly trying to weave a tale of the sort you'd find in one of Rick Riordan's young adult or middle reader novels, but he doesn't nearly pull it off.
Even though this eBook is free, it's really not worth the time and trouble to read it. The series may be better, but I'm not sure this novella will provide any useful background information.