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The Dark Side of the Moon
When James Wood arrived at summer camp, the only unusual thing about him was he'd changed schools three times in the past four years. But when he and four other teenagers are dropped off at camp by a man that seems to know more about them than they do and trapped inside by an invisible barrier, life gets...weird. One girl accidentally teleports, James makes a sword appear on a table, and a baseball game between friends becomes much more exciting when the pitcher has the strength to throw the ball faster than the speed of sound.
After several days, the man that trapped them returns, bearing the story of the past and powers they all share. He informs them they were born in Jericho, a civilization on the dark side of the moon. Their parents, leaders of the city, were betrayed by a close friend and forced to disperse across the United States. And now, fourteen years later, James is expected to lead his friends into battle against an enemy they've never heard of in order to protect a home none of them remember. With his family already moved back into Jericho, James has nowhere familiar to run back to. He must face the unknown and fight or risk losing the only true friends he has ever known.
After several days, the man that trapped them returns, bearing the story of the past and powers they all share. He informs them they were born in Jericho, a civilization on the dark side of the moon. Their parents, leaders of the city, were betrayed by a close friend and forced to disperse across the United States. And now, fourteen years later, James is expected to lead his friends into battle against an enemy they've never heard of in order to protect a home none of them remember. With his family already moved back into Jericho, James has nowhere familiar to run back to. He must face the unknown and fight or risk losing the only true friends he has ever known.
340 pages, Paperback
First published February 12, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
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March 3, 2019The Dark Side of the Moon does what every good book should do; it captivates the reader until the very end. DSM is simply a wonderful journey of a novel that is flat-out fun to read, complete with action, hearty characters, emotion, and meaning. Two thumbs up for a genuine sci-fi novel that stands out in a time of increasingly bland ideas.
February 16, 2014
Brilliant author! Love the story line and the intense ending...but I won't give too much away. Ms. Piller puts so much passion into her writing and it really shows. Her characters are well developed and I can't wait to see what comes next in the series! So much potential in someone so young, its amazing.
February 16, 2014
Brilliant, action-packed, and captivating! The Dark Side of the Moon is a well written and exciting novel that kept me on the edge of my seat! Be prepared to become completely captivated by the intense storyline and exciting plot! All the hard work put into developing the characters and creating such a brilliant storyline paid off!! Science-fiction at its finest!!
May 31, 2021
This book reads like a Disney Channel Original Movie. The plot struggles to be believable and the dialogue is clunky and not always necessary.
Then the ending just stops. No wrap up. Just climax and done.
Then the ending just stops. No wrap up. Just climax and done.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 5, 2014
2.5 of 5 stars – Potentially Exciting from Young Author, but Falls Short.
This novel had an intriguing premise with YA superheroes, and while it generally held my interest, I found the unrealistic parts ultimately got in the way of a fully enjoyable YA superhero sci-fi fantasy. This is a first in a series (and not a standalone), which showed potential for better to come.
While the plot progressed nicely, it was unconvincing, a lot of things didn't make sense. I want to illustrate my point (for the author as well as readers), but I also don't want to give away too much that's not already in the description, so just in case I have some spoiler alerts in a few places. For example, the secrets kept didn't make sense, using arrows and not bullets in a modern world, not using their superpowers more, . There was also an unrealistic portrayal of natural group and teenage dynamics - for who they were, they seemed to be too nice, accepting and obedient. Instead, when the group first forms, .
Most of all, it didn't make sense that the kids are left clueless and in the dark, instead of their elders sharing knowledge. Along with that, their training didn't make sense - . Over the generations, you'd have thought they'd develop a better educational and training program (similar to what many regular schools have today) with knowledge-building, team-building and critical-thinking programs as well as exercise programs that resembled more of a boot camp, plus a psychological program to help them deal with their new powers and revealed situation.
There was also no planning and strategizing, as opposed to envisioning different scenarios of attack as well as moves to counter what the enemy did in the past. Even adolescents know better than that in capture the flag. After all, they were trained by an adult, and the parents were city leaders, all who should know better. There was an interesting twist at the end, but that didn't excuse what a good practice of planning can instill, as opposed to their having to learn everything on the spot, by trial and error.
Partly leading to this being unrealistic were the artificial devices used at times to allow for things to conveniently happen or learn. For example, .
It wasn't until the end, after I noted all the above to myself, when I read Reed Piller's Acknowledgement that I realized she's a fairly young author (high school), and this is her debut. This explains a lot of what I thought wouldn't pass muster with the more discerning YA reader. One thing Piller has going for her is that her writing style is comfortable, easy-to-read, and it flows nicely and logically. It just needs the experience and maturity that can better inform the dialogue and plot sequences. So, while I'm trying to be consistent in using the rating scale, I certainly hope my thoughts don't discourage her. Rather, I see that there is potential and want to also encourage Piller to learn from this and further develop her writing talents.
This novel had an intriguing premise with YA superheroes, and while it generally held my interest, I found the unrealistic parts ultimately got in the way of a fully enjoyable YA superhero sci-fi fantasy. This is a first in a series (and not a standalone), which showed potential for better to come.
While the plot progressed nicely, it was unconvincing, a lot of things didn't make sense. I want to illustrate my point (for the author as well as readers), but I also don't want to give away too much that's not already in the description, so just in case I have some spoiler alerts in a few places. For example, the secrets kept didn't make sense, using arrows and not bullets in a modern world, not using their superpowers more, . There was also an unrealistic portrayal of natural group and teenage dynamics - for who they were, they seemed to be too nice, accepting and obedient. Instead, when the group first forms, .
Most of all, it didn't make sense that the kids are left clueless and in the dark, instead of their elders sharing knowledge. Along with that, their training didn't make sense - . Over the generations, you'd have thought they'd develop a better educational and training program (similar to what many regular schools have today) with knowledge-building, team-building and critical-thinking programs as well as exercise programs that resembled more of a boot camp, plus a psychological program to help them deal with their new powers and revealed situation.
There was also no planning and strategizing, as opposed to envisioning different scenarios of attack as well as moves to counter what the enemy did in the past. Even adolescents know better than that in capture the flag. After all, they were trained by an adult, and the parents were city leaders, all who should know better. There was an interesting twist at the end, but that didn't excuse what a good practice of planning can instill, as opposed to their having to learn everything on the spot, by trial and error.
Partly leading to this being unrealistic were the artificial devices used at times to allow for things to conveniently happen or learn. For example, .
It wasn't until the end, after I noted all the above to myself, when I read Reed Piller's Acknowledgement that I realized she's a fairly young author (high school), and this is her debut. This explains a lot of what I thought wouldn't pass muster with the more discerning YA reader. One thing Piller has going for her is that her writing style is comfortable, easy-to-read, and it flows nicely and logically. It just needs the experience and maturity that can better inform the dialogue and plot sequences. So, while I'm trying to be consistent in using the rating scale, I certainly hope my thoughts don't discourage her. Rather, I see that there is potential and want to also encourage Piller to learn from this and further develop her writing talents.
December 5, 2014
The Dark Side of the Moon (#1) was a light, fun YA novel, even if it sometimes was a bit too simple. I’m a fan of YA, superheroes, science fiction and fantasy, and this was an interesting debut novel spanning these genres.
This was an easy fantasy to read, with simple language and some good pace and action. I was drawn in by the idea of five 16-year olds just coming into their super powers, and being thrown into having to save their society. I also enjoyed seeing things from their perspective, learning along with them and trying to figure out with them what to do next. While I liked the twist at the end, unfortunately I thought it was a bit inconclusive and hoped it would go further; so I don't think it would work well as a standalone.
Reed Piller drew a set of five main characters that I generally liked, but I thought they could be more fleshed out for a richer characterization. There were also times when I thought it stretched credibility, starting with their being left on their own pretty suddenly without any benefit of prior knowledge or help from their parents, just a single teacher/coach.
Overall, I thought this was an okay science fiction about some superhero teenagers out to save their world, an encouraging start to the series; so I'll give it 3.0 stars.
(I'm excited to have won this as a Goodreads First Read – so thanks, Reed!)
This was an easy fantasy to read, with simple language and some good pace and action. I was drawn in by the idea of five 16-year olds just coming into their super powers, and being thrown into having to save their society. I also enjoyed seeing things from their perspective, learning along with them and trying to figure out with them what to do next. While I liked the twist at the end, unfortunately I thought it was a bit inconclusive and hoped it would go further; so I don't think it would work well as a standalone.
Reed Piller drew a set of five main characters that I generally liked, but I thought they could be more fleshed out for a richer characterization. There were also times when I thought it stretched credibility, starting with their being left on their own pretty suddenly without any benefit of prior knowledge or help from their parents, just a single teacher/coach.
Overall, I thought this was an okay science fiction about some superhero teenagers out to save their world, an encouraging start to the series; so I'll give it 3.0 stars.
(I'm excited to have won this as a Goodreads First Read – so thanks, Reed!)
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews