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Descendant
The year is 2378, and the world knows sixteen-year-old Michael Eisenstein as someone who comes from a long line of mass murderers that spans more than three centuries. Yes, he is the most unlikely person to begin fighting for the survival of the human race. The planet has experienced eight additional world wars since the dawn of the twenty-first century, and extraterrestrials are living in the ocean, beneath a world devastated by the effects of climate change. Michael's mother, Monica, lives in fear, and his father, Benjamin, is the most recent Eisenstein responsible for creating ever larger and more efficient weapons of mass destruction. Michael, meanwhile, fears becoming his father and struggles with suicidal depression--that is, until he meets Maya and immediately falls in love. But when Ben takes Michael to Giza on a mission to find new energy sources, the boy accidentally falls into a tunnel and encounters a time traveler by the name of Ezekial. From there, the pair set out on the adventure of a lifetime, and Michael learns the truth about the fate of the earth and its people. In this science fiction novel, a sixteen-year-old boy living in 2378 on a devastated earth meets a time traveler and sets out to save humanity.
376 pages, Paperback
Published January 12, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 4, 2017
Jeffrey Levin’s Descendant is a YA sci-fi story, set in the 24th century and centred around Michael Eisenstein, the youngest member of a family employed and cosseted by the US government for generations due to their ability to develop bigger, better, and more lethal toys.
Structurally, the story appears to follow Michael’s train of thought, with a tight, first-person focus, and a conversational style of prose. While the ambling, random track the story takes is an effective representation of the average person’s stream of consciousness and idiosyncratic observational skills, I found that as a reader it made the story a little incoherent in some areas. Because of those personal asides and sometimes abrupt switches from minute detail to broad description, staying absorbed in the book was a challenge for me. Major plot items also enter and exit the story’s stage with a seeming lack of announcement, with important figures introduced three-quarters of the way in and key antagonists removed from the field with very little fanfare or input from our hero.
I felt that the book had a number of strong points in its basic plot, and the underlying idea promises an interesting story, but it needed a little more work on breaking out the story elements, refining the track of the plot and the pacing,, and eliminating some of the unnecessary pieces to allow those strengths to be recognised.
Reviewed for Knockin' Books Blog.
Structurally, the story appears to follow Michael’s train of thought, with a tight, first-person focus, and a conversational style of prose. While the ambling, random track the story takes is an effective representation of the average person’s stream of consciousness and idiosyncratic observational skills, I found that as a reader it made the story a little incoherent in some areas. Because of those personal asides and sometimes abrupt switches from minute detail to broad description, staying absorbed in the book was a challenge for me. Major plot items also enter and exit the story’s stage with a seeming lack of announcement, with important figures introduced three-quarters of the way in and key antagonists removed from the field with very little fanfare or input from our hero.
I felt that the book had a number of strong points in its basic plot, and the underlying idea promises an interesting story, but it needed a little more work on breaking out the story elements, refining the track of the plot and the pacing,, and eliminating some of the unnecessary pieces to allow those strengths to be recognised.
Reviewed for Knockin' Books Blog.
March 6, 2017
Descendant by Jeffrey A. Levin is an interesting science fiction take on what might become of our world in the very near future. Right from the beginning, he addresses today’s environmental and governmental issues, and how they have affected the world in the future. I enjoyed reading about his ideas and exploring a world that could very well become our own.
However, I was often distracted from the genius of the world that Levin created by the snarky tone of the narrator. It seemed to me that Michael Eisenstein, our main character, was trying too hard to come off as witty and endearing when he was coming off as a bit superficial. He also would think to himself too much, and it seemed that he was trying to force too much unnecessary information into the reader. I am a big fan of the saying “show me, don’t tell me” and that is something that could improve the writing in this novel. It was because of this that I had a hard time relating to Michael Eisenstein or caring for him, and I ended up not being interested in his storyline. But I do think that Levin’s idea for having a descendant of a line of mass murderers is intriguing, and if the main character were reimagined, the story would shine.
With that being said, it is clear to me that Levin has great storytelling skills in terms of creating a science fiction world that is inviting and terrifying all at once. He took our current events and progressed them into the future in a way that should be a wake-up call for us all. I enjoyed his world building skills and his take on the world today, and I think that many science fiction fans would enjoy this brilliantly created world. If Michael Eisenstein had been given a more natural voice, this novel would expand and his story would fly off of the page. But overall, I enjoyed Levin’s world and I look forward to what he creates in the future.
However, I was often distracted from the genius of the world that Levin created by the snarky tone of the narrator. It seemed to me that Michael Eisenstein, our main character, was trying too hard to come off as witty and endearing when he was coming off as a bit superficial. He also would think to himself too much, and it seemed that he was trying to force too much unnecessary information into the reader. I am a big fan of the saying “show me, don’t tell me” and that is something that could improve the writing in this novel. It was because of this that I had a hard time relating to Michael Eisenstein or caring for him, and I ended up not being interested in his storyline. But I do think that Levin’s idea for having a descendant of a line of mass murderers is intriguing, and if the main character were reimagined, the story would shine.
With that being said, it is clear to me that Levin has great storytelling skills in terms of creating a science fiction world that is inviting and terrifying all at once. He took our current events and progressed them into the future in a way that should be a wake-up call for us all. I enjoyed his world building skills and his take on the world today, and I think that many science fiction fans would enjoy this brilliantly created world. If Michael Eisenstein had been given a more natural voice, this novel would expand and his story would fly off of the page. But overall, I enjoyed Levin’s world and I look forward to what he creates in the future.
March 2, 2017
There are things I like and dislike about sci-fi books. Unfortunately, that is how I felt about this book. I thought the premise was a bit unbelievable. The story takes place in 2378 and beyond and revolves around Michael Einstein, a descendant of the famous Albert Einstein. Michael is a teenager who doesn’t want to be a yet another murderous descendant like so many of the members of his family tree. He has many personal struggles, suffers from depression and has unusual relationships with both of his parents.
Throughout the story Michael goes on countless unbelievable adventures. He falls in love with Maya his neighbor and his partner in many of his adventures. He meets a variety of people that either want to hurt him, use him, or help him. All of this starts after his father takes him on a trip to Giza.
If you like sci-fi stories you might enjoy this book. There are unusual creatures, aliens, time travelers and so much more. Michael gets to see and experience things that, I found to be unbelievable while at the same time rather thrilling. Although I did struggle through the first few chapters of the book, once Michael started on his adventures with Maya, and then went on to meet Ezekial I found myself enjoying it a bit more.
There was a really good human element to this story. There is a sense of wanting to be better than what your parents are, and wanting to be a good person in general. It also tackled the difficulties of dealing with depression, which I appreciated. It might not have offered everything I like in a book, but it had a number of good points to it throughout.
Throughout the story Michael goes on countless unbelievable adventures. He falls in love with Maya his neighbor and his partner in many of his adventures. He meets a variety of people that either want to hurt him, use him, or help him. All of this starts after his father takes him on a trip to Giza.
If you like sci-fi stories you might enjoy this book. There are unusual creatures, aliens, time travelers and so much more. Michael gets to see and experience things that, I found to be unbelievable while at the same time rather thrilling. Although I did struggle through the first few chapters of the book, once Michael started on his adventures with Maya, and then went on to meet Ezekial I found myself enjoying it a bit more.
There was a really good human element to this story. There is a sense of wanting to be better than what your parents are, and wanting to be a good person in general. It also tackled the difficulties of dealing with depression, which I appreciated. It might not have offered everything I like in a book, but it had a number of good points to it throughout.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews