Book Synopsis
Genre: Science-fiction/ Dystopia
In the space colony of New Wales, the pirate attacks are both relentless and merciless. Having lost both his parents, Jabin has been adopted by his austere and spiteful uncle and aunt who live in the space colony of New Wales which is riven with religious and political rivalry, and prey to the vicious maraudings of pirates whose cruelty and greed are beyond all imagination. When Jabin volunteers to surrender himself to a pirate raiding party to save a friend, he does so believing that nothing can be worse than his current suffering. However, he is soon to discover that things can always get worse when the stakes are high, the rewards are vast and slave labour is there for the taking. When the King of New Wales is assassinated, the colony threatens to collapse into total anarchy, leaving the pirates free reign to mutilate, kill and profit as they will, but the forces of law and order sent out from Earth are getting ready to fight back, and Jabin could have a vital part to play in the ensuing war if he can only stay alive.
Review
So this novel was sent to our book blog by the lovely author Bev Allen. I have to say, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the novel; thinking it was suited more for younger readers given the title character is a thirteen year old boy. Upon reading, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the story; I thought the plot was great. It’s a lot more adult themed then I thought it would be so yeah, definitely YA.
What I enjoyed about reading the book is that it was interesting in both characters and events. The things Jabin goes through kind of breaks your heart… he really is a brave young kid. Whilst the book is split into different points of view; I personally enjoyed the adult points of view more than I enjoyed Jabin’s. The villains of the novel also do a great job at pissing you the hell off; some of their acts actually make your skin crawl. Issues of sex exploitation, colonialism, slavery and child abuse are prominent in the story and the author does a great job at writing about these issues. Jabin and the Space Pirates honestly has a great plot.
What I disliked about the book was unfortunately the cover. I just think that there could have been a lot more done with it to make it more attractive as we all know that we pick up a lot of books based on what catches our eye. In a bookstore, you’re competing with hundreds of other books and often what first gets the reader’s attention is firstly the cover. I also didn’t like the fact there wasn’t really a strong, leading female character in the book, at least not until the end with Antonia. There were many positive male characters but I felt the women in the book took mainly a backseat so perhaps this book would appeal more to male readers.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it was a good read. I did find myself eager to finish it just to find out how everything played out—really enjoyed it minus the above dislikes. I would recommend this book for lovers of dystopian and sci-fi literature; the way it’s written is very engaging. This book makes you question just how much a person can endure and makes you see how fragile trust is.