science fiction

Idlewild - Nick Sagan Book Review

Enter a review
of your own!
Other books by
author Nick Sagan

"Idlewild"
Message Board
Nick Sagan Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR: Harriet Klausner

SCHOLARS:
Would you like to be a scholar and make five dollars per review? Click here to submit a review!

Click here for free online dating advice!

Review Summary
An eighteen-year-old boy, a rebel who questions everything including his parents, other students and his teachers, has no memory of who he is, where he is or why he's there. He does remember his friend, Lazarus, and that he had killed him but he cannot remember the how or the why he has done such a dastardly crime. At Idewild, the school of the future, he discovers that his name is "Halloween", the master of the school is "Maestro" and that he has ten friends but can he trust these friends? Should he trust Maestro? Things seem a "little bit off" to Halloween, more like a video game with deadly consequences.
       The last third of the book seems to falter, with a somewhat lack luster finale with more questions than answers.

Pauline Bennett, Resident Scholar

It is the late twenty-first century and a deadly virus has seeped into humankind's genetic make-up. This plague threatens to wipe us off the face of the planet, but we're not going down without a fight. However, time is not on our side. As teams of scientists, geneticists and programmers race to find a cure, our only hope lies in a last, desperate gamble. Eighteen years later, ten children are about to come of age. One of them, a young man, is suddenly startled awake. He has no memory. His urroundings mean nothing to him. All he knows for certain is that someone is trying to kill him.
Nick Sagan, Resident Scholar


Get your copy of the book


Detailed literary breakdown of Idlewild
Our unique search engine breaks down books and movies into
dozens of literary elements, all of which are searchable.

New movie search (click here) New book search (click here)
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 30%




Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Inner Struggle Yes
Plotlet: - amnesia
Lifeform altered? Yes
Kind of alteration: - Given added abilities
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male - Female
Profession/status: - student - mage/magician
Age: - a teen
Has magical/special powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character: - mind reading - clairvoyant - can cast many different spells - is very quick
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters - Genius
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - a teen
Profession/status: - student
Has magical powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - mind reading - mind control - can read emotions - is very quick
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an above average amount
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters - Genius (really!)
Physique - average physique

Setting
Terrain - Mountains
Earth setting: - near future (later in 21st century)
Spaceship setting: - a space station
Takes place on Earth? Yes
Takes place in spaceship? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 1st - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only) - none/very little science jargon needed - some scientific explanation
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - descript of kissing
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
Most similar books to Idlewild
The Return by William Shatner
Android at Arms by Andre Norton
The Incredible Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson
Ishmael by Barbara Hambly
Silver Eyes by Nicole M. Luiken




Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
Try our new Star Wars & Star Trek puzzle pictures! Click here

Advertise with us
Feedback
Star Wars Revenge of the Sith plot spoilers
Hobbits
The politics game
The lawyer game

3 Movie search options!
1) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
2) Detailed movie search
(click here)
or

3) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot below!

Animal Story

Clones

Coming of age

Cultural problems, alien culture

Explore/1st contact/ enviro story

Family relations

GIANT monster(s)

Horror story?

Inner Struggle

Lifeform altered?

Mental/magical powers focus

Parody

Political power play

Religious overtones?

Repressive society story

Robots, Computers, VR

Romance

Spying & Investigations

Tech./$$$/Info hunt

Time Travel story?

Training/Apprent.

War or Invasion


Games:
Trivia Masters!

Rescue your favorite
scifi characters from
slavery!


Talk to your favorite
scifi characters!


Eating New Yorkers
Computer Game


Pomeranians

Most recent TV & Movie discussions:

Doctor Who: Who was the best Doctor? 7/5/2008 4:23:13 AM

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 7/5/2008 2:40:59 AM

Doctor Who: Who was the best companion? 6/30/2008 7:37:52 AM

A Boy and His Dog: A Boy and His Dog 6/30/2008 12:55:48 AM

Lost in Space (TV): What kind of a name is Guy for a guy? 6/26/2008 10:21:30 AM

Lost in Space (TV): Wasn't it obvious that Major West was never going to get any? 6/26/2008 10:17:45 AM

Charmed: Is Piper really a Halliwell? 6/26/2008 7:20:13 AM

Alien Series: Was Vasquez a lesbian? 6/26/2008 6:57:27 AM

Charmed: What's wrong with Rose McGowan's chin? 6/26/2008 1:39:23 AM

Battlestar Galactica: Do Vipers fly past the speed of light? 6/26/2008 1:27:52 AM


Newest slaves:
Piper Halliwell (Holly Marie Combs) 6:03:13 AM
T-1000 5:50:45 AM
Noxima Earth II Girl 4:01:26 AM
Kai 4:01:05 AM
Ming the Merciless 4:00:24 AM
Mrs. Robinson Mark II 3:59:14 AM
Rebecca DeMornay 3:58:15 AM
Cameron Diaz 3:55:22 AM
Leeta 2:57:41 AM
Doctor Beverly Crusher 2:54:02 AM
All slaves
(click here)


Celebrity interviews:
President George W. Bush 6:32:00 PM
Jan-Michael Vincent 2:16:51 PM
Captain Kathryn Janeway 3:47:46 PM
Jack ONeill (Richard Dean Anderson) 1:39:22 PM
Jennifer Aniston (Friends) 5:01:07 PM
All celebrities
(click here)