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The Meq - Steve Cash Book Review

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Review Summary


Del Rey, Feb 2005, 13.95, 416 pp.
ISBN: 0345470923

In 1881, Zianno Zezen celebrates his twelfth birthday "for the first time" on a train with Momma and Papa heading from St. Louis to Central City just above Denver. Momma tells Zianno that the three of them are different then anyone else on the crowed train filled with ordinary Giza humans. Before she can explain further about being a Meq, the train derails killing everyone on board except Zianno.

Jewish trader Solomon Birnbaum nurtures the injured Z, but is stunned by how fast the preteen heals. Solomon believes that Z might be a member of a legendary ancient race that he thought was mythical. He returns Z to St. Louis where the lad meets other Meqs and learns how his people stop aging at twelve until they find their Ameq love buddy.

The Meq repeat their twelfth birthday yet remain child-like in spite of experiences; this makes individual Meqs hard to delineate one from another. The story line is told from the first person account of Z.

Harriet Klausner

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar


Detailed literary breakdown of The Meq
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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 - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 10%




Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Coming of age Yes
Youngster becomes - an adult (general)
Mental/magical powers focus Yes
magical powers: - immortality (scifi)
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - unemployed
Age: - a kid
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - none

Setting
Earth setting: - 19th century
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - significantly more dialog than descript
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