Hello! This is Sachin from K’sirs. I may be called a topper, due to my marks, but really, I’m just a guy who scores good marks (just good, although some call them excellent), plays basketball (somewhat), plays the keyboard (OK), plays the trumpet (well), photographs the stars (quite well, in fact), attends school, teaches people, and reads a lot. Like, a LOT. Sometimes, due to homework lorries, I won’t be able to pack my full punch, but on most other days (especially the days before Math examinations), I read for hours; this sometimes irritates my mom. But then I calmly explain that I will not lose marks and score fully. And that mostly works.
It was an examination study holiday. Everyone was studying, and no, Physics wasn’t as easy as Math. I had finished studying for the examination and walked down the steps to the bookshelf. There was a set of 6 similar books in the rack I usually read from. I then remembered that a cousin had given them to me. They seemed the most interesting, so I picked the first one up.
It was titled “GONE”. It was authored by Michael Grant, who has always been fast-paced according to the book. It seemed to be a fast-paced action thriller. Of course, that meant nothing to me back then. Until then, my experience with action thrillers and suspense stories was not enough to rate one. I started reading.
It featured a small, half-fictional town called Perdido Beach in California. Without any sort of pre-warning or sound effects, everyone more than 14 years old disappear in an instant. Cars crash unmanned, schools are abandoned, and kids run loose everywhere. It’s a nightmare. And it’s only the beginning. Soon, some kids start developing mutant powers — powers like telekinesis and light sabers, powers that have fallen into volatile hands. Private school snobs emerge from their school building up in the hills to try and take control of the town area. Wars brew up. And everyone desperately wants their mommy.
The first book gave me an idea about the whole series. Then I put in all the spare hours I had into finishing the series and following the characters’ life stories in this crisis.
The main character — one may call him the hero — Sam Temple, had the power of light and managed to keep the private school — Coates Academy — from claiming control in the first book. After a gripping sequence of actions, he defeats the main antagonist — Caine Soren, Sam’s fraternal twin (although no one knew that till the end of the first book). But again, that was only the start. The other books’ titles were self-explanatory.
In Hunger, the food in the unmanned supermarket was disappearing, and everyone neared starvation.
In Lies, a fake soothsayer is created by an unknown force to try and get everyone to die.
In Plague, that force starts up a disease that makes victims cough their organs out.
I’m afraid talking about the story anymore would give too much away.
I take my hat off to this book (not that I have one on. It’s a fictional hat). I have said this about a different book series (That’s for another blog, though!). However, that would be a different hat, for a different purpose.
This book series, the GONE series, grips onto you like a dry silicone hand on a metal chair from the second you read the first word to the minute your eyes see the acknowledgments, for each book. Even then, you only get a few hours until you’re itching to get your hands on the next part. I read it through midnight and noon, when eating and in bed, when walking, running, writing, during lessons, during break hours, during commute. Once, the books even saw the toilet. That’s how it is.
I suggested the series to a friend of mine, who can read just a little, small, teeny-weeny bit faster than me. He’s been finishing a book a day and nagging me for the next part every day. That’s how good it is.
If I were asked to rate this series, I would slowly shake my head in a sorry gesture. Because this series isn’t something I can rate out of 5, or 10, or 100. Maybe I can rate it 9,999 out of 10,000 because there’s only the slightest problem with the series: Us school kids may find it hard to focus on schoolwork. It’s just too tight.
And if I were to recommend this to a specific age group, I would have the littles out of the way. This isn’t your average bedtime story. I believe most parents would like their young kids better when they aren’t babbling about adult vices. This book is strictly PG-13. And when silicone hands grip your chair and all, it’s especially hard for an adult to focus on their work. Simply put, they might not have enough time to read the series. So, a good time in your life to read this masterpiece would be between your 13th birthday and your first day at work.
Bonus section: Where can you get this series? You may choose from Amazon, Flipkart, and your local bookstore. You can also borrow it from a lending library, like the Omni Books Library. And if you’re still in K’sirs, you can always come upstairs to 8BC to have a read (only if you’re very interested and somewhat responsible). Again, Sachin’s the name, math is my game, and… oh, it’s getting long, this blog, isn’t it? Anyway, peace out!
