The Guardians

Rating:
Summary: read more about this book!
Review: THE GUARDIANS

The good points of this book are that the contents are generally good however in the beginning it starts rather slowly. This is a novel of debate; it has very little action and will not suit all readers. Where the novel falls down is that it has nothing to please anyone who wants action, This is a specialised book for debate. It would have been better if the author had put more into the book than he did because it seems to stop short of a full book in several areas namely fast paced action.

Rating:
Summary: Slow until the last two chapters
Review: The novel is about a 13 year- old, boy named Rob Randall he is brought up in the Conurb, which is a place in the country. The country is split up because the novel is set in 2053. There are 2 parts to the country there is the county, which hasn't got all the modern technology and in it there is lots of countryside. Then there is the conurb in which there is loads of modern technology and they have Holovision, which is a more modern version of television, and they have a new sport called terraplaneing.

The good points of the novel are that it shows both ways of life. It shows the ways of life in the county and in the conurb. Just about the entire novel was a really slow, except for the last 1 or 2 chapter. I think that John Christopher was trying to put across his view of what life would be like in the future. With all the new sports they would have and the new modern version of television. But there is also his view of the other way of life, which appears to have gone back in time with Horse and Carts and huge country mansions.

The large built up areas like the Conurb are cramped and crowded whereas the County is a large spacious area. I feel that the story was quite generally quite good but most of it all takes part in the same area, when it could involve other places.

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Summary: THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
Review: The year is 2053 in England, a nation where people live either in the Conurb or the County. The psychological chasm that exits between the two lifestyles is vast, although there are those Commuters who straddle both worlds. Rob Randall is a boy raised in the Conurb--a sprawling, densely-packed megalopolis, whose masses are entertained with controlled riots and bloody sports events. But propaganda has made him scorn life in the County, where the Gentry (What would England be without her strict class division?) deliberately live in simple but antiquated styles, and even the servants seem satisfied. Both sets of people despise and distrust the other; their worlds are separated by a physical Barrier with guarded gates.

After Rob's father dies in a mysterious work-related accident, orphaned Rob is packed off to a state-run boarding school. But the grim regimen is too much for the puzzled, grieving youngster, who decides to cross the forbidden Barrier and escape to freedom in the unknown County. But citified Rob can not cope with roughing it outdoors, nor hide for long on a rich estate. He soon discovers that Freedom isn't Free.

Unexpectedly Rob is befriended by a County boy, whose family agrees to shelter him and provide him with a false identity. How long can Rob hope to fool the County authorities? Will he endanger his compassionate hosts? Gradually we discover that there are two sides of the Barrier--but ONE set of Guardians, who exist to protect the status quo. Who are these shadowy manipulators anyway? What right do they have to defy government rules about No Guns or to condition their people to acquiescence--on both sides! Which lifestyle will Rob ultimately choose?

This is a good read but unevenly paced: 75% of this novel is slow, which is great for our hero, but not exciting to read. However the last chapter is quite long, full of surprise twists before we reach the final ending! The New York Times writes: "the novel is sparsely written, exciting and based on valid soci! al trends." Mankind is doomed to disillusion and social slavery if that judgment is correct. Just what does Rob suspect and learn about his father's death back in the Conurb? Will he join the Guardians or the rebels? Where will he make his home in the future, or can he fit in anywhere? A serious, thought-provoking read for peole who ponder possible scenarios for the Future.

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Summary: What a vision of the future!
Review: The year is 2053, and Britain is divided into the tightly packed Conurb and the leisurely County. The people in the County don't work, and they live a very easy life, with hobbies such as growing miniature trees. The Conurbans work in crowded cities with hi-tech entertainment, such as Terraplaning, the bloodthirsty Games and lots of riots. Rob is a Conurban, but he doesn't fit in with everyone else. He would rather read books, while others watch Terraplaning and the Games. When Rob's father dies, orphaned Rob is sent off to Barnes Boarding School, which he hates. Rob decides to try and cross the barrier, which people say is a hundred feet high and electrified, and enter the County. When Rob reaches the barrier, he finds a fence, which is about twelve feet high. He realizes that the fence is big in people's minds, to stop them crossing, but small in reality. He digs a hole under it, and crosses. A boy, about the same age as him, named Mike Gifford soon finds him. Mike shows him a cave, which Rob lives in for a few days. However, Mike's mother soon finds Rob, and offers to take him into the house, and pretend he is a cousin from Nepal. How long can Rob stay in the County, fooling the officials? How long will Rob be able to pretend to be one of the Gentry? How long will it be until someone finds out the truth? The whole point of the book is about freedom, and how most people are not free, because they all have to go along with everything else in the Conurb. They are not free to do what they want to do. The book is written in a strange way, but it is intended to be strange, with lots of hidden technology in the County which people don't know about. The County seems to be calm and comfortable, but underneath it is ruthless, with a false sense of security. I feel that this is a good read and I would not hesitate to buy a sequel if there was one. For a long time there didn't seem to be a lot happening, but the last chapter had a lot of twists I it, making it an excellent last chapter. The book ends very openly, with lots of possibilities for a sequel, or next chapter, and I feel it is a shame that there isn't anything to follow it with.

Rating:
Summary: Don't judge a book by it's cover
Review: This book looked horrible but we had to read it for school.The old saying 'Don't judge a book by it's cover' came into effect although there were quite a few bad points about the book.
For example:
-This book moves really slow by the fifth chapter and has bits which just seem like fillers(does everyone want to know two pages on bonsai?)until the rushed chapter which is the end.
-The end.Hello but am I the only one who wants to know what happens?Yeah I know I can use my imagination but I will never really know the ending.
Aside from that the book was quite enjoyable.The plot is about a young boy called Rob who had lived his entire life in the Conurbs(a city like place with holovision,electrocars,where everyone likes to be in crowds)until one day his dad dies.Rob is sent off to boarding school which is a living nightmare.They are strict and harsh and you are not allowed to be different.Desperate to escape Rob sets off to the County(where his dead mother used to live)in hopes of a better life.On the way he gets chased,becomes hungry and uncomfortable and has trouble getting into the County as the Barrier that seperates the two is supposed to be electrofied.
In the County Rob meets Mike and the two become friends and to disguise him from the authorities he is taken into the family and is made Mike's cousin.Everything goes fine until Mike starts to rebel against the controlled way of living.Rob has to decide whether to help his friend who he owes his life to or stay in the County where he's safe and secure.The really bad thing is I've gone into about chapter eight(out of ten)which just shows the slowness of the book and I won't reveal the ending which is a real suprise.
I like this book as it argues about the right of humans to do what they like and not be controlled.Also I like how on different sides of the Barrier things have gone different ways.For instance the County have horses and carriages for their transport and go fox-hunting whereas the Conurbans have inventions like the electrocar and holovision.
If you saw the same cover of the book that I saw you would probably be put off the book.But give it a try as it deals with a really good issue and even if it does move slow it is still a good read.Happy Reading!!

Rating:
Summary: Contented Slaves
Review: This is an interesting story about freedom, and in particular, our ability to make choices that could affect the rest of our lives.

Rob Randall lives in the Conurb - an overcrowded urban maze, where reading and thinking for yourself is unpopular, and life revolves around sport, holovision, and riots. When Rob's father is electrocuted, he is sent to a boarding school where life becomes a nightmare of over-zealous discipline and torment.

Rob hears about the Barrier, which divides the Conurb from the rural, open spaces known as the County. Rob runs away from the boarding school and crosses the Barrier, hoping for a better life. On the surface, life in the County seems perfect. But Rob soon learned that appearances are very deceptive...

Although "The Guardians" is not as fast-moving as the "Tripods Trilogy", it's an interesting book nevertheless. Some of the things John Christopher writes about in his imaginary future are rather close to the bone. In the culture I live in, sport is treated with much more reverence than literature and the arts. There are signs that people devote less time to reading, as it's much easier to slump in front of the screen, watching sentimental drivel. More than ever, our lives are controlled by the media and a growing lack of privacy.

The two worlds John Christopher writes about here are deceptively utopian, but are in fact places where people are ruled by a cynical elite. Books like "The Guardians" remind us that the freedom we have is something we must never take for granted.