⋙ [PDF] Free The Disasters M K England Books

The Disasters M K England Books

Download As PDF : The Disasters M K England Books

The Disasters M K England Books

In retrospect, I realize now that this novel is clearly meant for high schoolers or young adults, though it's not clearly billed that way. This starts out with excellent pacing and a strong introductory hook (from the first chapter, the shooting and action starts and doesn't much let up from there). So, for a different intended audience, this book could have been fantastic. But as it is, the protagonist (and his compatriots) are younger or slightly above 18. And while the first person narrative closely mimics someone of this age, my 30+ year old brain grew very tired of it very quickly (imagine lots of unnecessary commentary, fretting, and obsessing about sexual attraction).

Which brings me to my next point: the crew of "disasters" numbers four (plus someone else that tags along about halfway through. Of these 4, the protagonist is bisexual (and attracted to 2 people of either sex at once), one is male homosexual, one is trans, and one is, presumably, female heterosexual. What are the chances that 4 random people would so perfectly represent a large portion of the gender / sexual pallette? I'm not put off by the sexuality itself, but it's very clear how hard the author is trying to cover all of the bases here, and it ultimately seems more distracting than realistic or representative. Especially with how apparently horny the main character (and 2 others) are.

Besides this, the physics in this book are wildly inconsistent. Magic energy shields exist, but not artificial gravity, per se, but then "inertial dampeners" exist, which would basically be gravity fields, yet space ships can't hover unless there's iron plating below it that it can use for repulsor magnetic fields. And there's dozens of other little examples of inconsistent descriptions and laws of reality that make it unclear many times what is or should be happening. At one point, the ship the protagonists use is involved in an aerial dog fight, and someone is standing up, but when a sudden maneuver comes, rather than being thrown against a wall and killed, they're just flung over someone's lap. In addition, it's in no way clear how these ships fly in atmosphere, whether by aerodynamics or sheer thrust or something else, because it's also unclear whether the author understands that aerodynamic surfaces do not maneuver a vessel in space (there's a scene where it seems like the author really doesn't know this and never makes mention of directional thrusters).

Ultimately, though, what really killed it for me was at the end ((( SPOILERS ))) ... The good guys end up defeating an entire space station full of bad guys with, and I am not kidding here, nitrous oxide, AKA laughing gas. They literally just roll a canister of NOS at hyped up bad guys with automatic rifles and the bad guys instantly dissolve in laughter. First off, that's not at all how NOS works, and despite it's nick-name, NOS is more akin to aerolized wine - maybe you'll laugh, maybe you'll zonk out, maybe you'll just be confused, maybe you'll get irrationly concerned about something trivial. But you wouldn't lose all grasp of reality, and you certaintly wouldn't be instantly effected by the gas spraying wildly into open air near you from one source. At least some, if not most of the bad guys should have kept firing back, but probably with decreasing accuracy. Worse, none of these idiots apparently had the mind to bring armor or show up with a vacuum suit on, because the good guys are literally using non-lethal, non-piercing ammo the whole time while the bad guys are obviously not above mass murder. Oh, which I nearly forgot, is accomplished by way of a recycled version of The Kingsmen plot wherein everyone is killed by loud noises from their personal electronic devices (which is not possible, please, please, stop trying to do this, fiction writers, it's absurd).

All told, the writing style had promise and so did the plot, but it gets increasingly buried under dumber and dumber details and plot progression. Add onto that distracting 1st person narrative, and you have yourself a mediocre novel.


Tags : Amazon.com: The Disasters (9780062657671): M. K. England: Books,M. K. England,The Disasters,HarperTeen,0062657674,Science fiction,Science fiction.,Fiction-Science Fiction,JUVENILE,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Grades 10-12 Ages 15+,TEEN'S FICTION - ACTION & ADVENTURE,TEEN'S FICTION ROMANCE,TEEN'S FICTION SCIENCE FICTION,United States,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Action & Adventure General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance LGBT,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Science Fiction Alien Contact,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Science Fiction Space Opera,Young Adult FictionAction & Adventure - General,Young Adult FictionRomance - LGBT,Young Adult FictionScience Fiction - Space Opera

The Disasters M K England Books Reviews

I purchased this book after seeing a description for it in a Scholastic Book email I got. It was described as Guardians of the Galaxy meets the Breakfast Club, and that's exactly what it delivered.

I loved this book from cover to cover, and inhaled it in about three days. I haven't read a book in a couple of years, and I think this is the one that is going to get me to rediscover my love of reading.

The action was non-stop, and it didn't feel slow in the slow points, the plot moving along and keeping me guessing as to what was going to happen next. I appreciated that like a typical teen novel, that the main character wasn't focused on romance. Hints of it, but it wasn't the main focus. I really enjoyed the diversity of the characters, and differences in all of them is what brings them together.

It was an extremely fun read, and I look forward to reading more of M.K. England's books.
THE DISASTERS is so good, I ordered 5 copies to give as gifts this holiday season! Funny, fast-paced, and with a charming + diverse cast of characters to root for, this book will hold you from start to finish. Such a fun read—and full of excellent representation. Highly recommended!
While the story is amazingly intense and full of action, the bi-sexual protagonist’s dual attraction for female and male characters may not be for everyone. While reading the first bit of the book, I couldn’t identify if the protagonist was male or female, as the “voice” seemed to go both ways, and this unisex “voice” phenomenon continues throughout. There is also a transgendered person in the book, a Muslim, and a Pakistani character. Beyond the excellent multicultural character lineup, the plot is also well developed, and the pacing keeps the pages turning.

There are a few grammar errors, but overall the book is a clean read.
Originally stumbled across this book as a facebook recommended event for the author's book signing in my hometown(sadly couldn't make it). A huge fan of all things space, the cover caught my eye. Figured if I didn't get into the book it would at least look nice on my bookshelf, but I got hooked immediately.

The story was exciting and the writing exhilarating; I found my heart racing with the characters' as they tucked and rolled through hallways and soared through space. (If you really want an in-depth experience, I highly recommend reading during a flight; with some turbulence, definitely not for the faint of heart.)

When I originally looked into the book I basically read "exciting space adventure!" and immediately pre ordered it; that's all I needed to give it a shot. I definitely did not expect such diverse characters with creative/unique backgrounds; it was a pleasant surprise and like a nice breath of fresh air.

I was personally never bored while reading this and there were no slow points for me. There were times I just had to read 3-4 chapters in a sitting because it was too good to put down. But also calming, weighted moments to breathe and chapters ending on subtle cliffhangers where I could allow myself to close the book and finally go to bed.

I think anyone, at any age, who loves space or just adventure would enjoy reading this book. And England's amazingly descriptive writing style allowed me to see the character's reactions, feel their emotions and, most amazingly to me, experience a world I've never seen or imagined before.

I usually finish a book like this wishing I could actually see what the characters and the worlds they're exploring look like (the reason I usually prefer games and movies), but as I closed the book, I felt as though I had experienced it all myself right along side them.

Looking forward to more work from M.K. England in the future.
In retrospect, I realize now that this novel is clearly meant for high schoolers or young adults, though it's not clearly billed that way. This starts out with excellent pacing and a strong introductory hook (from the first chapter, the shooting and action starts and doesn't much let up from there). So, for a different intended audience, this book could have been fantastic. But as it is, the protagonist (and his compatriots) are younger or slightly above 18. And while the first person narrative closely mimics someone of this age, my 30+ year old brain grew very tired of it very quickly (imagine lots of unnecessary commentary, fretting, and obsessing about sexual attraction).

Which brings me to my next point the crew of "disasters" numbers four (plus someone else that tags along about halfway through. Of these 4, the protagonist is bisexual (and attracted to 2 people of either sex at once), one is male homosexual, one is trans, and one is, presumably, female heterosexual. What are the chances that 4 random people would so perfectly represent a large portion of the gender / sexual pallette? I'm not put off by the sexuality itself, but it's very clear how hard the author is trying to cover all of the bases here, and it ultimately seems more distracting than realistic or representative. Especially with how apparently horny the main character (and 2 others) are.

Besides this, the physics in this book are wildly inconsistent. Magic energy shields exist, but not artificial gravity, per se, but then "inertial dampeners" exist, which would basically be gravity fields, yet space ships can't hover unless there's iron plating below it that it can use for repulsor magnetic fields. And there's dozens of other little examples of inconsistent descriptions and laws of reality that make it unclear many times what is or should be happening. At one point, the ship the protagonists use is involved in an aerial dog fight, and someone is standing up, but when a sudden maneuver comes, rather than being thrown against a wall and killed, they're just flung over someone's lap. In addition, it's in no way clear how these ships fly in atmosphere, whether by aerodynamics or sheer thrust or something else, because it's also unclear whether the author understands that aerodynamic surfaces do not maneuver a vessel in space (there's a scene where it seems like the author really doesn't know this and never makes mention of directional thrusters).

Ultimately, though, what really killed it for me was at the end ((( SPOILERS ))) ... The good guys end up defeating an entire space station full of bad guys with, and I am not kidding here, nitrous oxide, AKA laughing gas. They literally just roll a canister of NOS at hyped up bad guys with automatic rifles and the bad guys instantly dissolve in laughter. First off, that's not at all how NOS works, and despite it's nick-name, NOS is more akin to aerolized wine - maybe you'll laugh, maybe you'll zonk out, maybe you'll just be confused, maybe you'll get irrationly concerned about something trivial. But you wouldn't lose all grasp of reality, and you certaintly wouldn't be instantly effected by the gas spraying wildly into open air near you from one source. At least some, if not most of the bad guys should have kept firing back, but probably with decreasing accuracy. Worse, none of these idiots apparently had the mind to bring armor or show up with a vacuum suit on, because the good guys are literally using non-lethal, non-piercing ammo the whole time while the bad guys are obviously not above mass murder. Oh, which I nearly forgot, is accomplished by way of a recycled version of The Kingsmen plot wherein everyone is killed by loud noises from their personal electronic devices (which is not possible, please, please, stop trying to do this, fiction writers, it's absurd).

All told, the writing style had promise and so did the plot, but it gets increasingly buried under dumber and dumber details and plot progression. Add onto that distracting 1st person narrative, and you have yourself a mediocre novel.