Thirteen by Tom Hoyle
Jun. 19th, 2014 11:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Born at midnight in London on the stroke of the new millennium, Adam is the target of a cult that believes boys born at this time must die before the end of their thirteenth year. Twelve have been killed so far. Coron, the crazy cult leader, will stop at nothing to bring in his new kingdom. And now he is planning a bombing spectacular across London to celebrate the sacrifice of his final victim: Adam.
13-year-old Adam was born at the stroke of midnight on 1st January 2000. His date of birth has made him the target of a cult lead be the maniacal Lord Coron who’s convinced that only a boy born at that time can stop him from bringing about a revolution in heaven and on earth that will see him take control on behalf of The Master. Coron and his followers have identified thirteen boys born at the stroke of midnight. They’ve killed twelve of them. And now they’ve found Adam …
Tom Hoyle’s debut Tween novel (the first in a series) is a lifeless, plodding thriller based on a premise filled with holes and populated by bland characters. The writing was flat (particularly dialogue, which is perfunctory at best) and the count-down motiff robs the story of what little tension there is with its anvil hints and ‘little did he knows’. The plot frequently stretches credibility to keep events moving (particularly with regard to how the police service works) and the story is peppered with internal inconsistencies. All in all, it was a disappointment and I won’t be reading on.
The big problem is that Corom’s cult only focuses on boys born at the stroke of midnight in Britain, so any boys born in parts of France, Spain, Algeria, Mali etc are all apparently safe and while you can argue that cults are not based on logic, it’s a point that’s never raised by Adam or other non-cult members. Corom himself is shown as being mentally ill (possibly schizophrenic), which made it difficult to understand why so many people would follow him, especially given his oppressive regime. (As an aside, I’m really fed up of children’s authors equating mental illness with violence and evil because it encourages prejudice against those who are more likely to be a danger to themselves.) There’s also an inconsistency with the cult being described as built using homeless and vulnerable people and yet it apparently also includes senior police officers without explaining why educated people would belong to it.
Adam’s a bland character, driven by plot events rather than driving them, although I believes in his reaction to his encounter with the cult at a music festival. Megan is essentially a romantic interest and cult bait.
Ultimately, I just found this a dull, slightly ridiculous read and as such, I will not continue with the series.
The Verdict:
Tom Hoyle’s debut Tween novel (the first in a series) is a lifeless, plodding thriller based on a premise filled with holes and populated by bland characters. The writing was flat (particularly dialogue, which is perfunctory at best) and the count-down motiff robs the story of what little tension there is with its anvil hints and ‘little did he knows’. The plot frequently stretches credibility to keep events moving (particularly with regard to how the police service works) and the story is peppered with internal inconsistencies. All in all, it was a disappointment and I won’t be reading on.
THIRTEEN was released in the United Kingdom on 13th February 2014. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
Born at midnight in London on the stroke of the new millennium, Adam is the target of a cult that believes boys born at this time must die before the end of their thirteenth year. Twelve have been killed so far. Coron, the crazy cult leader, will stop at nothing to bring in his new kingdom. And now he is planning a bombing spectacular across London to celebrate the sacrifice of his final victim: Adam.
13-year-old Adam was born at the stroke of midnight on 1st January 2000. His date of birth has made him the target of a cult lead be the maniacal Lord Coron who’s convinced that only a boy born at that time can stop him from bringing about a revolution in heaven and on earth that will see him take control on behalf of The Master. Coron and his followers have identified thirteen boys born at the stroke of midnight. They’ve killed twelve of them. And now they’ve found Adam …
Tom Hoyle’s debut Tween novel (the first in a series) is a lifeless, plodding thriller based on a premise filled with holes and populated by bland characters. The writing was flat (particularly dialogue, which is perfunctory at best) and the count-down motiff robs the story of what little tension there is with its anvil hints and ‘little did he knows’. The plot frequently stretches credibility to keep events moving (particularly with regard to how the police service works) and the story is peppered with internal inconsistencies. All in all, it was a disappointment and I won’t be reading on.
The big problem is that Corom’s cult only focuses on boys born at the stroke of midnight in Britain, so any boys born in parts of France, Spain, Algeria, Mali etc are all apparently safe and while you can argue that cults are not based on logic, it’s a point that’s never raised by Adam or other non-cult members. Corom himself is shown as being mentally ill (possibly schizophrenic), which made it difficult to understand why so many people would follow him, especially given his oppressive regime. (As an aside, I’m really fed up of children’s authors equating mental illness with violence and evil because it encourages prejudice against those who are more likely to be a danger to themselves.) There’s also an inconsistency with the cult being described as built using homeless and vulnerable people and yet it apparently also includes senior police officers without explaining why educated people would belong to it.
Adam’s a bland character, driven by plot events rather than driving them, although I believes in his reaction to his encounter with the cult at a music festival. Megan is essentially a romantic interest and cult bait.
Ultimately, I just found this a dull, slightly ridiculous read and as such, I will not continue with the series.
The Verdict:
Tom Hoyle’s debut Tween novel (the first in a series) is a lifeless, plodding thriller based on a premise filled with holes and populated by bland characters. The writing was flat (particularly dialogue, which is perfunctory at best) and the count-down motiff robs the story of what little tension there is with its anvil hints and ‘little did he knows’. The plot frequently stretches credibility to keep events moving (particularly with regard to how the police service works) and the story is peppered with internal inconsistencies. All in all, it was a disappointment and I won’t be reading on.
THIRTEEN was released in the United Kingdom on 13th February 2014. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
