Book Review of "The Ocean and The Hourglass" written By Dan O’Brien

The Ocean and The Hourglass, written By Dan O’Brien

 

I received this book complimentary of the author with the express intent of my written review only with no monetary compensation or gain.

 

The Mariner could be the next great superhero, or could it possibly be the Prodigy? My mind travels to far off lands and oceans where the characters jump to life with every page I turn. I want to reach inside of the book and take care of the main character, Nicholas Miles. He is only a teenager, but one who has been delivered a hard life! With no father to guide him, and a mother who can only find peace through the bottle, Nicholas attaches himself to the only thing he finds real, The Mariner! A comic book about a man who is one with the ocean and has remarkable superpowers. Nicholas finds himself in the only reality he finds comforting, his comic books.

 

As he gets to school, he is confronted by the school Bully. Mark and his gang of high school thugs are always on the hunt for easy prey to pick on and Nicholas is usually the target! With his favorite comic book torn to shreds, and tears running down his face he finds the strength to stand up, gather his thoughts, walk out school to the place he knew he could order another Mariner Comic, the Library! Finding his way to the library in the freezing cold is no ordinary feat! He has challenges along the way and once he gets there, he finds Mr. Thompson the librarian asking questions why he is not in school again. Of course, Mr. Thompson knows better and has been one of the few friends Nicholas has! Nicholas dodging explanations quickly asks if he can order another comic book, but the librarian has a better idea! As he leads Nicholas to private section where special and rare books are held, he tells Nicholas of a book that is so special that it has rules attached. Seeing the hourglass next to the book Nicholas asks what it is for and Mr. Thompson explains the 5 rules of the book. Nicholas promises to follow the rules and starts reading once the librarian has left the room. What adventures await him as he quickly finds himself immersed within it’s pages. 

 

The rest you will have to find out for yourself as I would not want to spoil the adventure! I found this book extremely exciting, exhilarating,  and action packed with adventures at every turn of the page! Dan O’Brien has a great writing style that does not confuse the reader with overly difficult character development, but with a grace that engulfs you into believing every character in the book picturing in your mind what each one looks like. I loved this book and would definitely recommend not only to young adults, but to reading audiences from children, school systems, science fiction, to adult readers as well.

 

I rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars! Would definitely recommend to my children and others to read! Thank you Dan for coming up with an original book that I can only somewhat compare to The Never-Ending Story, written by Michael Ende. The Ocean and The Hourglass, a wonderful Book with twists and turns abound within it’s pages for all to read!