I received an advance review
copy of this book and am leaving this review voluntarily.
Please note: This book is due
for release on August 16, 2022 - ISBN: 9798986024806 - Preorders Available
Soon.
Teslanauts is a story worthy of
the word genius. Set in 1922 after WWI, it is a historical, young adult sci-fi
story where the bulk of the action occurs in western Europe. It is written so
well with amazing characters who perform amazing feats. We get to meet Nikola
Tesla and George Westinghouse as they direct a small army of mostly kids called
the Teslanauts.
I enjoyed this story immensely
and was amazed at the author's imagination and the research he must have done
to bring it to life. I was hooked from the first sentence and it did not let me
go until the last word of the text. Teslanauts spans an entire spectrum of
palpable emotions and will keep readers on the edge of their seats. It is a
young adult story, but adult readers shouldn't let that get in the way of
enjoying this electrifying tale of a boy's adventure as he goes on a journey of
discovery.
Much of what is in this saga is
fiction, but when one thinks about the visionary, Nikola Tesla, maybe what is
in this story isn't so farfetched.
Young Raymond Calvert, aged
seventeen, lives in New York with his mother, who is doing the best she can to
raise him. He is not a typical kid of his age. When he was younger, his dad
went missing and Raymond spends his spare time searching for clues among his
father's papers. When he thinks he has found something, he is whisked away by
two agents of the Electrocracy and is introduced to a group of agents known as
the Teslanauts, under the direct command of Nikola Tesla himself. Raymond
learns how much his father meant to Tesla and the organization as a whole.
Raymond makes it his mission to use the vast technology, including things that
allow him to move over long distances in the blink of an eye, to find and, if
necessary, rescue his father.
But there are other forces at
work in the world, and they are not satisfied with the outcome of the War to
End All Wars and are hellbent on restarting and winning the next conflict that
will be fought with futuristic technology. If they are allowed to bring their
plan to fruition, the fate of the planet and history as we know it will be changed,
and not for the better.
Raymond is a good kid but is a
troubled kid. He knows his father is out there somewhere and he wants
desperately to find and bring him home. It is his main focus, and he uses the
Teslanauts to try to achieve his goal. But along the way, he meets others who
are willing to sacrifice everything to stop the re-sparking of WWI. Raymond
isn't the brightest student, barely making it into the organization, but what
he lacks in knowledge, he certainly makes up for it with his tenacity. He is a
likable character, and it is hard for the reader not to want him to win his
personal battle as a son, but also to contribute to his team to stop the evil
that would have their way should the Electrocracy fail.
Teslanauts is a hero's journey
and a tale of a young man learning to rise above himself and come of age in a
complicated time in world history.
There are numerous diverse
characters in this story and all of them are appealing. Everyone has a part to
play, and they contribute according to their talents. Their leaders spur them
on, but victory is not guaranteed. It takes everyone doing their part for them
to even have a chance.
My favorite point of plot is
the way the technology seems so plausible. Tesla was a visionary and a dreamer
and wanted to make use of electricity is a much different way than we do today.
Nearly all the gadgets in the story are things Tesla intended to make real. Had
he been allowed to follow his work to its logical conclusion, who knows what
modern technology might look like?
Another aspect I enjoyed was
the way the characters interacted with each other. It felt so natural and
authentic that the players in the story came alive. Each one had their story to
tell, and we got enough background on all of them. The back-stories were
presented as part of the tale itself and revealed over time as the people got
to know their fellow Teslanauts. If there is one point that took me a smidgen
out of the story, it was how the kids would speak in today's vernacular, but
this only happened occasionally, and I chalked it up to being a young adult
story and an attempt to relate to the target audience.
My final favorite plot point
was how well the settings fit the story. I saw this story in my head in black
and white with the period costumes. The descriptions of the places and things
added to the feeling and transported be back in time. Along with the setings
was the way the author included historical facts and how certain characters
felt about their predicaments. This was some good stuff.
My takeaway from Teslanauts is
how the author illustrates a dilemma faced by the principal character. He has
his agenda, but yet is honor bound to fulfill his duty. This is something all
young adults must face when their lives are no longer about going to school.
There are many complicated decisions young people face, and some of those
decisions speak directly to their character. Raymond makes a decision that may
have spelled disaster for the entire world, but he was fortunate enough to
still come through for his team. Some are not so fortunate, and decisions do
sometimes lead to disaster.
Teslanauts is a well written,
well thought out story told from the point of view of a seventeen-year-old. It
was amazing how the author could put himself into that position and communicate
it so well. It is an adventure story that hits the ground running and doesn't
stop until the very end. When you read it, don't blink; you might miss
something. The story is emotionally charged and has believable characters in a
well-researched world. My highest recommendations for Teslanauts!
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
He graduated from the
University of Northern Colorado in 2014 with a B.A. in English and Creative
Writing and is currently working on three sequels to Megazoic among some other
projects. He lives in Highlands Ranch, Colorado with his cockatiel, Lyra.
Well, there it is…
Qapla!
Great review. Looks like a good late summer read.
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