Ted Bernard

An entertaining and engaging read.

The blurb, however, does not accurately describe the actual content of the book.

Focusing mainly on a group of University students fighting to prevent climate change and its related natural disasters and damage to the flora and fauna. Bernard writes in a manner that is vivid, compelling, and descriptive. All loose ends are satisfactorily tied up and you find yourself relating to all characters in one way or another.

I definitely recommend this book to those who are interested in Dystopian fiction: this book however describing events prior to.… (mais)

Late-K Lunacy by Ted Bernard was a did not finish for me. I very rarely stop reading a book, so that alone speaks volumes. While the opening is set in a dystopian future, this ecology-based fictional novel is set in the present and focusing on a professor encouraging a group of student to consider the damaging effects of climate change. There is also fracking starting in the local woods. I tried to keep reading it several times until I finally gave up.

It was a chore to read right from the start due to the overabundance of descriptions and a preachy-lecturing tone to the narrative - all to the detriment of the plot. Everything is over-described, even minor characters. Early on I was muttering to myself, "Just get on with the story." I can accept lecturing me when you also provide me with a compelling set of main characters in a well-paced plot. Then throw in some suspense and intrigue. Develop those compelling characters and establish more of the setting along the way.

What didn't work: immediately lecturing the reader about your environmental concerns; setting the novel in an almost utopian small Ohio college town and providing all the history of this fictitious campus ; declaring a love for Millennials making everyone who is not one or all pro-Millennial bad; making the "bad" guys all stereotypical caricatures, either in descriptions of them (they are never looking good, or even okay) or in their speech patterns; making fun of areas of the country that you consider less intellectually developed than you.... I could go on but the gest of my point is that this reader gave up on Late-K Lunacy pretty early on because the writing wasn't worth the effort. (And it's not that I innately dislike environmental issues, college towns, and young adults - I live in a university town, am environmentally conscious, and have much-appreciated Millennials working for me.) Messages in novels are fine; almost all novels have some message in the plot, but make sure the actual quality of the writing can carry your message-laden plot.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the publisher/author through Library Thing’s Early Reviewer Program.… (mais)