McNamee, Eoin. The Navigator. Random House, 2007. ISBN 9780375839108. $15.99. 342 p.
Reviewer: Laura Wadley
Reading Level: Intermediate
Rating: Dependable
Genre: Fantasy fiction; Adventure stories;
Subject: Fantasy; Time--Juvenile fiction; Books--Reviews;
Owen is making his way towards his hideout by the river when the sky goes dark and then light again, and a raggedy man tells him that “it has begun.” Owen soon finds himself camped with The Resistors, near where his home would be if his home were still there, but the Resistors are battling the Harsh, frightening presences whose goal is to reverse time and eliminate all living things. Owen and his new friend Cati are indirectly involved in the action until they discover Owen is the Navigator, who must find a way to stop the Harsh from destroying the earth.
The Navigator is a rip-snorting adventure, somewhat raggedly plotted here and there, but the inventiveness in both situation and characters makes for gripping reading. There is often so much going on in this book that it is hard to tell the bad guys from the good guys, but the Harsh are genuinely frightening, and the setting is memorably atmospheric.
