Testa, Dom: The Web of Titan
The Web of Titan (2006)
Written by: Dom Testa
Genre: YA/Science Fiction
Pages: 242 (Trade Paperback)
I enjoyed the first book of this series pretty well. The Comet's Curse wasn't exactly the greatest thing ever, but I enjoyed the premise and the fast read of the whole thing. I added the second book to my watch list just in case I was in the mood for it when it came out, and I ended up pre-ordering it while pre-ordering something else on Amazon so I could get free shipping. Its arrival worked out to--this is a heavy fantasy month for me, and I wanted something light, fluffy, preferably YA and/or SF, and The Web of Titan fit the bill perfectly.
The premise: ganked from BN.com: After triumphing over a saboteur bent on destroying Galahad, Triana and her Council are eager to avoid any further complications. But as Galahad swings around the ringed planet Saturn, they encounter a mysterious metal pod orbiting the moon of Titan. The teens prepare to bring the pod and its contents aboard, only to be faced with a another crisis: an illness that is beyond their medical experience. Dozens of crew members fall into a comatose state, only to awaken with strangely glowing eyes. To make matters worse, the systems of Galahad begin to fail. With time running out, can Triana and her shipmates escape the Web of Titan?
Review style: I'm going to discuss how this book fits in as part of a series and whether or not you're shooting yourself in the foot if you don't read these books in order; how this book would be different if the same premise were written for adults; and how the book's target audience of YA (and I mean on the young side of YA) hinders some of the realism and makes me personally wish for something a little darker. Spoilers, yes, so skip to the "My Rating" section of the review to save yourself. Everyone else, read on.
From the start, our sort-of narrator pulls us into the thick of things by rambling on about the mission and what happened prior to this point. Testa actually handles this pretty well. If you haven't read the first book, you know JUST enough to keep from being confused here, but he also teases you by withholding details. Sure, you know that the Galahad crew won in the last book, but you don't know how, so you're left feeling curious. Don't get me wrong, all of this is rather blatant and obvious, but it gets the job done and works well for the target audience, so if you haven't read the first book when you read this, you won't be dying, and depending on how well this book grabs your attention, you may or may not want to hunt the first book down once you're done with this one.
One thing that is always in the back of my mind while reading is just how different this series/premise would be if written for adults. Don't give me that look, of course I'm thinking this! I'm an adult, and I'm a writer. I can't help but wonder how stories would be different if certain variables were changed! And on the extreme, dark side of this equation, you'd have Thomas A. Day's A Grey Moon Over China, which is rather ugly in its view of humanity and its future and I love how it has the balls to look at the dystopic side of life. Testa's Galahad series, on the other hand, is refreshingly optimistic in many regards, despite the events that brought the crew to this point. Everyone's perfect (no, really, you've got a ship full of 250 or so teens and so far, everyone's doing their jobs, schoolwork, and getting along! How disgusting is that?), and problems that come up where things could (and should) go horribly wrong, well, don't. For example: bringing the pod from Titan aboard the ship had me worried from the start, and not for the same reasons the characters were worried: these kids are "clear" of the disease that's wiped out anyone 18 or over, a disease that came from a comet, which came from outer space, and they've been told to pick up an object that contains people (let alone germs and particles) from outer space without any kind of quarantine procedure? Without any regard for the fact that doing this might very well bring the disease they're running away from onto the ship, a disease that will kill them once they reach a certain age?
The adult, let alone writer, scoffs that this wasn't least considered by one of the crew, while the inner child of a reader (the one who enjoys the Twilight series, no less), kicks back as says, "Oh hush, read and have fun!"
I'll admit, I didn't have as much fun this time around. It took me a little longer to read, but then again, I've been a lot busier. Still, when my brain starts spinning stories that lead me to question the choices of the story I'm reading, that always worries me.
There's another issue I had with this book, and maybe these issues were present in the first book but I was reading too fast too notice: there's some awful melodramatic writing here. And rather than explain, I'm just going to give you an example: But something else within her--within her heart?--cried out that Bon was actually very much like her… (page 88).
I'd be fine with this if the whole "within her heart?" line were axed, because it's a valid sentiment. But the "within her heart" adds a layer of cornball cheese that makes me roll my eyes, and while maybe this is because I'm not Testa's target audience and that his target audience wouldn't give a fig about such a cheesy, melodramatic line, I still err on the side of this should've been axed to improve the quality of the prose.
And while it's natural that teens do obsess over things (hello, Bella Swan), it got a little frustrating that Gap kept obsessing over witnessing Triana and Bon hug in the last book (they didn't even kiss you doof!) and Triana keeps obsessing over how much she misses her dad. Look, in regards to the latter, I don't expect her to turn that off. But I don't need to hear about it 20 times in the book either. I reached a point where I was like, "I know, I get it. I read about it in the last book and you keep mentioning it here and I get it already! She misses her dad! Moving on!" Again, maybe my reaction is natural because I'm not the target audience, but still, if the obsession wasn't there, it'd do wonders to elevate Testa's prose.
I know I'm being pretty harsh here. I did enjoy the book. After all, there's a kitty! Sure, I knew the cat toy was not a cat toy the moment we saw it, but look, a kitty! Cats do wonders to improve any kind of fiction. ;) I also liked the mystery involving Titan and how that was resolved. That was handled very well, actually, and I liked seeing how Testa incorporated science to try and help/hinder his Galahad crew. The climatic moment between Triana and Bon was very nicely done as well. And how cool is it that they met an alien intelligence that they just assumed was out to get them, but in all actuality was really trying to help? What a nice reversal of expectations, and I like the implication that Titan will be turning its sights to Earth, which makes me wonder what that means for the remaining survivors of the comet. Might they be saved? Have the Cassini learned their lesson so that they really CAN help this time? Those are great questions.
My Rating
Give It Away: yeah, it's what I was looking for: a fun fast read that happened to be both YA and science fiction. But while I admire that these books are filled with a certain kind of wonder-filled optimism, I know I'm the wrong audience for this series because I keep looking at it from the adult perspective and wanting darker situations. That said, a valid criticism here is that these kids are a little too perfect, and that just because they're the creme of the crop doesn't mean they won't find ways to get into trouble, that personalities won't clash. We really haven't seen that yet, and I find that hard to swallow. Hopefully, we'll see it soon. But, that aside, the story itself is enjoyable and I like the new addition to the new. These books remind me of the short-lived but excellent Defying Gravity, a television series, in terms of structure: you've got a crew that can't go home who must figure out mysteries that jeopardize their overall mission. That's fun. As to whether or not I'll continue with the series by reading the third book, The Cassini Code, that all depends on my mood when the sucker comes out in November. The series is light, fluffy, enjoyable, but definitely geared for the younger side of YA, and that, for me, is more of a hinderance than anything. Still, I appreciate and enjoy its diverse cast, even if I feel everyone is too perfectly behaved. :)
Cover Commentary: let's skip the cover art for in order for me to write an open letter to the author:
Dear Dom Testa:
Please update your website. You are no longer a self-published author whose books are just "something you do." Your wesbite still features not the self-published cover, but the Tor hardcover that's no longer available in stores. No, instead you have shiny, brighter covers and a third novel coming out in November. But your website doesn't even have updated cover, let alone make mention of the second book of the series.
I'd like to see you either update your website and have a nice dedicated portion for your books, or better still, have a dedicated website for these books and/or your writing. As reader, an adult no less, I'm not in the SLIGHTEST bit interested in all the other stuff you do, and the visuals of this website are DEADLY for your target audience. Do you really think this is going to hold their attention, even though there's links on the front page talking about your most recent news?
So please, update your website and make it something shiny, or have a dedicated website for this series and make it stand-out. And yes, you need to post your covers as they're released. Book covers generate excitement, and your covers are quite nicely done. They fit the tone of the book, they show your diverse cast, and they're sharp, colorful, and eye-catching, unlike like your current website. I don't say this to insult whatever design team came up with your current site, as I'm sure it's quite functional for whatever you originally intended it for, but now that you're publishing books on a regular basis, I think you need to have something that's better suited for your fans.
Much love, Calico.
Next up: The King's Bastard: Book One of the Chronicles of King Rolen's Kin by Rowena Cory Daniells