Saturday, July 30, 2011

Jack Blank by Matt Myklusch

Twelve-year-old Jack Blank has been living in an unbearable orphanage, where he is persistently picked on by a bully named Rex. The only excitement he can find is in reading comic books. Jack Blank does not have any idea where he came from, where his family might be, and who he truly is. During the morning a killer robot from one of the comic books Jack reads becomes comes to life and tries to kill him. Jazen Knight, an agent from an ambiguous country named Imagine Nation, has arrived for Jack.

Imagine Nation is in perpetual motion and passes through countries of our world, even though the residences are from this nation they come from different places whether real, imaginary, or from outer space. There is a city named Cognito, a place where people go to disappear. The streets do not even have names. Imagine Nation is comprised of all sorts of living creatures, from regular people to androids, aliens, ninjas, sorcerers, kung-fu masters. It almost felt like another version of Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood. The main characters had almost identical identities.

The book is a brilliant mix-up of characters that I have heard of and those that I have only dreamt of. The androids were describe as never before. The ninjas were almost predictable and yet their movements were hard to follow, along with the kung-fu masters and aliens. I could not believe how hard his life was due to him not knowing where his parents were and the life he lived in the orphanage. I had wished it had a better ending for my taste but there was not anything wrong with it.

Reviewer Age:16

Reviewer City, State and Country: Dyess, Arkansas United States of America