Thursday, July 24, 2014

A new student review of The Brewster Boys and the Eve of Infamy by Stephen Dittmer

farmerboy posted a new student review of The Brewster Boys and the Eve of Infamy by Stephen Dittmer. See the full review.

     I was surprised to find (after I had finished the book) that this was the author’s first novel: I would have expected that the quality achieved here would require more experience, I can’t wait to see what comes next!

Writing-style

     The writing-style was good, well-balanced, and engaging, so engaging that once I started I could hardly put the book down!  It was well-balanced in that it was simple (in a good way) without being watered-down at all.

Plot-line

     The plot-line was incredible: not just your everyday, run of the mill super sci-fi time-travel adventure novel, this was a spectacular sci-fi time-travel adventure novel!  Not every author can put a half-crazed 21st century granddaughter of a NAZI atomic scientist in charge of a bunch of 1930s New York mobsters, give them a bagful of futuristic mad-science gadgets, and not make a comedy; but Stephen Dittmer makes it so believable that, after reading the book, you will find yourself looking over your shoulder constantly, just in case.

Character Development

     The plot starts off right away, so the characters have to hit the ground running, which gives the initial impression of poor development; however, they soon catch up, and after a few chapters I felt like I knew them really well.  

Dialogue

     Dialogue was well-written.  Comic relief was used fairly heavily, but not overly so.  

Conclusion

     I found the book to be a fine read, with a good writing-style.  The plot-line was original, yet believable.  The character development was good, as was the dialogue.