Review by Ruth Fuller -- Project Tau by Jude Austin
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Kathryn Collins
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Review by Ruth Fuller -- Project Tau by Jude Austin
[Following is a volunteer review of "Project Tau" by Jude Austin.]
Project Tau written by Jude Austin tells the story of a young man attempting a suggested frat stunt in hopes of joining his favorite fraternity at the college he was just accepted into. Pulling off the stunt would get him into the best fraternity at the college of his dreams and make him more accepted by his peers. Instead, however, it only ends up getting him a heck of a whole lot more than he had bargained for in the form of a shocking adventure that served to mature him faster than he had ever imagined.
The book was a quick and easy read full of adventure, intrigue, compassion, and humor. Any gore was not detailed to the point of making me wince but instead helped me to understand what the characters were experiencing as an important aspect of the story. I was left hanging at the end of each chapter finding myself not wanting to put it down. I found the characters to be well developed throughout the book and acting in the way expected according to the way in which they were described.
The story made mention of various planets but no time frame was mentioned until closer to the end of the book. There was no mention of the earth at all yet all characters were “human”. I found this a frustrating distraction as I read. Assuming it took place somewhere in the future, I was confused about seeing “Tupperware” mentioned by name rather than simply the term “plastic containers”. At the same time, I could not help but wonder whether said containers should have been more sophisticated anyway. There were also movie quotes from the 20th century spoken by the main character which served to my confusion. Because the author is from England, there were uses of a couple of terms I was not familiar with and because of this, I could not help wonder why new expressions from the characters’ worlds had not been made up and inserted instead as this would have enhanced the overall setting of the story. On the other hand, the author may not have realized that the expressions were unfamiliar to American readers and it is something that anyone could have done equally. Near the end of the book, I did see a date of the year 3391. Apparently, they still have Tupperware then. Good job Tupperware for still being around 1731 years into the future!
Those who enjoy a story with adventure, intrigue, mystery, and genuine friendship will enjoy this book. I did find it intriguing to see how the Projects learned and grew mentally and emotionally and that often in humorous ways. If you are turned off or offended by vulgarity and sexual suggestion or innuendo I would suggest a pass on this book.
I found it interesting to learn the pros and cons of growing a clone as well as seeing life from a clone’s point of view and its slow entry into being introduced to what lies beyond what it was taught by its handlers. I found the emotional growth and friendship profound in parts. I give this book 3 out of 4 stars because while I was frustrated by what I found to be inconsistencies, I enjoyed it enough to want to read the sequel.
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Project Tau
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Project Tau written by Jude Austin tells the story of a young man attempting a suggested frat stunt in hopes of joining his favorite fraternity at the college he was just accepted into. Pulling off the stunt would get him into the best fraternity at the college of his dreams and make him more accepted by his peers. Instead, however, it only ends up getting him a heck of a whole lot more than he had bargained for in the form of a shocking adventure that served to mature him faster than he had ever imagined.
The book was a quick and easy read full of adventure, intrigue, compassion, and humor. Any gore was not detailed to the point of making me wince but instead helped me to understand what the characters were experiencing as an important aspect of the story. I was left hanging at the end of each chapter finding myself not wanting to put it down. I found the characters to be well developed throughout the book and acting in the way expected according to the way in which they were described.
The story made mention of various planets but no time frame was mentioned until closer to the end of the book. There was no mention of the earth at all yet all characters were “human”. I found this a frustrating distraction as I read. Assuming it took place somewhere in the future, I was confused about seeing “Tupperware” mentioned by name rather than simply the term “plastic containers”. At the same time, I could not help but wonder whether said containers should have been more sophisticated anyway. There were also movie quotes from the 20th century spoken by the main character which served to my confusion. Because the author is from England, there were uses of a couple of terms I was not familiar with and because of this, I could not help wonder why new expressions from the characters’ worlds had not been made up and inserted instead as this would have enhanced the overall setting of the story. On the other hand, the author may not have realized that the expressions were unfamiliar to American readers and it is something that anyone could have done equally. Near the end of the book, I did see a date of the year 3391. Apparently, they still have Tupperware then. Good job Tupperware for still being around 1731 years into the future!
Those who enjoy a story with adventure, intrigue, mystery, and genuine friendship will enjoy this book. I did find it intriguing to see how the Projects learned and grew mentally and emotionally and that often in humorous ways. If you are turned off or offended by vulgarity and sexual suggestion or innuendo I would suggest a pass on this book.
I found it interesting to learn the pros and cons of growing a clone as well as seeing life from a clone’s point of view and its slow entry into being introduced to what lies beyond what it was taught by its handlers. I found the emotional growth and friendship profound in parts. I give this book 3 out of 4 stars because while I was frustrated by what I found to be inconsistencies, I enjoyed it enough to want to read the sequel.
******
Project Tau
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Poems About Things That Mattered Most by Bob Dowell
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NatRose
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You make some good points about the future setting of the book. The movie quotes and other contemporary terms you mentioned didn't lessen my immersion in the book, but I guess I'm willing to suspend my disbelief a little more than you are. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Tupperware remained a term used for certain types of containers long after the company itself has gone under. After all, elevator is a brand name as well, but now it's used in America to describe just about any mechanism that will take you straight up and down between floors.
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Kathryn Collins
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Hi NatRose
I have never heard that "elevator" is a brand name. I will need to look that up now! What took me time to realize were brand names are things like Xerox and Kleenex. I am glad you enjoyed the book. And I had the same curiosity of what you said about Tupperware and even the movies themselves.
Zaddy_007 I wanted to reply to your PM but could not figure out how as there was nothing marked "reply" which I found odd. The book was very good and I did enjoy it and I can still see it in my head. I think you will enjoy it as well.
I have never heard that "elevator" is a brand name. I will need to look that up now! What took me time to realize were brand names are things like Xerox and Kleenex. I am glad you enjoyed the book. And I had the same curiosity of what you said about Tupperware and even the movies themselves.
Zaddy_007 I wanted to reply to your PM but could not figure out how as there was nothing marked "reply" which I found odd. The book was very good and I did enjoy it and I can still see it in my head. I think you will enjoy it as well.
Latest Review: Poems About Things That Mattered Most by Bob Dowell
