Review of Humanity's Struggle

[Christabel Uzoamaka]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Humanity's Struggle" by Harry MachDuff.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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When Jason and Carla survive exposure to a dangerous substance during an FBI mission, powerful people want to know why they are special. Jason and Carla’s only child, Amy, is a primary target, but those powerful people also have their eyes on Brian and Reb, Jason’s children with Lovisa. The attack on their family launches a series of events. Brian is captured, and Amy slips into a coma. We soon learn that Earth is preparing to fight a much bigger war than anyone before, a fight against space aliens. Amidst all the chaos, will Brian ever make it back home? Will the Harris’ make it through the attacks alive? What is the future of mankind? Read Humanity’s Struggle to find out.

Humanity’s Struggle by Harry MachDuff is the first book in the In Time and Space series. From the onset, I found this book fast-paced and interesting. Carla was introduced as a mysterious lady, and this alone piqued my interest to know what she wanted from Jason. Throughout the novel, the author kept me wanting to know what was next, and he kept surprising me. From Brian’s abduction to bomb blasts, smuggling, and an alien invasion, the story was never short of action.

The fast-paced, eventful nature of this book is also its bane. It was as if the author could not wait to develop one plotline, and the next would spring up. Initially, the author introduced Amy as a special character, and I thought she was the protagonist, but she was soon discarded. Just when I thought that the story would be about the Harris’ trying to find Brian, the author introduced something else, and this happened throughout the book. Everything was happening too fast to keep up with.

The book uses the third-person narrative style and dialogue. It is through dialogue that readers find out most things about the characters. I found the excessive use of dialogue tiring. It also led to the characters not being properly developed. I could not imagine what Lovisa, Reb, Brian, Jason, and many other characters looked like. I could not connect with or root for any character. What’s more, the dialogue of some characters did not match who they were supposed to be. Almost every character said, “Don’t ya know,” including Brian, who had gone through some hardship and extensive training, which did not read right to me.

To crown it all, I did not find this book to be professionally edited. I found many errors in the book. In the beginning, Brian’s name was written as “Brain” in many instances. Also, the book made abrupt switches from third-person narration to first-person, and I could not tell whose point of view it was. I cannot rate this book more than 2 out of 4 stars. I did not rate it lower because I found some parts of it interesting, and if further developed, this book can be a great read. For one, it would make a better movie than it was written as a book. I recommend this book to young adult lovers of thriller and science-fiction books. The science and technology part, however, does not come until much later in the book. Readers should note that the book contains some profanity.

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Humanity's Struggle
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[Hogwarts03]

The scifi nature of this book sounds intriguing but the many plotlines and inconsistencies are a little offputting. Thank you for pointing them out.

[Amy Luman]

I like to get in on the beginning of a series and this one sounds really good. Maybe the author will take your suggestions to make it easier to read. I want to know what happens.

[collinsogw555]

Humanity has always been in a struggle, struggle for who to be in power, who would be the richest person. I would love to read this book. Great review.

[youmpkang1]

What an honest review! Despite that being said, I will love to have a grab of the book. The fact that the book might have lacked some professional proofreading and editing, has made so profaned. However, the decision of making it into movie wouldn't be bad anyway.

[TONGJAL WUNGAKHA]

Your review seemed fast-paced. However, I wasn't left on the way. I scarcely do movies but will be thrilled to find your recommendation helpful if a movie is produced from the book; that is after having read the book and seen the movie, if such ever gets produced. Thank you for such detailed review.

[Tarie07]

The book seems interesting, but I can't read a book with a lot of errors it would just put me off. Thanks for the honest review.

[NetMassimo]

This novel seems to have some interesting potential but is burdened by the flaws you pointed out. I hope the author does some more editing to improve the story's flow and correct all the errors. Thank you for your honest review!