Official Review: Return Of The Kachinas

[JKO]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Return Of The Kachinas" by Margaret Vivienne Currie.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Return Of The Kachinas, by Margaret Vivienne Currie, is a piece of science fiction that follows the story of Abigail, who is approached by Hordea and given two choices when she is made known of a devastating event that is to take place which will wipe out most living things on Earth. The author describes the story as seen from Abigail’s eyes. She can choose to go with them on their alien ship through different planets, gaining knowledge that will be beneficial to earth’s survivors. She can also stay behind, saving herself from what is to come.

The story comes to life as Abigail chooses the former, but worries about her family’s chances of survival. She shares the information with her family and informs them of her decision while trying to convince them to abandon their life in Auckland to move to the mountains with their children, where it is safe. When the time comes for her departure, she notices that all her children but Charmaine are there with their families to wave her goodbye. The mother of three boards the ship nonetheless and leaves Earth. But, who is Hordea? What does Charmaine’s absence mean? Why has Abigail been chosen? Was she the only one chosen from Earth? Will her family survive the storm? When will she return?

Firstly, I must commend the author for good character development. With the number of characters the book had, one could be forgiven for not developing all of them effectively, but that was not the case for this author. Margaret occasionally employed dialogue between the characters, which gave the story a sense of immediacy and helped me understand the personalities of the main characters. The author was not only spot-on with character development but also the way she described the events and places. As a result of this, I was familiar with most of the characters, and I was not confused at the mention of any character’s name. Also, the descriptive prowess of the author made me have a clear mental picture of what she tried to describe at every point. It was almost like I was there in person.

My favorite part of this book was when Abigail showed how innovative she was in the ship while the ship spun out of Earth’s orbit, and with her help, they were able to steer the ship back on course. I was also pleased to see how the relationship between Abigail and Hordea grew with time. Another great attribute of this book is that the author used clear and coherent English to tell the story, which makes it easy to read even for a non-native English speaker. The text also seems to be professionally edited, as I found absolutely no errors within its pages.

Despite the positives, I felt that the plot in the second part of the story was seriously lacking. The second part of the story covered the events that took place after they returned to Earth. Although I enjoyed the first part of the story, the second part lacked real conflict. It was mostly a story of the people that survived, and how they rebuilt with the help of the returnees. They didn’t have any real challenges or opposition to their plans, and as a result, there was no room for any plot resolution. I had expected them to confront fresh and stern challenges upon their return to the planet, but I was disappointed.

Although I expected more from this book, it was a good read. With the pros and cons in mind, I have decided to remove one star to rate Return Of The Kachinas 3 out of 4 stars. This novel will certainly appeal to readers who are interested in science fiction and fantasy stories.

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Return Of The Kachinas
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[Deborah kalu]

Hmm... it is not an easy task to risk your life to save others I hope Abigail will make it??.wonderful review

[Koltrast]

What an interesting premise for a story! It's really a sign of an author's talent if they can make a large cast of characters be familiar. Even well written books with too many characters can feel confusing. Thank you for the review!

[SunVixen]

Look like very well-written and interesting sci-fi book. However, I have one question. Kachinas are Native Americans religious dolls. Do they have anything to do with this book?

Anyway, thank you for great review.

[Christabel Uzoamaka]

This looks to be a really interesting story. Abigail is really brave and innovative.
The review is simple and easy to follow too. Great work!

[NetMassimo]

It's a shame that the story seems to fall flat in the second part because the premises and the characters seem really good. Thank you for your great review!

[_Lindsey_]

This sounds like a really fun story. I like how the protagonist was offered a difficult choice at the very start of the novel. It sounds like the author set up the main story very well and spent a lot of time on the characters. Thanks for the review!

[JustineSophia2]

I love sci-fi books so I would definitely give this book a chance. It's unfortunate the second part of the story is not as strong, as the ending is where you want a strong plot. The storyline of Abigail's journey through space sounds interesting and I would be interested to see how the author describes that journey. Thank you for the honest review.

[ELANOR]

Two strong female characters joining forces to save the world, and good character development means this one is for the bookshelf! Thank you for the honest review.

[Valkyrie9]

The author seems to have a knack for descriptive story telling, and had a strong start to this novel. A pity she lost enthusiasm for the story development of the the second half. Thanks for the honest review!

[Priyanka2304]

An amazing story like this requires an equally amazing character development. The author seems to be a master of this skill.