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campmom03's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed this YA book. The writer paints a vivid portrait of an Africa 200 years in the future. When the three children, of the general, go missing, their mother calls in detectives to aid the search. The detectives have special abilities due to a toxic substance before their birth. Sounds a little corny, but it works and Ms. Farmer does a really nice job developing these characters.
I liked the way the children develop as they encounter different situations along their search to get home. I also liked how the detectives grow and change in their hunt for the children.
I recommend this book for teens and adults.
I liked the way the children develop as they encounter different situations along their search to get home. I also liked how the detectives grow and change in their hunt for the children.
I recommend this book for teens and adults.
michellewords's review against another edition
2.0
Some books are books to be reread and some are made to stay in fond childhood memory. The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm should have stayed in memory.
I remember the book as something wonderful and hilarious. This time around, it felt corny and disjointed. I didn't fully grasp the point until page 200.
General Matsika's three children seek an adventure outside their highly modern and over bearing home and travel through a metaphoric time line.
The are first captured by the She Elephant and her vlei people in a trash land, mining plastic and garbage from the past with no technology to speak and slave labor is abundant.
Then they find themselves at a primitive reserve void of modern conveniences with a small tribe of people. This society is built on the past, featuring farms and the women are treated as secondary citizens doing most of the work.
Next they are captured by the Mellower's mother in search of a reward from the general. Her home has a few modern inventions but she treats the animals in the home better than the children.
Finally they are recaptured and taken to the street gang of the Man's to be sacrificed to some mask like diety.
While all of this is happening. Three genetically enhanced detectives ( Ear, Eye, and Arm) are hired to find the children. They are the comedic relief through the book doing silly things with their support senses on the path to the children.
When I was 10, I loved this book. I laughed a lot and loved the detectives, but such love doesn't linger into adulthood. I should have left the fond memory where it was. Read this book to your kids, it will be fun, but maybe skip it on your solo time.
I remember the book as something wonderful and hilarious. This time around, it felt corny and disjointed. I didn't fully grasp the point until page 200.
General Matsika's three children seek an adventure outside their highly modern and over bearing home and travel through a metaphoric time line.
The are first captured by the She Elephant and her vlei people in a trash land, mining plastic and garbage from the past with no technology to speak and slave labor is abundant.
Then they find themselves at a primitive reserve void of modern conveniences with a small tribe of people. This society is built on the past, featuring farms and the women are treated as secondary citizens doing most of the work.
Next they are captured by the Mellower's mother in search of a reward from the general. Her home has a few modern inventions but she treats the animals in the home better than the children.
Finally they are recaptured and taken to the street gang of the Man's to be sacrificed to some mask like diety.
While all of this is happening. Three genetically enhanced detectives ( Ear, Eye, and Arm) are hired to find the children. They are the comedic relief through the book doing silly things with their support senses on the path to the children.
When I was 10, I loved this book. I laughed a lot and loved the detectives, but such love doesn't linger into adulthood. I should have left the fond memory where it was. Read this book to your kids, it will be fun, but maybe skip it on your solo time.
mythdreamer's review against another edition
4.5
I read this when I was 10 or 11, and 25 years later I don't remember the details of this story, but something about its haunting surreal feeling has stuck with me all this time.
listen_learn's review against another edition
4.0
With a diverse set of characters and an amazingly rich world, this sci-fi/fantasy pulled me in and kept me reading. I'm not usually good at remembering details from books, but this is so unlike almost anything else I've read that I found I remembered many things from a previous read. This wasn't a drawback, because the people and places were fascinating. Also, the language Farmer uses is often beautiful, funny, and vivid. You're right there with the characers, even when they're eating breakfast:
Another strength of the book is its strong female characters. While Tendai, a 13 year old boy, is unarguably the protaganist, there are plenty of women who feature as well. His mother is a university professor who actively works to find her children when they go missing, they are captured, but also saved, by a slave-trader who is a frighteningly strong woman, Rita, Tendai's sister, gets them out of numerous scrapes with her courage and sense, and Myanda, the gatekeeper of a village that has cut-itself off from the modern world, has an interesting mixture of kindness and cunning.
The book has many dark parts, and talks about things like abandoned babies, gangs, alocholism, twisted sacrifices, and people being posessed by evil spirits. The language is also not sparkling clean with mild curse words and lots of name calling. Still, many of the characters do the right thing at great risk to themselves and for its messages of courage, tenacity, and hope I would recommend it for a mature 5th grader.
."Lizard eggs" muttered Rita, poking her omlet..
"Don't start," Tendai said in a low voice.
"Chickens are descended form reptiles. I read it in a book."
"Be quiet."
"Nasty old cold lizard eggs."
"Is something wrong?" thundered Father from the head of the table.
"No," said Tendai, Rita, and Kuda all together.
Another strength of the book is its strong female characters. While Tendai, a 13 year old boy, is unarguably the protaganist, there are plenty of women who feature as well. His mother is a university professor who actively works to find her children when they go missing, they are captured, but also saved, by a slave-trader who is a frighteningly strong woman, Rita, Tendai's sister, gets them out of numerous scrapes with her courage and sense, and Myanda, the gatekeeper of a village that has cut-itself off from the modern world, has an interesting mixture of kindness and cunning.
The book has many dark parts, and talks about things like abandoned babies, gangs, alocholism, twisted sacrifices, and people being posessed by evil spirits. The language is also not sparkling clean with mild curse words and lots of name calling. Still, many of the characters do the right thing at great risk to themselves and for its messages of courage, tenacity, and hope I would recommend it for a mature 5th grader.
clesuma's review against another edition
5.0
NANCY FARMER
Tendai, Rita, and Kuda are the children of Zimbabwe's chief of security, the feared General Matsika, but they rarely leave the safety of their compound and have no companionship other than the Mellower--an entertainer/poet/historian/tutor--and the family's robot Doberman. In fact, the year is 2194, and flying vehicles have replaced the cars and buses of today; the scouting program is still going strong, however, and Tendai needs to take a journey across the city to earn his exploration merit badge. With the Mellower's help, the children make it outside the compound gates, but are ill-prepared to meet the challenges of a city in crisis. While three mutant detectives (Ear, Eye, and Arm) bumblingly attempt to track the children, they still must use all of their resourcefulness and a hefty dose of Shona mysticism to get them back to their parents. I'm an admitted sucker for both science fiction and folktales, so Farmer's novel is a winning combination for me. While less "hard" science fiction and more of a coming of age/adventure story set in the future, I particularly loved the juxtaposition of a futuristic society--robot maids and paper boys, for example--and Shona traditional beliefs in spirits, witches, and mediums. While I would have liked more character development in Kuda, it's a small bone to pick in an overall excellent story. An unusual and ultimately touching novel.
Tendai, Rita, and Kuda are the children of Zimbabwe's chief of security, the feared General Matsika, but they rarely leave the safety of their compound and have no companionship other than the Mellower--an entertainer/poet/historian/tutor--and the family's robot Doberman. In fact, the year is 2194, and flying vehicles have replaced the cars and buses of today; the scouting program is still going strong, however, and Tendai needs to take a journey across the city to earn his exploration merit badge. With the Mellower's help, the children make it outside the compound gates, but are ill-prepared to meet the challenges of a city in crisis. While three mutant detectives (Ear, Eye, and Arm) bumblingly attempt to track the children, they still must use all of their resourcefulness and a hefty dose of Shona mysticism to get them back to their parents. I'm an admitted sucker for both science fiction and folktales, so Farmer's novel is a winning combination for me. While less "hard" science fiction and more of a coming of age/adventure story set in the future, I particularly loved the juxtaposition of a futuristic society--robot maids and paper boys, for example--and Shona traditional beliefs in spirits, witches, and mediums. While I would have liked more character development in Kuda, it's a small bone to pick in an overall excellent story. An unusual and ultimately touching novel.
neglet's review against another edition
I still remember this sf novel for its unique setting: Africa 200 years in the future. It also has great characters and a compelling story.
thatkorigirl's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the book a lot - the author tried to pay homage to real traditions and beloefs as much as possible. My main gripe with the book is that the villains seem unnecessarily vile and vicious without any depth.
mattycakesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I got drunk last night and got into a conversation about children's books and remembered how awesome this book was. And it's totally not on my Goodreads! Or wasn't. End story.