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belldaruker's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
tense
medium-paced
5.0
alanaw's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
amydotreads's review against another edition
challenging
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
smitchy's review against another edition
4.0
"Jacky was running. There was no thought in his head, only an intense drive to run. There was no sense he was getting anywhere, no plan, no destination, no future. All he had was a sense of what was behind, what he was running from. Jacky was running.
The Natives of the Colony are restless. The Settlers are eager to have a nation of peace, and to bring the savages into line. Families are torn apart, reeducation is enforced. This rich land will provide for all.
This is not Australia as we know it. This is not the Australia of our history."
Pretty intriguing, right? I thought so too, so when this one came in I jumped on it.
I found Terra Nullius a fascinating read and not your traditional sci-fi offering. It will make you think. It will hit a nerve. And it might possibly reach a different audience that other books dealing with similar topics (race / colonialism / indigenous vs. settler / cultural destruction) won't reach.
Terra Nullius is a story of our past wrapped in the story of a possible future: The settlers have come and they have changed everything. The people of this land find themselves dispossessed, enslaved and scattered. It is two generations since the settlers came and old ways have been lost. Thriving communities are smashed and the last free people are barely clinging to survival. If the new diseases don't kill them then the fire power of the settlers surely will. Under the guise of "help" children are removed and "educated" for a life of service and usefulness in the homes and businesses of the settlers. And for some reason those children and their families have completely failed to see what a boon this is to their future.
Jacky was one such child: Now an adult he is one the run. Refusing to stick around for yet another beating, he has only a few clear memories of his time before the school and he is running home.
Then there is Johnny Star. He was convicted back home of a minor crime and given a choice - prison or being a soldier in the colonies- sickened by the violence toward the natives he becomes a deserter, but surviving in this dry land is harder than expected.
Bagra is Mother Superior at the native school - she is certain that what she does is god's work - even if the children die as a result.
Rohan, a Sergeant charged with hunting down the runaway Jacky and trouble making outlaw Johnny Star, is a settler who relishes his job and is determined to capture them dead or alive.
Esperance is one of the last free Natives. Living in a group of fellow survivors lead by her grandfather (a survivor of the initial invasion) she is scared the apathy and despair of her fellow free people will doom them all.
Told in turns from various view points, both native and settler, a story builds of greed, arrogance, desperation, anger, fear and a conflict that is ridiculously one sided.This isn't just about an invasion; it is about the complete and total destruction of a culture and a people so thoroughly smashed as to loose all hope of survival.
(Next bit has a spoiler so read on at your own risk!)
My major issue with the story is the "reveal' takes a bit too long. You are over half way through before it becomes clear that this isn't a story about Australia's colonial past but a story about a futuristic alien invasion affecting not just Australia but the entire world. Any sci-fi reader would be wondering why they found it in the fantasy section and not in literary fiction - I'm afraid that that alone might cause people to put the book down before it becomes clear.
However I think Terra Nullius is great, and a worthy winner of the of the black&write fellowship. I highly recommend to teens and adults alike and I think it is one that will appear on the Australian curriculum before too long.
The Natives of the Colony are restless. The Settlers are eager to have a nation of peace, and to bring the savages into line. Families are torn apart, reeducation is enforced. This rich land will provide for all.
This is not Australia as we know it. This is not the Australia of our history."
Pretty intriguing, right? I thought so too, so when this one came in I jumped on it.
I found Terra Nullius a fascinating read and not your traditional sci-fi offering. It will make you think. It will hit a nerve. And it might possibly reach a different audience that other books dealing with similar topics (race / colonialism / indigenous vs. settler / cultural destruction) won't reach.
Terra Nullius is a story of our past wrapped in the story of a possible future: The settlers have come and they have changed everything. The people of this land find themselves dispossessed, enslaved and scattered. It is two generations since the settlers came and old ways have been lost. Thriving communities are smashed and the last free people are barely clinging to survival. If the new diseases don't kill them then the fire power of the settlers surely will. Under the guise of "help" children are removed and "educated" for a life of service and usefulness in the homes and businesses of the settlers. And for some reason those children and their families have completely failed to see what a boon this is to their future.
Jacky was one such child: Now an adult he is one the run. Refusing to stick around for yet another beating, he has only a few clear memories of his time before the school and he is running home.
Then there is Johnny Star. He was convicted back home of a minor crime and given a choice - prison or being a soldier in the colonies- sickened by the violence toward the natives he becomes a deserter, but surviving in this dry land is harder than expected.
Bagra is Mother Superior at the native school - she is certain that what she does is god's work - even if the children die as a result.
Rohan, a Sergeant charged with hunting down the runaway Jacky and trouble making outlaw Johnny Star, is a settler who relishes his job and is determined to capture them dead or alive.
Esperance is one of the last free Natives. Living in a group of fellow survivors lead by her grandfather (a survivor of the initial invasion) she is scared the apathy and despair of her fellow free people will doom them all.
Told in turns from various view points, both native and settler, a story builds of greed, arrogance, desperation, anger, fear and a conflict that is ridiculously one sided.This isn't just about an invasion; it is about the complete and total destruction of a culture and a people so thoroughly smashed as to loose all hope of survival.
(Next bit has a spoiler so read on at your own risk!)
My major issue with the story is the "reveal' takes a bit too long. You are over half way through before it becomes clear that this isn't a story about Australia's colonial past but a story about a futuristic alien invasion affecting not just Australia but the entire world. Any sci-fi reader would be wondering why they found it in the fantasy section and not in literary fiction - I'm afraid that that alone might cause people to put the book down before it becomes clear.
However I think Terra Nullius is great, and a worthy winner of the of the black&write fellowship. I highly recommend to teens and adults alike and I think it is one that will appear on the Australian curriculum before too long.
clare__emm's review against another edition
4.0
I mean, you kind of have a vague idea of this book’s twist from the blurb and the author’s frustrating lack of specificity but then it drops and even if you’re spoilt for it, you’re not prepared. I have not been able to get this book out of my head. That said, I really struggled with the first half and much of it is hard to read. I also understand the reasons for the ending, but felt that it didn’t resolve in a way that was interesting or said something new. But that second half was just, woah.
paigeyyyyelizabeth's review against another edition
4.0
so when i was first reading this book i didn’t like it. i thought that the plot wasn’t new by any means, and then i realized….that’s the point. it’s this story of settler and native, oppressed and oppressor, colonizer and colonized that we see over and over in history. i also thought at first that coleman was dumbing it down for her audience, but it’s the opposite. she chooses throughout the book to make concrete connections to the seemingly ridiculous narrative and the real colonization of australian aboriginals. the blurb on the back of the book literally says “Do you recognize this story? Look again.” a lot of people in the critical thinking class i was assigned this book to read in thought the story felt too YA. and i agreed with them at first, but as i said before, i see that it’s intentional. a review on here called the book “deceptively simple” and honestly i can’t think of a better way to describe it.