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A review by faeonyx
Disney After Dark by Ridley Pearson
4.0
Going into this book, I actually had relatively low expectations. It is the tale of a group of kids that offer their likenesses as Disney hosts in the form of holograms. It is stressed that the technology is very new and their work as the hosts leads to some very unexpected consequences. The story starts with this premise, which offers up enough for some mild intrigue, but it was the familiarity of the locations in the Disney parks that offer the real draw to finish the story. Common locations, favorite attractions, and even some of the food court locations are explored in conjunction with the ultimate goal of the story.
Though the story itself is enjoyable and intriguing, the writing falls short on occasion. Much of the dialog and description is a little juvenile, lending the book toward a much younger audience than I would have expected considering the length and age of the main characters. The story is presented in a way that places the conversations above the action and the description, which I found to be off-putting at times. There would often be a short paragraph describing the surroundings or the actions taken followed by pages of dialog. The story seems as though it would be lacking in grounding features for the setting and scene for those who have never actually been to the Disney World parks, where the bulk of the action takes place.
Having said that, I do feel that readers are given a very solid understanding of the characters they are following, particularly the leader of the group, Finn. The dialog is not always exceptionally written, nor is it used for the purpose of advancing the plot, but it does offer a stronger grasp of the characters being introduced when used. They each have very defined manners of speaking and different talents that lend to a stronger characterization. It is easy to identify with one or all of the characters throughout the story, even if much of it left me wishing for more description or a stronger basis in the scene.
The first book in this series seems to teeter dangerously between pacing that is too quick in some parts and too slow in others. I believe this is due to the vast amount of dialog versus descriptive storytelling. All in all, it is a great book for younger readers and still offered an interesting tale to an older base, though some may find the pacing and portions of the writing to be a little tedious or that it slips away a little too quickly. Disney After Dark was an interesting read. I will never look at the Disney World parks quite the same way again, that much is for sure.
Though the story itself is enjoyable and intriguing, the writing falls short on occasion. Much of the dialog and description is a little juvenile, lending the book toward a much younger audience than I would have expected considering the length and age of the main characters. The story is presented in a way that places the conversations above the action and the description, which I found to be off-putting at times. There would often be a short paragraph describing the surroundings or the actions taken followed by pages of dialog. The story seems as though it would be lacking in grounding features for the setting and scene for those who have never actually been to the Disney World parks, where the bulk of the action takes place.
Having said that, I do feel that readers are given a very solid understanding of the characters they are following, particularly the leader of the group, Finn. The dialog is not always exceptionally written, nor is it used for the purpose of advancing the plot, but it does offer a stronger grasp of the characters being introduced when used. They each have very defined manners of speaking and different talents that lend to a stronger characterization. It is easy to identify with one or all of the characters throughout the story, even if much of it left me wishing for more description or a stronger basis in the scene.
The first book in this series seems to teeter dangerously between pacing that is too quick in some parts and too slow in others. I believe this is due to the vast amount of dialog versus descriptive storytelling. All in all, it is a great book for younger readers and still offered an interesting tale to an older base, though some may find the pacing and portions of the writing to be a little tedious or that it slips away a little too quickly. Disney After Dark was an interesting read. I will never look at the Disney World parks quite the same way again, that much is for sure.