The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer

The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer
My rating: 3.25 of 5 stars

The Supernaturalist is intriguing dystopian science fiction that would appeal to a younger reader or even older readers who aren't looking for a story that's highly sophisticated. Overall, I liked it, although I was dissatisfied with some elements.

British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor (one of my actor crushes) narrates this book very capably, using diverse accents for the characters. I am glad I chose to listen to this even though I have a paper copy. I liked hearing it, which stimulated my imagination in a way that I don't think reading would have done. I have an issue with science fiction in that I can't visualize technical things very well. In the auditory form, I found it a little easier to conceptualize the content.

The story is interesting. Cosmo Hill, young orphan who grew up in a group home that was nothing if not rampant neglect, victimization and abuse, has a near death experience, and he starts to see creatures that seem to sap the life force from people. He also comes into contact with a group who works to kill these creatures, which they have called 'parasites.' Throw in a deeper conspiracy and other elements from your standard dystopian world and you have a pretty good science fiction novel.

However, I found the end unsatisfying. I think that the twist that Colfer gives us in the story called for a richer ending than the one we got. I also think more thought could have gone into the world-building and the story plotting as far as the science fiction elements. It felt a bit superficial. On the other hand, I will say that Colfer is excellent at writing tense action scenes and his fast-paced writing style keeps a reader's interest.

The characters could have been better developed. I liked the secondary characters of Mona, Stefan and Ditto, but I wanted more from them. I feel as though their characterization barely scratched the surface. I realize that I'm being a bit hard on this book. Probably because I am huge fan of this author's Artemis Fowl books and I've read dystopian teen young adult books this year that went deeper in a way that was more satisfying.

Overall rating: 3.25/5.0 stars.

I think this could make a pretty good movie. I'd definitely watch it!

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