This review was written by: B
Received: Free e-book from the author
Publication Date of Book: January 2014
Pages: 410 (for Kindle)
Stars: (4.5/5)
"The only way to get through is to fight through."-General Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have an identity hidden from you, kept secret because your loved ones thought it was best? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have the whole world depend on you to save it from impending doom? Well...welcome to Ivey's life! Her mother Aadrika has drug her around the country and back again, never staying in one spot for too long. Why? She won't tell her daughter. Then Ivey decides to run off, and everything is suddenly revealed to her in a crash and bang sequence! She is one of the five Zartans who are to stop tons of meteors from striking Earth, killing and destroying every piece of existence through a repetition of events similar to what happened during the time of the dinosaurs. She finds out that she is part of a prophecy and then is sent back to 65,000,000 B.C. where the fate of the future rests on her shoulders.
As you can assume, this is the great time of the amazing and gruesome dinosaurs! The mysterious matrix is hidden during this period of time, and this special matrix (that resembles a huge, glittering and illuminated rock like diamond) is what will help the Zartans save the Earth. However, time is dwindling and there are only a few months left to find it. With hope now resumed in the search with Ivey along for the ride, all seems fine and dandy...until an unexpected enemy arises among their ranks. So, now they have to find the matrix, fight the enemy, survive the dinosaurs, and save the world. What to know what happens next? Go and pick up Horizon to find out!
I love reading books from young authors. There is something about their writing style and outlook in their books that is extremely relatable to someone like me who is close to their age range. Of course, they can bring other elements to the table at the same time that allows for older or younger viewers to be drawn in, too. I believe that Douglas R. is one of these talented young writers in today's world. While I loved the initial book description, I definitely knew I was going to love it when he mentioned this special technologically advanced wrist watch that possessed all of these fancy doohickeys which prompted Ivey to call it the Omnitrix after Ben 10! I loved that so much!!!!! Then he mentioned the universally loved television series Vampire Diaries and singing group Three Days Grace.
Ivey was an overall enjoyable character. Something that really hit me as amazing was the diversity of the characters themselves that were scattered throughout the story. They weren't all one group of people. Some were from India, Iran, Australia, and so on. I feel like this allowed for an easy way to bond with a lot of the people presented to us. However, while I did enjoy Ivey, I believe that Aadrika was by far my favorite! Why you ask? Well, Douglas R. made me despise her in the beginning. Whether this was intentional on the authors part or not, I did. She and her daughter were constantly at odds, and I just wasn't too keen on how she acted. Then Ivey goes off to the past, and we see more of Aadrika's story. You can then imagine from my previous statement that I quickly took to her despite my past views. I'm a huge Aadrika fan now! When an author makes me do a total 360 on a character, I definitely admire them for their skills.
If you liked Jurassic Park or any type of time travel or action movie, I highly recommend this book to you. The ending literally played out like a movie in my mind's eye with the struggles, constant action, and tempting suspense. Plus, there was just a dash of romance so that we get a little bit of everything. While I wish that some parts of the story were fleshed out a little bit more in the beginning, I am sure that that was probably for suspenseful purposes. The ending did not leave me upset with loose ends, which definitely was a plus as we all know that those type of books with open endings can be quite frustrating. All in all, the conclusion itself was beautifully written and made me a happy reader! If you're looking for a nice read on time travel, action, or dinosaurs, this book is definitely for you!
Due to my love of quotes, I thought that I would share several of my favorite ones contained in Horizon:
"Everyday is part of a big war, Ivey. We fight every moment of our lives."
-Mandark
"Numbers don't matter. Value does."
-Ivey
"Charm is deceitful, Ivey, my words are from the heart. Take care of my words. We might not have each other when this is over and I'm prepared for that. Cherish the moment." He pats my shoulder and walks away.
-Hugo
Also, seeing that all of the three covers of Horizon are fabulous, here are the other two:
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