SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY
Cosmo lives in a dystopian world called Satellite City. There he meets a group of kids who explain it's their mission to save the city, and it turns out that Cosmo has a special ability that can help.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Cosmo is a young orphan who only dreams of being free. He is socially awkward but brave.
Stefan is the leader of a group of kids. He is the oldest and the most passionate about his job, to the point of being obsessive.
Mona is a young Hispanic girl who loves working on cars.
Ditto is a bartoli baby, a being who was experimented on and resembles a small child, even though he is actually much older. He is usually sarcastic and rarely lets down his guard.
PACING
The pacing is decent. The story jumps straight into action with a short introduction to Cosmo and his world. We learn different things about the world as we go along.
MONA & COSMO
Cosmo ends up saving Mona's life early on, so she admits she owes him. This also causes her to defend him to Ditto and say that he's different. Although I felt this was kind of forced, as they had only spent a short time together.
COSMO & STEFAN
Cosmo admires Stefan, realizing he has to make tough decisions. As well as wanting his approval. And yet I never felt that Stefan was any sort of mentor figure, not even a big brother.
Not to mention that Stefan admits he doesn't want to be responsible for Cosmo, so he doesn't quite feel like a leader.
To be fair, it's not as if Cosmo goes along full heartedly with what Stefan wants. He wonders if hunting parasites is really what he wants to do. Stefan does eventually confide in Cosmo, but I feel as though its because we were getting closer to the climax, not because they had grown any closer.
MONA'S HESITATION
There is a scene where Mona asks if they should try to prevent a disaster. The parasites show up only where trouble is. I thought it was strange that Mona was asking this as if they had never hunted before.
THE WORLD
Cosmo's world is one full of overpopulation, pollution and most other catastrophe claims that we have all heard made over and over through the decades. We learn some over time, but most of it is summarized by Faustino when she explains what she is doing in trying to save the world.
POINT OF VIEW
For the most part, Cosmo tells the story and we stay in his head. But there a few scenes completely told by other characters. Ditto, for example, explains his past to the reader. And we also jump inside Stefan's head a few times. Mona gets a short time.
I think the point was to share with the reader about the characters. We learn that Mona hasn't felt pretty for a long time. I just think I would have preferred hints, like Cosmo saying she was pretty and Mona being surprised.
SPELL IT OUT-SPOILERS
It turns out that Stefan used to work for the police but after his mother died in an accident, he quit. He blames himself and the parasites for her death. We don't learn these specific details until later.
But we do get a scene right off the bat, where Stefan goes to his mother's grave and imagines her telling him that whenever he saves someone from a parasite, he's saving her.
I thought this was kind of on the nose, and would rather it had been hinted at, and perhaps Cosmo has to investigate, or earn Stefan's trust. And then the reader would be rewarded.
WELFARE FOR ALL
In the beginning of the story, when we see the orphanage that Cosmo is at, there is a brief mention that it has to run by its own money, not others. It gets no welfare from the government. I thought it was odd to mention, as if getting the government involved would magically make it better. When in reality it would most likely be run by bureaucrats who would just throw money at the problem.
Later on, welfare is mentioned again, and its put center stage when we meet Ella Faustino. It's so strange, because the center of the story is about the parasites, the corrupt cops and the corrupt corporation. And yet the solution to the messed up city is...welfare. It's just so random and illogical.
It's political and feels shoved in. Same with the idea that nuclear power is the greatest evil, has caused the most harm and must be destroyed. Kind of just thrown in near the climax.
THE ADULTS' FAULT
There is one scene where Stefan points out that the adults have screwed things up (so a stranger can trust them). And apparently...it's the fact that they are adult that makes them bad? Not greed. Not narcissism. Just being adult. Luckily children are immune to such things.
It came across as childish and naive.
In another scene, Stefan thinks that a character could not want him killed, because they are a scientist. Not for any any actual reason, like being longtime friends and a mentor. It was just another example of stupidity.
COSMO'S IDEA-SPOILERS
Stefan make a huge decision, telling everyone they have to quit hunting parasites. And then two seconds later changes his mind. I get its because Cosmo has to contribute something important to the plot. He is crucial, but it just makes Stefan look weak willed. And he was anything but, before this.
Later on, Cosmo ends up being important. He realizes that he is the only one who can go on a mission because of the size of a uniform. Not to mention he helps them find a maintenance hatch to get in. In that way, he is important twice. I don't actually think we needed the first part, since we had the second.
OUR CARTOON VILLAIN-SPOILERS
It turns out that Ella has always been working for Myishi, and was simply pretending to work for the Police academy, when she knew Stefan. She ends up making a speech about not caring about anyone and just wanting money (after she has been exposed).
But the thing was, she already made a speech before this. A better one, where her intention was clearly to save the world, even if she had to give herself way too much power to do so.
If Ellen had been shown to believe what she was doing was right and if that had stayed that way, she would have been a convincing villain. Instead she comes off as silly stereotype of the greedy corporation owner.
THE TRUTH ABOUT PARASITES-SPOILERS
Blue beetle looking creatures that only some can see, appear whenever people are injured and close to death. They cling to those and seem to kill them faster.
There is a twist, where Stefan finds out he was wrong about them. And then he finds out both he and Faustino were wrong. I actually would have liked if there hadn't been a second twist, and Stefan had indeed been manipulated to do Faustino's dirty work. And had been helping the parasites grow. To live with that would be tough.
THE TRUTH ABOUT DITTO-SPOILERS
It is eventually revealed that Ditto has the power to heal and knows the truth about the parasites. When Mona finds out, Stefan does too. And he is furious at being lied to. I felt bad for Ditto but never felt any real closeness between him and Stefan. Both never got beyond their masks, Ditto with his sarcasm and Stefan with his obsession.
Also, I thought that Stefan was overreacting. After all, it was not as if Ditto ever put any of them in danger. And I just didn't feel like this added anything to the story. I know the others had to learn the truth about Ditto, I just didn't care for how it was done.
MAIN CHARACTER
Cosmo wonders about his parents and who they were, but for the most part, he has no past. And he has no real goals, other than to be free. Because of this, I found Stefan the most interesting character and also the character that pushed all of the other characters.
Also, I found that events that were the most important, didn't have a strong emotional effect on me. Like when we reveal the truth about Stefan's mom. I would almost have had the story start with him as a cop then flash forward then back to the accident with his mom. Or flash back to a much longer scene about it. Either way, just make him the focus.
And when we meet Faustino, I wanted to be shocked. I wanted to have known Faustino and seen how close she had been with Stefan and his mother. Instead I felt detached because I watched it from Cosmo's view point. Seeing them hug and assuming they had been close. Though I knew nothing about it.
And when Stefan gets a revelation and has his world turned upside down, I felt as though he was supposed to be the most important character.
THE STEEL PLATE
In the beginning, after being rescued, Cosmo gets plate put in his head. This ends up playing into the climax. I like how it became important, like a puzzle piece put in last.
CLIMAX
The group decides to have one last mission, but not to harm the parasites, to strike a blow against the Myishi corporation. Things end up backfiring when they get caught and have to form another plan. Stefan makes a dramatic decision.
AN AFTERLIFE-SPOILERS
Ditto eventually reveals that there is an after \life and that he has seen it. I thought this was strange and just thrown in. Also, it kind of gave Stefan an out so he could get killed and not really care. It wasn't done out of bravery. It was done because he knew he could go see his mom.
PROBLEMS IN THE CITY-SPOILERS
The city moves around like a huge puzzle, and lately its been screwing up. Pieces going in the wrong place. This is important to the plot as its later revealed. Although it's not really solved.
In fact after the finale it feels like things just go back to normal. We get a scene where Ellen Faustino has survived, which doesn't make much sense. If she survived, then wouldn't Stefan have survived too?
She gets a scolding from her corporate overlord and the mayor (who is corrupt, but hopefully we'll still get welfare) and is sent away. But those in power don't seem threatened but what happened. They are still going forward with building another reactor.
CONCLUSION
The story idea was interesting. I liked the idea of the parasites being a confusing subject. And the pacing was good. Also there was some good use of humor throughout.
But I felt like Stefan should have been the main character, not Cosmo. Perhaps he originally was, but when the author decided on the ending he switched it to Cosmo.
Also the relationships seemed lacking. Stefan saved Mona, but he never comes off as a caring person, and I had a hard time understanding why he and his friends ended up together.
Also there were moments where the characters come off as stupid, which I don't think was intentional.
I give “The Supernaturalist” two and half stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment