My rating: 5 out of 5 stars!
Synopsis:
Christopher Snow lives near the ocean in California. This novel is his second installment of his journal chronicling the events that are taking place (the first novel is titled Fear Nothing)....and they're CRAY-ZEEE!! It has horror elements and sci-fi elements, along with friendship and love that every person wishes for in life, to make a well rounded, epic story. What happens in Moonlight Bay via mad scientists and the Big Brother? What do you do when you find out your pet dog was genetically altered and is probably smarter than you? How do you adapt to the world when you have a genetic disorder that forbids you to ever be in sunlight (or UV rays or computer screen glares!?!)? You are about to find out...
Review:
The first time I read this novel I was thirteen years old (upon its release in 1999). I thought it was the most amazing thing ever! It has also been in print for thirteen years, and as of today I have read it seven times. Yes, I think you can assume that I looove this book. It's so easy to do. The characters are amazing, the story is interesting and fast-paced, and it's quotable like a mother fucker. Not to mention, I am an over-the-top dog lover...and Orson is a bitchin' dog. I'm sorry if I sound like a surfer from Cali....when you read almost 500 pages of surfer characters, it can rub off on you.
First off: the main character is Christopher Snow. He's 28 years old and has a genetic disorder called Xeroderma pigmentosum. His body is unable to produce enzymes that replace the damaged DNA from ultraviolet rays....so any exposure puts him at extreme risk of skin and eye cancers. That's all I'll say - but it's important to know that this is why he is limited to the night (hence the title! ohhhh!) and why he knows what it's like to be an outcast; an outsider. Of course he embraces it well. His dad was a poetry professor - therefore Chris has a "poetic" way about him, which I think it unique and sweet (like "awesome" sweet...not "awww" sweet).
His best friend is Bobby Halloway. I love Bobby. He is the mellow surfer bro that is super sarcastic. Bobby and Chris' friendship is special and I adore it. Especially since you have to find the love and care between the lines.....as most dudes don't like sharing those kinds of feelings outright. Girls are a special breed when it comes to the mushy and gushy. Bobby's take on life and his philosophies are what I wish I could have for myself, but I am a girl who thinks too much and has too many feelings.
Chris has a girlfriend named Sasha Goodall. As you can imagine she has to be a bad-ass to fit in with this crew. She's a DJ. A songwriter. An exercise enthusiast. Has a past that could make any girl wish to be her. Plus, she can look beyond Chris' medical issues and love him for who he is. And will be there for him when worse comes to worse. Sasha is a good balance for Bobby and Chris in the novel, and the three characters compliment each other very well. It's practically sitcom ready.
ORSON! The super amazing, totally intelligent, lovable dog that I wish I could steal from the book and make my own. He is also a best friend of Chris'. Orson is always by Chris' side and being genetically smarter than your average mutt, he's not your run-of-the-mill puppy.
This novel takes place over a couple of days. Seriously action packed days! So much happens I am not even sure where to begin. But I think a few quotes are in order:
"This weapon has saved my life more than once, yet although it's a reassurance to me, I am not entirely comfortable with it. I suspect I'll never be able to handle it with complete ease. The weight and design of the piece have nothing to do with my aversion to the feel of it; this is a superb handgun. As a boy roaming the town at night, however, I was subjected to some memorable verbal and physical abuse from bullies - mostly kids but also some adults old enough to know better - and although their harassment motivated me to learn how to defend myself and taught me never to let an injustice pass without a firm response, these experiences also instilled in me a loathing of violence as an easy solution. To protect myself and those I love, I will use lethal force when I must, but I'll never enjoy it."
"So far, the changes have been disturbing, sometimes terrifying, but, with a few notable exceptions, they have been subtle enough that authorities have successfully concealed the truth about the catastrophe. Even in Moonlight Bay, at most a few hundred people know what is happening. I myself learned only a month before this April night; upon the death of my father, who knew all the dreadful details, and who revealed things to me that I now wish I didn't know. The rest of the townspeople live in happy ignorance, but they may not be out of the loop much longer, because the mutations may not remain subtle."
I don't want to give too many details away. However, the idea of retrovirus', kidnappings, cover-ups and rescue missions is enough to pull me in! Coupled with these AMAZING characters to share the journey with makes a sweet-ass novel. Seriously though, you should read it.
"Carpe diem, said the poet Horace, more than two thousand years ago. Seize the day. And trust not in tomorrow. Carpe noctem works as well for me. I seize the night, wringing from it all that is has to offer, and I refuse to dwell on the fact that eventually the darkness of all darknesses will wring the same from me."
"I think dogs were put in this world to remind humanity that love, loyalty, devotion, courage, patience, and good humor are the qualities that, with honesty, are the essence of admirable character and the very definition of a life well lived."
"In good Orson I see the hopeful side of my mother's work, the real potential of science to bring light into an often dark world, to lift us up, to stir the spirit and to remind us that the universe is a place of wonder and infinite potential."
"So you believe you can ride through the end of the world by growing potatoes and broccoli on an uncharted tropical island somewhere east of Bora Bora, where there's both insanely fertile soil and mondo glassy surf - but you find it hard to believe in an afterlife?"
He shrugged. "Most days, it's easier to believe in broccoli than in God."
"Not for me. I hate broccoli."
Bobby shook his head. "I'm never gonna be at home in this brave new smart-animal world, bro. It's like I'm living in a maximum-wacky Donald Duck cartoon, but one where, between the laughs, dudes get their guts ripped out."
"The world according to Edgar Allan Disney," I said.
I could keep quoting this book all night long, but at that point I'd just be giving you the novel via blog post. Seize the Night is such a fantastic book - I, of course, recommend it. And will probably read it again before you pick it up.
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