Review: The Never War

The Never War by D.J. MacHale

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



MacHale has set himself an enormous task with this series, having to build a new world in each book. Unfortunately, up to this point the journal format has fallen short. It simply doesn't allow the kind of depth necessary and overlays everything with a distinct teenager's voice, creating distance between the reader and the action. I personally find his voice irritating on top of it all.

But finally, with this book we have an improvement! I believe this one works better because the setting is Earth. It's Earth in the past, which adds a fun twist (especially because I love historical fiction), but also adds a whole lot of depth. No world-building is necessary here. Finally, we're not reading the story entirely through Bobby's juvenile descriptions because we have our own framework for the world he's in! The story itself has a chance under these conditions, and I was able to overlook the method of delivery for once (although it did grate still from time to time).

I'm glad I persevered to this point, but have decided to stop while I'm ahead. I don't want to return to the boredom of Bobby's journals on the next world, although there's part of me that hopes his juvenile voice will mature and make it easier to swallow. It's hard for me to stop without knowing the rest of the story, but the small glimpse we are given of the next world reminded me not to get too excited here.



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