The Right Path [NOOK Book]

Fantasy Entanglement

A difficult world produces strong characters - and that is the case with The Right Path. Martin introduces three: two fighting to survive, one elusive and magical. Oh, and there are characters you love to hate. An entertaining read, a world you can get to know and look forward to meeting other characters in. The Right Path is a short, effective foundation for other books, one I recommend reading. It will enrich your experience in later adventures.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

I wasn't sure how I was going to like this book when I first started it but, it got better and better as I went along. I plan on reading more of the Ham and Zia series.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great dark fantasy/sci-fi in Dark Future series

"The Right Path" is a novella in the Dark Future series. It begins with an old man helping a young man (Abe or Ham) to his feet; Abe had been beaten by a gang, who had stolen the food he had managed to scrounge for himself that day. The old man (whose name we never learn) then gives Abe, who is crippled, a very nice cane, asking nothing in return, and walks away. As Abe watches, bemused, a young girl is thrown from a car. The old man helps her to her feet and gives her a knife, then walks away, pushing his shopping cart.

When Abe is attacked by the same gang again, the girl (Zia) shows up to help him, and they form an alliance.

The future shown in this novella is bleak - the city in which these kids live is a burnt-out shell. People are forced to do whatever they need to survive, and the streets are crawling with children - orphaned, thrown out, etc. The story is well-written and the descriptions are amazing. Fans of dark fantasy, and those reading the Dark Future series, will want to be sure to check this story out.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Minimal content, clumsily written

This short story is intended to be the introduction of two characters, Ham and Zia, who will appear in some later work. That work doesn't exist at the moment, so the introduction of the characters seems superfluous.

The story itself is simple and unimaginative. Okay, this short story is supposed to be about the *characters*, so we can cut the plot some slack. The characters aren't explored all that deeply, though. Again, this is just supposed to be an introduction to them, so maybe we should cut some slack on that, too. There's a bit of an introduction to the "Dark Future" world, too. But in the end, this short story contains little substance.

The writing isn't up to par, either. Okay, I'm picky about writing craft, and a lot of people wouldn't notice that the paragraphs are broken up all wrong, the dialog is stilted in places, punctuation is missing or misused, and the wordsmithing is weak.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Opening doors to a promising series

In the stereotypically war-torn land is a man with a shopping cart full of odd items. For reasons known only to himself, he chooses to give a cripple a cane and a possible prostitute a blade. As one of the local gangs descend upon these two teens, they discover that the fancy but otherwise useless gifts are actually anything but - they are "memory weapons," ones that allow Abe and Zia to defend themselves and one another against the bullies in question.

The advice from the old man with the cart, both at the beginning and at the end of the novelette, reminds me of the very basic concept of "paying it forward." What he preaches is altruism, a noble mentality that has all but vanished in this survival-based society. It's a simple message, and while I shook my head alongside the protagonist at the seeming impracticality of it, the authors manage to deliver the words without making it feel as if the reader is being preached at or condescended to.

Then there is the concept of the memory weapons themselves. The basic idea is that unlocking them releases the ability to fight, though there are repercussions for their use. Perhaps I've read too much manga over the years, but the idea of a tool giving one the ability to fight is one that is frequently utilized and thus quite familiar. Still, it isn't nearly as prevalent in literature, and it is interesting to think that the ability to fight can be locked into an innocuous-looking item only to be unleashed with the push of a button. Thanks to Lois Lowry's The Giver, the concept of passing on memories is much more easily believed, however impossible it would be to achieve. All the same,the idea of the memory weapon rendering a cripple's leg functional was still a bit much for me without the introduction of some fantastical explanation (like magic). Maybe I'm just thinking too hard.

The language of the novelette is accessible without being overly simplified. I did grow weary of the word "twerp," however, and longed for a different epithet for Zia by the time that I was a third of the way through the book. There were a few other instances of redundancy, though for the most part, Small and Martin were able to keep this to a minimum. The purposeful use of incorrect grammar in dialogue was wholly appropriate and made the characters seem more undereducated and therefore much more credible. It simply makes sense for them to value food over phrasing, as demonstrated by the frequent references to hunger and minimal mentions of learning. To this end, the authors succeeded in bringing the story to life and keeping it that way.

In some ways, The Right Path feels more like a teaser than a book, which may have been the point. It serves as a good lead-in for whatever else is coming, though the last page feels more like the end of a chapter than the end of a novelette. I finished and felt both curious and a bit dissatisfied. Curious, because I wanted to see what would happen, and dissatisfied because the story ended on a sort of cliffhanger. The fact that my interest was piqued indicates the book's potential to draw a person into this make-believe world. A great deal of possibility lies ahead for this series if The Right Path is any indication of future success.

Stimulated Outlet Book Reviews

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The Good News...

The Good News.

The good news about Martin and Small's Right Path: Dark Future series is that it is so well written. My first and foremost criteria for an enjoyable read is that the characters have a voice. In this work, both "Ham" a young cripple and Zia, a scrappy girl who has suffered abuse, are on their own in a terrifying new dystopic world where food is scarce and civility non-existent. Then they meet up with an old man who changes everything for them - and maybe the world as they know it. These authors are obviously talented. Giving believable voice to teenagers is no small feat. The 'bad' news is that this is a short story and ends all too soon. Definitely recommended.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great read!

I completely enjoyed this novelette. An unlikely pair, Ham & Zia, are fighting for survival in an apocalyptic world. A mysterious old man comes to them with special gifts (mempory weapons!) that will change not only their futures, but also everyone elses! Very likeable characters and a storyline that will leave you wanting more.. Which is why I am ordering the next one, Path to War. Enjoy!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good story

But a prequel. Not an entire story.

Really enjoyed it.

I enjoyed this read. Thank You.

Excellent read!

I loved this story of two orphan kids trying to survive on the streets against all odds. Very inventive storyline. Now I'm off to find out how it all began in Path to Destruction. Would definitely recommend.

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