Epiworld

Tracey Morait
K&T Mitchell (2010)
ISBN 9780955855016
Reviewed by Maggie Desmond-O’Brien (age 15) for Reader Views (1/11)

It’s 2099 in a bizarre imagining of the future where almost all diseases have been wiped out by genetic cleansing.  Travis, our hero, has the misfortune of an epilepsy diagnosis—epilepsy being one of the few diseases doctors cannot cure.  He finds himself locked away with the rest of the “unclean,” subject to freaky robot nuns for nurses and sadistic doctors, until one—Dr. Alexander—helps him escape.  What follows is a somewhat confusing, surprisingly excellent thrill ride through time as Travis discovers that his seizures have the miraculous ability to open portals to other times and places, all the while hunted down by Chase, another doctor who holds a terrible secret and burning hatred for our hero.

“Epiworld” possesses an unusual storytelling combination—decent writing and unfortunate plotting.  While it frequently surprised me with its ideas, especially the role of epilepsy in time travel, it bounced around from place to place painfully fast.  It’s nice to skip the backstory and begin in the midst of the action, but as soon as I’d gotten used to the dystopian setting we were bouncing away again, meeting character after character that I couldn’t keep straight.  Are they actually from the future?  The present?  The past?  Are they a character’s secret ancestor?  Could we throw a few more paradoxes into this equation?

My other problem was that Travis is a jerk.  While I could sympathize with him—epilepsy is no picnic, and I can’t imagine time travel is any better—I had a hard time putting up with his hatred of Chase, his treatment of Demi (his on-and-off love interest), and his self-pity.  Not to say he didn’t have reason to pity himself, and that teen boys aren’t jerks, so it’s probably the author’s keen observation skills at work—unfortunately, that doesn’t make it any easier to read.  A side note is that it’s very British, and while I luckily have family and friends across the pond, words like “knackered” and “naff” might leave your average American reader a little lost.

That said, while I don’t read much of the action/adventure genre, it was clear that “Epiworld” was a standout.  It’s fast-paced, grim and entertaining by turns, a little raunchy, and original—in short, while I hate to label books by gender, it’s perfect teen boy fare.  While I can’t say I particularly enjoyed it, I’d certainly pass it on to my guy friends, and it would make a great gift for a less-than-motivated reader.

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