Author: Kat Falls
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Childrens Books
Publication Date: August 4, 2011
Genre: Middle Grades, YA, Dystopian, Science Fiction
Other books in the series:
Dark Life (book 1) reviewed
How I Got It: the library
Summary from book:
Ty has always known that the ocean is a dangerous place. Every time he swims beyond the borders of his family's subsea farm, he;s prepared to face all manner of aquatic predators - sharks, squid, killer whales…
What Ty isn't prepared to find in the deep is an entire township chained to a sunken airplane its inhabitants condemned to an underwater grave. It's only the first clue to a mystery that has claimed hundreds of lives and stands to claim two more - lives very precious to Ty and his Topsider ally, Gemma.
Now in a desperate race against the clock, Ty and Gemma find themselves in conflict with outlaws, Seaguard officers, and the savage, trident-wielding surfs - plus some of the most deadly creatures the ocean has to offer.
In Rip Tide, Kat Falls brings to life the mysteries, marvels, and monsters of the deep for a fast-paced and inventive action-adventue.
What Ty isn't prepared to find in the deep is an entire township chained to a sunken airplane its inhabitants condemned to an underwater grave. It's only the first clue to a mystery that has claimed hundreds of lives and stands to claim two more - lives very precious to Ty and his Topsider ally, Gemma.
Now in a desperate race against the clock, Ty and Gemma find themselves in conflict with outlaws, Seaguard officers, and the savage, trident-wielding surfs - plus some of the most deadly creatures the ocean has to offer.
In Rip Tide, Kat Falls brings to life the mysteries, marvels, and monsters of the deep for a fast-paced and inventive action-adventue.
Ty's topsider friend Gemma has become overwhelmingly afraid of the ocean, which means she can no longer live with his family on their subsea farm and puts the breaks on their tentative romantic relationship. Gemma is with Ty when he finds a Surf township Nomad that had been disabled and sunk with it's doomed population trapped inside. Ty is able to release the township and tow it to the Trade Station and call in the Seaguard. The Seaguard Captain tells him that this is the third Surf township to disappear but the first to be found. Assuming that the other two townships suffered the same fate as Nomad, then over a thousand people have been murdered. The next day Ty's parents are making the first commercial transaction with a Surf township when they are kidnapped by the very Surfs they were selling to. He witnesses the kidnapping, manages to escape and report the kidnapping to Captain Revas at the Trade Station. He's furious that Captain Revas is more interested in investigating the missing Surf townships than finding his parents who have been kidnapped by Surfs. He and Gemma try to figure out a way to save his parents while dealing with the dangers both under water and above.
Rip Tide doesn't waste any time in throwing the reader into the action, in fact Falls spends almost no time orienting readers to her world. Most of the world building was done in Dark Life (reviewed) and is fleshed out a bit more Mad Max style this time around. There are gladiator fights, alligator wrestling of a sort, pits filled with lamprey eels, and no holds barred boxing. Falls also introduces readers the Surfs, people the government have declared Surfeit Population and have no place in the stack cities. They play the Native American's to the the subsea pioneers and settlers. Topsiders and the settlers all "know" the rumors about the Surfs to be true: they kill the old and sick, cannibalize each other, make raincoats out of human intestines, etc. In his anger of the his parent's kidnapping and the Surf's betrayal, Ty falls into the trap as seeing them as less than human. His parents are in danger, why is Captain Revas wasting her time investigating the murders of hundreds of Surfs? While angry and desperate Ty begins to see that how little he knows of the situation. He discovers is a group of people that have been so marginalized and cut off from resources that they are willing to wrestle with saltwater crocodiles in order to get enough meat to feed their township.
While Falls has created a very interesting world that I truly enjoy, there's not a lot of depth in her writing. (I did not mean for that to be a pun.) Ty is a likable fifteen year old with relatable hopes and dreams, but I don't get anxious for him when he's being eaten by a giant Red Devil squid or tongue tied over his feelings for Gemma. The horror of an entire township being suffocated and frozen is awful but doesn't touch the reader. Falls does do an excellent job describing the undersea world and really seems to enjoy any creature that has more teeth than it really needs. The setting, story, and action are great which saves the book from being bland, but definitely makes it a better read for older elementary and middle grades readers.
Rip Tide doesn't waste any time in throwing the reader into the action, in fact Falls spends almost no time orienting readers to her world. Most of the world building was done in Dark Life (reviewed) and is fleshed out a bit more Mad Max style this time around. There are gladiator fights, alligator wrestling of a sort, pits filled with lamprey eels, and no holds barred boxing. Falls also introduces readers the Surfs, people the government have declared Surfeit Population and have no place in the stack cities. They play the Native American's to the the subsea pioneers and settlers. Topsiders and the settlers all "know" the rumors about the Surfs to be true: they kill the old and sick, cannibalize each other, make raincoats out of human intestines, etc. In his anger of the his parent's kidnapping and the Surf's betrayal, Ty falls into the trap as seeing them as less than human. His parents are in danger, why is Captain Revas wasting her time investigating the murders of hundreds of Surfs? While angry and desperate Ty begins to see that how little he knows of the situation. He discovers is a group of people that have been so marginalized and cut off from resources that they are willing to wrestle with saltwater crocodiles in order to get enough meat to feed their township.
While Falls has created a very interesting world that I truly enjoy, there's not a lot of depth in her writing. (I did not mean for that to be a pun.) Ty is a likable fifteen year old with relatable hopes and dreams, but I don't get anxious for him when he's being eaten by a giant Red Devil squid or tongue tied over his feelings for Gemma. The horror of an entire township being suffocated and frozen is awful but doesn't touch the reader. Falls does do an excellent job describing the undersea world and really seems to enjoy any creature that has more teeth than it really needs. The setting, story, and action are great which saves the book from being bland, but definitely makes it a better read for older elementary and middle grades readers.
Verdict:
Kat Falls has created a fantastic and unique world and Rip Tide is almost non stop action. This is a series that definitely needs to be read in order since readers are immediately thrown into the story with some scattered explanations for Ty's world. I think this is a great series for boys and girls and definitely one that Alex Rider fans should try out. The series might be a bit light on emotional intensity but the pacing, the world building, the descriptions, and all the ways you can be eaten make this a fun read.
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