Book Review: The Boundless

Maybe it was because I had recently watched the intriguing movieĀ Snowpiercer with my older sons, but as I read aloud the latest book by Kenneth Oppel — The Boundless — I had some strange reverberations of story. Both tales involve a large train that seems to carry humanity forward into the great unknown. Unlike Snowpiercer, however, the world is not at an end in The Boundless. But our hero here — Will Everett – is on the adventure of a lifetime as he seeks to avoid murderous thieves and make his way to the front of the train where his father helps run the seven-mile train barreling its way through Canada.

Oppel is a fine storyteller (Check out Airborn) and he is in fine form with The Boundless. There is just enough magic and the unexpected here to keep the fires of the story burning, and the relentless hum of the train in motion nicely partners with Will’s predicament, in which he finds an old friend and joins a traveling circus … all just to stay alive, even as a larger plot unfolds to steal something that has echoes of the Fountain of Youth.

The Boundless has good adventure, and solid characters, and the pace makes for a perfect read-aloud.

Peace (on the train),
Kevin

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