The Halfmen of O - Maurice Gee
First published 1982.
As is the case with some of the books I have read this year, The Halfmen of O is a book I remember reading as a child. However, whereas I remember really enjoying some of the others I have revisited, I remember thinking this book was kinda odd.
It is.
This is a book by a New Zealand author, and is set relatively locally (near Collingwood), but is also a fantasy novel, taking place mostly on the planet of O, which the nefarious Otis Claw seeks to cover with smoke and take control of. As is the way with many books of this nature, the only hope for O lays in the hands of two youths from our world: Susan Ferris and her cousin Nicholas Quinn.
So far so standard.
Nick is the first point of view we are introduced to, and it seems as though the story is going to be told entirely from his perspective. Susan has the 'mark' on her wrist that makes her the 'chosen one' and is the one who has the destiny to save O, but Nick, we feel, is going to be there to lend a hand and support his cousin.
Only, he doesn't really do all that much, and much of the narrative actually shifts across to Susan's perspective as he becomes less relevant to what is going on. There are a few moments where Susan is asked to personally meet with someone important to learn a vital piece of information regarding her destiny. In these moments, Nick will sometimes say a variation of "Can I come too?" and will often receive something akin to a shrug of "Guess so." In these moments it almost seems the characters themselves are acknowledging that it doesn't really matter if Nick is there or not. Nick does have a few moments of usefulness, such as when he suddenly apparently knows all about building hangliders, but otherwise he could have been removed from the plot quite easily.
The majority of the story is fairly straight-forward: Susan (and nominally Nick) must track down the two halves of the 'motherstone' and then return the pieces to the motherstone itself, which is located in Otis Claw's lair. But all this is done in a fairly straightforward process. We are told that Otis or his minions (such as Odo Cling) are nearby, but aside from momentary pursuits and one or two minor character fatalities, even these don't hinder our heroes in the slightest.
Jimmy Jaspers is a fun addition, being the stereotypical 'anti-hero', swearing, grumbling, and being obnoxious even as he provides Nick and Susan some aid, but really, its not enough to save the story from its cookie-cutter-ness.
Its fine. But not much more.
Completed 22 November 2020.
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