From: DDPattison at aol.com <DDPattison>
Date: Sat, 18 Jan 2003 11:16:55 EST

In a message dated 1/18/2003 1:12:21 AM Central Standard Time, ccbc-net at lists.education.wisc.edu writes:


I should say, first, that I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy.

For me, FEED wasn't believeable. When you read Orwell, Vonnegut, etc. you believe that this dystopia could actually happen. Science fiction books have been talking about a "feed" for a long time. This presentation of a "feed" isn't believeable. No kids I know would be so taken in, would have so little reasoning power of their own to be so totally controlled by a "feed". The presentation of this society didn't feel real, so I never bought into the premise. This story adds very little to the overall body of literature about the future.

OTOH, House of Scorpion was very believeable and worked well until, as others have noted, Matt leaves Opium. Then, it becomes a sort of take-off on HOLES
(boys in a repressive camp, doing repulsive activities, until they escape). I believed that an drug lord would use cloning technology for his own purposes.

House drew me in, while Feed never convinced me that this could/would happen in the society presented.

Darcy
-Darcy Pattison www.darcypattison.com THE JOURNEY OF OLIVER K. WOODMAN illustrated by Joe Cepeda April, 2003, Harcourt Children's Books
Received on Sat 18 Jan 2003 10:16:55 AM CST