Survival Op: The Fear in the Wilderness
Scott Allen
Reviewed by Barb Radmore
Marcus is abducted and left alone on a wilderness island. He is joined
by Lucy, a fellow teenager who is also captured and abandoned on the
island. They must work together to survive on their own, to find
shelter, food and a way to stay alive. In addition to being forced to
try to survive they are told they will also be hunted. They know they
are part of what seems to be a secret government project but have no
idea of the details. Together Lucy and Marcus come up with innovative
ways to meet the needs of their daily lives. It is interesting to see
the ways Allen creates for them to come up with shelter, tools and
food. He has researched some wilderness survival information well and
come up with some unique ones also.
This book is Hatchet but with assassins. It is a graphic
portrayal of living and death, the two opposite sides of survival.
Marcus is trapped in a kill or be killed world so he does a lot of
killing. The final body count is quite high. It is hard not to be
disturbed by this in a book aimed at middle school students. The use of
morphine confiscated from the dead bodies and used to kill physical
pain is understandable, the scene where it is used to deaden emotional
pain is not.
First person narratives are usually used by new writers to be able to
explain the actions of his characters easily. Allen relies on this tool
and the dialogue to drive the story. In such an action packed tale it
is not clear why he has done so. He has included such suspense filled
situations that they could vividly hold their own. The emotions,
adventure and many tense scenes will maintain the readers attention.
The plot premise alone, knowing that the assassins are coming,
keeps the suspense high from the beginning to end. Curiosity on the
identity of Target Astray also adds to the over all anticipation for
the reader.
This is the first book in a planned series. It is hoped that the author
reexamines his plot flow, taking time to evaluate its effect on his
target audience. The plot itself has very strong potential, it is easy
to see how it was created to hold the attention of that notoriously
'difficult to reach with literature' age group. Boys especially may be
engrossed in the blood, guts and eating grubs aspects of the story. The
underlying themes of friendship, caring for each other and acceptance
are eclipsed by the extensive killings. It will be interesting to see
the direction the rest of the series takes.