When Owen Parker is chosen to become one of the campers at Camp Eden, he feels as though he has won the lottery. You see, environmental disasters have ravaged the climate. Owen lives in Yellowstone, underground, because the sun and radiation are very dangerous to humans. Camp Eden is located in one of the corporate sponsored Eden Domes which means the environment is stabilized and controlled thus being much more safe than life outside the dome.
The Lost Code
The main character of The Lost Code by Kevin Emerson discovers that camp is not all it’s cracked up to be. Owen is in a cabin, the Hyena Cabin, with bullies. The ringleader is a cryo, which means he was cryogenically frozen because his parents were rich, who goes by the nickname Leech and gives everyone else a nickname. Leech leads a privileged life and is ‘in’ with camp and Dome staff. Leech makes Owen’s life quite hard. After taking a swim test in hopes of participating in more fun activities with his bunk mates, Owen discovers something that makes him different from the other campers — gills and DNA relating to the lost race of Atlanteans. This DNA means he potentially may be part of a prophesied group of people who are supposed to save the world.
While The Lost Code has all the trappings of an awesome story, it misses the mark. There’s so much going on plot-wise and with the world building that the focus becomes muddled and bogged down in the details. The plot moves at a glacial pace because Owen spends so much time analyzing every little thing. The action seems rather slow-going.
I will say though, that the ending, when we finally get a little more information on the Atlanteans and some exciting action is pretty good. Yet it is not enough to make up for all of the meandering that takes place beforehand. The Lost Code is not an awful book by any means, but one that failed to keep me riveted. Yet, it does have it’s audience. I would recommend this to fans of Rick Riordan’s Heroes Of Olympus series who are looking for similar reads.
Disclosure: Received for review via Amazon Vine.
Other reviews of The Lost Code by Kevin Emerson:
Sash & Em – “a great summer read”
I Swim For Oceans – “fun, refreshing and engaging”
Forever Young Adult – “I honestly haven’t read a book whose world captured my attention this much since the first Harry Potter”
You had me at Rick Riordan read-alike. And knowing that the book starts off at a glacial pace (love that phrase) will certainly help a girl out.
The premise is interesting, but I didn’t like Rick Riordan that much, so I’m not sure it is for me. Great review though!
This sounds really weird. Like Kay, I didn’t much care for Riordan’s series, and that’s generally accepted as way better…so not for me.