Foto dell'autore

Scott Somerville

Autore di Olympus

22 opere 35 membri 1 recensione

Opere di Scott Somerville

Etichette

Informazioni generali

Non ci sono ancora dati nella Conoscenza comune per questo autore. Puoi aiutarci.

Utenti

Recensioni

Karl and Jacob Huber are teenaged twins. Karl is proud and brave while Jacob is intelligent and sly. They live with their father and grandfather both of whom had escaped from behind the Iron Curtain back in the days of the Cold War. Their mother has died. The boys like to play an online cyber-suit, multi-player virtual reality game called Olympus, but Karl is especially hooked on it. After having new computer equipment installed by Mark Avery and his two homeschooled children, Nancy and Noah, Dan Huber forbids Karl to play Olympus. Goaded by Jacob, Karl runs away to CyberCamp. However, something very sinister is going on. Mr. Huber and Jacob, with the help of the Mark, Nancy, and Noah, Sheila Morrison, whose husband designed Olympus, her son Simon, known as “Wheeler” because he is in a wheelchair, and an adult player named Peter Antipas, search for Karl. Since they can’t find him on earth, they look for him in Olympus. But will they find him? And if they do, can they get him to come back?
When author Scott Somerville wrote this book, he was a staff attorney with Home School Legal Defense Association. Several years ago, I saw Olympus advertised by HSLDA and thought that it sounded good. I happened to have an HSLDA coupon at the time, so I tried to order it. However, the website wouldn’t take my coupon with the book, so I had to purchase something else. Recently, I came across a used copy and bought it. I must say that it is an exciting page-turner. Especially toward the end, I had trouble putting it down and read the last nine or so chapters in one sitting. There are many aspects of this book which are commendable. On the surface, there is the danger of virtual reality games. Of course, not all video games are necessarily sinful, but there can be no doubt that some are plainly evil, and even of those which are not bad by themselves, there is the danger of becoming addicted to them so that they become wrong. Also, the Avery family’s homeschooling is pictured in a positive light, yet, while they are believers, they are not caricatured but presented as real human beings, with the same struggles and trials that everyone else has.
Beyond these things, there are deeper values found in the story, such as the need for discernment, the emptiness of life without Christ, the importance of forgiveness, and the power of faith in Jesus. Also, as an attorney who has a lot of experience with the child welfare system in dealing with family issues, Scott well portrays how the system can be abused. In October of 2006, Somerville, who writes, “This story started as a story for my sons around an Appalachian campfire,” left his full-time position at HSLDA, though he is still “Of Counsel” with the organization, and continues to serve homeschooling families through the Tapestry of Grace curriculum, which has released a new, upgraded version of Olympus online where Scott is reinventing the story and adding new layers of secrets. The back of the book says that it is the “first of a trilogy of fast-action novels,” so I was thinking of writing Scott to see if there was a sequel, but then I saw that his biography at the HSLDA website says, “He is currently working on a sequel to his first novel (Olympus, an action/adventure novel for homeschooled teens).
… (altro)
 
Segnalato
Homeschoolbookreview | Oct 19, 2011 |

Statistiche

Opere
22
Utenti
35
Popolarità
#405,584
Voto
5.0
Recensioni
1
ISBN
1