Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
The Supernaturalist Audio
Fiction
For ages 12 and up
Unabridged audiobook (CD)
Performed/read by: Chiwetel Ejiofor
Listening Library, 2005 ISBN: 978-0307283634
Cosmo Hill is an "unsponsored" orphan. He was found on the streets when he was a baby, and when the authorities determined that he had no family, living they took him to an orphanage where he has spent the last fourteen years. The orphanage is a terrible place. It raises its own funds by letting companies use the orphans to test their products, and as a result the average life expectancy of the orphans is fifteen years old. Cosmo knows that he only has a year or so left before the items he is forced to test end up killing him. There is only one thing to do - he has to escape.
By sheer luck, Cosmo is able to do this though he is terribly injured in the process. He is taken in by a group of young people who call themselves Supernaturalists. It would appear that all three of the young people can see strange beings which no one else can see - blue beings which apparently suck the life force out of injured humans. Most extraordinary of all, Cosmo is just like them, he too can see the creatures, and because of this he ends up joining their "family."
The leader of the group, Stefan Bashkir, is determined to find a way to destroy every single one of the "parasites," and soon Cosmo is going out at night to help his new friends wipe out as many of the parasites as they can.
It is only after they have found and eradicated a whole nest full of the creatures that Cosmo, Stefan, and the others learn that the creatures are not what they thought they were at all.
In this enthralling and often grim futuristic tale, Eoin Colfer has once again put his formidable storytelling skills to work. There is no doubt that the Earth he has created is not a place any of us would like to visit, and one could certainly say that his descriptions have a cautionary element to them. Be careful how you behave and choose your priorities carefully, otherwise your world could become just like the one where Cosmo lives. In addition to his warning message, Colfer has also created a story that is gripping, superbly crafted, and full of larger than life characters who evolve as the story unfolds. Listeners who like science fiction and futuristic technology will be captivated.
With his beautifully modulated and highly adaptable voice, Chiwetel Ejiofor brings Cosmo and his friends to life, giving them additional dimensions and complexities.
