The Navigator by Eoin McNamee

The Navigator by Eoin McNamee is a book written for middle grade readers. It follows the adventures of a boy named Owen on a bizarre adventure. He starts off on what seems an ordinary walk to a favorite spot away from his house when he encounters a group of folks who have woken from ages old sleep to battle a group of villains known as The Harsh. The story is rather difficult to follow and what exactly the bad guys want is never really defined during the book. The main protagonist is never really defined well for me, and because of the vagueness of the story despite so much going on around Owen, the narrator has to constantly explain what's happening. As a result, very little time is spent on developing the characters. And while there is a lot of exposition, I still can't see things very easily. For example, the propeller, which is an important part of the story, I never get a clear picture of. At first, I think it's big. Like the size of an airplane propellor. Then I think it's small. Then I think it's... Because of its importance, the author maybe should have been more descriptive in describing its proportions. One good thing is that this book is extremely imaginative, and it is possible that younger readers might enjoy it more. There is an imaginitive story there, but it takes a lot of patience to get through. The Navigator was published in 2008.