The Golden Aquarians

Monica Hughes

Simon and Schuster. $15.00

When 13-year-old Walt arrives on flooded Aqua, he finds his father already at work terraforming the planet, draining away the water to make it livable for humans. But when Walt meets an Aquarian, an intelligent frog-like alien, he learns that what is good for humans is not necessarily good for Aqua.

The Golden Aquarians is a mediocre science fiction novel for young adults. The adventure is blandly told and the interaction of flat, cardboard characters is frustrating. Despite the effort involved in defying his father, Walt's circumstances demonstrate no real choice or consequence. What choice is involved if you are told "Stand up to your father or everyone dies"? Furthermore, the author has Walt avoid the consequences of his actions by having the father lose his memory.

In a market where so much of the science fiction for young adults seems to be based on "Star Trek" or "Star Wars," it's sad to see an original miss its mark so badly.

 

This review copyright 1996 by Wendy Morris 

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