Review By Eric
Goodreads Reader
This review is for: February The Fifth (Kindle)
I wanted to do this without making comparisons to other books, I really did, but when it comes right down to it, my first impression of Derek Haines' new book February the Fifth is the one that stuck with me. February the Fifth is like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy meets Sir Apropos of Nothing, which is to say, my kind of twisted.
You have the young fool who has no business being a success at anything, yet ends up being very important to the future of the Twelve Sun Systems of Gloth. You also have the Supreme Potentate more-or-less stealing a ship in order to find the truth on a distant and wholly unremarkable planet. And, just to make things interesting, several puns revolving around the Gregorian calendar. If you're anything like me, this all adds up to a fun and humorous story, perfect for making people question your sanity while you're giggling over it on the bus.
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A great read
Review by tractid
This review is for: February The Fifth (Paperback)
I wasn't sure what I'd make of Derek Haines' new book as I don't normally 'do' Sci-fi. This wasn't an issue though as Derek has the ability to tell a really good story that carries you along without the genre taking over. His main character, Feb, is a rather unsavoury, lazy young man with no enthusiasm for anything yet Derek still manages to make him endearing. He tells the story of his sudden and unexpected rise to power, and it consequences, with his usual easy style of writing that is both enjoyable and funny. A great read.
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Something unique
Reviewed by Vivo
This review is for: February The Fifth (Paperback)
This is the third book I have read by Derek Haines, and clearly he is working on developing a unique style. His ability to convey the depth of this witty and intricate story in a very easy, and unadorned style, makes February the Fifth a most enjoyable read. I recognised this when I read Milo Moon, but in this book I think he has really found his mark.
Endearing you to his characters without long passages of description keeps the story moving at a pace. He seems to have a particular liking for his character Snurd Humped though, as he gets more attention than most characters in descriptive passages.
I don't think it is a sci-fi story at all. The author simply used it as a pretext for telling a wonderful story about Feb, the main character. He used fantasy settings to invent wonderful names for his characters and to convey his very personal views on the world. Sometimes, he even becomes a gastronomic critic of the unreal!
Derek Haines plays with some crazy ideas in his head and lets his vivid imagination go wild.
Very enjoyable!
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This review is from: Milo Moon (Paperback)
Review by Mary Crocco
Derek Haines book, Milo Moon, is a story that has a ring of familiarity. It touches on the sci-fi with a hint of political suspense. The author’s strength is the fun he has creating his characters. Any reader will enjoy the adventures of Milo and Mary, which is the compelling reason to finish the book.
The prose and dialogue are simple which makes for an easy read. There are a few occurrences which automatically categorize the book for adults. Without these scenes Milo Moon could have been enjoyed by young adults, obviously, not the author’s choice for this story.
I recommend Milo Moon for the sci-fi audience. I could see a fan wondering what Milo and Mary would look like on the big screen.
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Review By Jack Eason (Book Blog)
This review is from: February The Fifth (Kindle)
Douglas Adams has reincarnated and is living in Switzerland with wife and dog. Of course he has a new name these days. Its Derek Haines.
Derek's hero February Gregorian, or Feb to his friends has reluctantly been thrust into a position of power as the Supreme Potentate of the Twelve Suns Systems of Gloth which, to say the least, bewilders him. He soon finds that everyone around him within his court of advisors, The Grand Council, want to get rid of him to end his family (the Gregorians) long held grip as the rulers of the known universe from their seat of power on the home planet Gloth.
In his hilarious novel ‘February The Fifth’ Derek Haines takes up where Douglas Adams left off by creating a totally dysfunctional society inhabited by people like Snurd Humped, Purt Stringly, Lefroy Overload and many more equally preposterous characters. Derek has created a very funny and extremely easy read.
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Review By Mary Crocco
This review is from: February The Fifth (Kindle)
February The Fifth, is the first book I have read by Derek Haines. It was an easy read with slight touches of science fiction and comedy throughout. There was no shortage of characters, some of whom the reader would most definitely relate to thereby making the book more enjoyable.
I think young adults would be the target audience for Derek’s book. The learning curve for the characters unexpected responsibility and out of this world (literally) adventures would be enjoyed most by middle-school age children. I can picture the variety of favorite characters and the children’s reasoning for their choices as a productive writing project. The book is rich with description for both characters and places that would undoubtedly spark children to improve their writing skills. What a great compliment to an author!
As an adult and inspiring writer, I was greatly impressed with the ending. Derek’s words in his last paragraph, his last two sentences, could not have been written more perfectly to end this entertaining story.
The most loyal of loyal readers.
The Very End
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Review by Natalie
Goodreads Reviewer
This review is from: Milo Moon (Paperback)
Yes, I loved it... Not only because of Micheline ;-)
Very well written and fun to think about. My husband and I are trying to figure who else we might recognize... We will keep You posted. As I said before on an other review, I love books that start in one direction and end in an other than expected. Derek Haines has now definitively become one of the favorite persons to inhabit my Adamsy-pythonesque little universe.
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Great plot but...
Reviewed by John Cox
Amazon Verified Purchase
This review is from: Milo Moon (Paperback)
After reading the complete Milo Moon book and then reflecting upon it I have four conclusions:
1/ It was a great plot idea and had the potential to be a great book
2/ Way too little attention was paid to editing and proof reading
3/ The main characters are weak and wooden and telegraph just what they are going to do
4/ There are too many superfluous characters and plot points that are just filler
I'm not going to ruin the plot for those of you who want to read the book, and I would say this book is a great read if you are an aspiring author and want to read something that is never going to be a 'bestseller' and comes from a homegrown desire to write. Read and learn! What I mean by that is read this book and pay attention; you will identify all those places where little things would make all the difference.
The bottom line is that I wanted to like this book; I wanted to come away with a happy feeling in my stomach, but I just couldn't get there. Ultimately I was disappointed and frustrated. I would love to see the author revisit the book, working with an editor to make it the more concise and powerful book it deserves to be.
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Review By Steve Youngs
This review is from: February The Fifth (Paperback)
Goodreads Reader
A thoroughly entertaining book. I enjoyed every single page. I'm actually quite a slow reader (was too lazy to learn to speed read) so a book this size would normally take me a good week to get through. Not this one. This one I got through in 2 sittings. It really was that good.
A science fiction mystery with good doses of humour thrown in. It is set in the distant future, a couple of million years into the future. The story even links back to a 16th century Pope, Pope Gregory XIII, no less (he's the guy that changed our calendar to what it is today, the Gregorian calendar).
I read a review somewhere that said that this story was aimed at young adults. Now whether or not that was Derek's intention, I don't know, all I can say is that I'm turning 45 this year and I loved it!
Derek Haines has definitely raised the bar with this story. I highly recommend this book. Go buy it! Read it! You'll love it.
Would rate it 42 if I could...
Review By Natalie (Amazon Reader)
This review is from: February The Fifth (Kindle)
I really think this is the best Derek Haines book I have read so far. Would rate it 42 if I could...
I am not going to comment to much on the story, others are way better at it than me... Just giving you my personal overall opinion...
Derek Haines juggles with words, like others with balls. The mix of pythonesque and dry accuracy while describing the different characters is hilariously funny. And never boring, because short and precise, yet full of life.
Gloth and its history sounds so very familiar to any swiss person, that I came to think we might have inspired someone a wee bit, with all those laws and regulations, and dose boring pencil pushers etc....
The humoristic and imaginative narrative level is perfect for someone who likes well written, stories about humans in all their incarnations and states... because did we not all suffer from Acne once or twice...
And to those who think its just another Sci-Fi Novel I say: And the fab four where just another band...
February the fifth is like a song from Paul McCartney or a gag from Monty Python, it starts in one direction and leaves you in a totally different place, then you excepted. Love it!
So to You sir: I thank you deeply for bringing yourself and your work to my attention! This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
