Energy Wars
The Awakening
A boy who can visualize the effects of what people say or feel comes into his own in the intriguing novel Energy Wars.
In Jodi Dee’s fantasy novel Energy Wars, a teenager discovers that emotions are more powerful, complex, and infectious than he believed them to be.
Thirteen-year-old Myles has complicated family dynamics. His mother is missing, his father works night shifts, and his grieving grandfather is his primary caretaker. Still, both of the men in his life work to protect him in their own ways. At school, he sees fireballs when his schoolmates argue in the hallway—manifestations of the insults they fling. Only he is aware of the phenomenon, though. He has a gift: He can visualize the effects of what people say and feel.
Myles begins to research energzy using scientific texts and metaphysical articles. He receives help from his schoolmate Sally and his best friend Charlie too. His grandfather reveals that his grandmother was aligned with the great energy order and left him notes to assist him. There are people who want to protect energy seers—as well as those who wish to harm them.
Myles’s relationships with people his own age are uneven throughout the book. His best friend, Charlie, is kept in the dark for much of the novel. Myles favors the help of smart, resilient Sally when it comes to figuring out his new energy gift. Indeed, the conversations between Myles and Charlie are surface level. Myles dodges Charlie’s support, and his evasiveness tests their friendship, though such issues are resolved without serious repercussions. And a third friend, Ethan, is relegated to the background in this volume. When he does appear, he is developed in terms of his family’s wealth alone; he does not interact much with Charlie or Myles until the book’s ending.
Moved along by small, sporadic conflicts, the story follows Myles and his friends from the acquisition of one piece of information to the next. Their hunts for information produce easy results, though: There are visits to the library in addition to revelations from Myles’s grandmother’s letters; an old man comes to the bank with a secret order. Indeed, Myles receives copious information without needing to do much, limiting the book’s suspense.
Excessive space is also dedicated to explaining the power of energy, leading to lulls. And some events have limited impact, as with the principal’s comments on how schools must maintain order after Myles’s laughing fit with a girl in the cafeteria. Still, as Myles’s gift grows, he comes to important realizations about how people and technology impact individual energies. The increasing conflict near the end lays the groundwork for future series entries.
In the intriguing fantasy novel Energy Wars, an energy seer learns about a war he is destined to fight in.
Reviewed by
Sterling Hooker
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
