Flamingnet Student Book Reviewer  Guest

Water. Water is everywhere. We drink it, bathe in it, we're even made up of it. The average person doesn't think about this common liquid, but after reading new author J. Eric King's Byron Carmichael Book One: The Human Corpse Trade, every time I take a drink I wonder who drank it before me? Thank about it; the sip you just took could have been the same one George Washington took before he crossed the Delaware or Rosa Parks swigged before she stepped on that bus. Water is the key to our history if only we could unlock it.

As you've probably guessed, water is the center of this tale.

The story takes place in the summer of 2007. Boy uber genius, Byron Carmichael, has just been accepted to a summer program at Brandenburg University where he will join other extremely gifted students to work on an assignment. What he doesn't know is that he will be working on the project his father - who disappeared 15 years earlier - abandoned. Another surprise is that he will be working with the last person to hear from his father, Dr. Vernon Winston, and his children, Nick and Gracie.

Together they will work, not only to solve the mystery of the smart water, but also to solve the mystery of who is running a human corpse trade, Transported back to colonial America, Byron, Nick, and Gracie will have to work together to survive threats, attacks, and the Dark One.

The book started out with quite a few rough patches, which are to be expected with any new writer. To quote Nick, parts were like a corny episode of Scooby Doo, but once things evened out, the book was impossible to put down. At first, I didn't like the fact that it was written in present tense as I have turned down many a book written in the same fashion. I pushed forward instead, and soon this wasn't even present in my mind. Begin stubborn headed can be a good think especially in this case where I would have missed reading what is becoming one of my favorite books.

I'd have to say that the characters were what I liked the most. Byron - who is shy, too bright for his own good, and inexperienced in the area of girls - is easy to relate to the kid who helps you with your math homework. His mistakes and nervousness around Gracie are presented in a way that is both realistic and enlightening. I applaud you, young Master Carmichael, for showing nerds when to turn the smarts off. Nick is not to be forgotten, though. He lends a comical relief to many a situation that would have otherwise been boring and slowed down the fast-paced plot.

King has stepped outside the average teenage mystery novel and brought it to a new level. Through incorporating some science fiction, he has made this book one to be enjoyed by a wide variety of readers. I honestly can't wait to see what happens to Byron and the gang and where the smart water leads them next.

Lincoln Sklar
Arrowhead Online Newspaper
Bridgeport High School

Book Description By Publisher

A young, brilliant scientist made a discovery that could possibly revolutionize the modern, technological world. However, in the process, he made enemies; deadly enemies. In an attempt to save his research from evil hands, Dr. Carmichael burns his laboratory and disappears.

Flash forward 15 years. Dr. Carmichael's young son, Byron, is your typical high-school student except for one thing, he's a genius. Accepted into a rare scholarship program for elite minds, Byron expects to spend the summer at the prestigious Brandenburg University studying scientific principles. Little does he know that he was carefully located and selected to be a part of this program.

His summer assignment will be to discover the secrets within the remnants of his father's work. Teamed with Gracie and Nick, two other brilliant students, he will delve into the heart of his father's research, and in the process, be thrown into a historical world full of mystery, murder, intrigue, and in the middle of the human corpse trade.


About the Author

J. Eric King has been imagining stories and writing them down for more than 7 years. He holds a master's degree in Pathology from The Ohio State University. When he's not drafting a new novel, he works as a pathologists' assistant at a large hospital where he spends most of his days examining human tissue.

King states that his career in pathology has enhanced his eye for detail and description that often flows over into his writing. This gives the reader an intriguing perspective, especially in his latest novel, involving the human corpse trade.

More About The Human Corpse Trade and J. Eric King

Flamingnet Student Book Reviewer  HBren
Fifteen years after his fathers disappearance, Byron Carmicheal is accepted to a summer study program at the prestigious Bradenburg University. There, he meets the Winston family: Dr. Winston, Nick and the beautiful Gracie. It is Dr.Winston who introduces the three teenagers to their summer assignment: to research Byrons fathers work. He had invented a highly realistic simulation, a huge technological advance. When the young scientists accidentally find themselves trapped in early America, it is up to them to solve the mystery of the grotesque human corpse trade of the time and to get themselves out of the increasingly dangerous game before they are trapped inside forever.

Overall, The Human Corpse Trade was a mediocre read. The plot had the potential to be interesting but wasnt well developed. The characters were flat and unrealistic. The way they spoke was awkward and grew bothersome over the course of the novel. Nick was the only character with much substance but even he tended to be uninteresting and was shoved into the background when Gracie and Byron interacted. The high point of the novel was the well researched and realistic-seeming historical content. The authors use of vocabulary was unvaried and didnt add anything to the story. The romance between Byron and Gracie feels contrived and unnecessary to the plot. I wouldnt recommend this book and I dont plan on reading any of the follow up novels.

Reviewer Age:17

Reviewer City, State and Country: San Diego, CA USA