The Never War (Pendragon, Book 3) by D.J. MacHale

Reviewed by Keri

Ratings

Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content

Guide to Rating System

LANGUAGE

VIOLENCE

SEXUAL CONTENT

ADULT THEMES

Ratings Explanation:

Language: A handful of common swear words.  A couple used by teenagers towards a bitter bank woman.

Violence: Several gangster shootings.  A gangster is pushed from an upper-story window and plunges to his death.  A tree blocks the final moments of impact.  Pendragon and his friend are tied up and left to die in a fire.  A dead body is found in a closet.  Pendragon and his friends witness the Hindenburg burst into flames, killing several on board.  They also see poor living conditions and the awful suffering of people on earth in the future.

Sexual Content:  Pendragon remembers how Courtney looks in her pink bikini.  He notices how she fills it out better since he has last seen her, but doesn’t say anything.  A singing star walks slinklily in her nightgown and silky robe.   Before leaving Pendragon, Courtney gives Pendragon a long kiss.

Adult Themes:  Pendragon loses his Uncle Press to gangster gun fire.  Pendragon’s friend Spader lost his father to the evil St. Dane.  Pendragon leaves his old life and childhood behind to become a traveler and protect the universe from St. Dane.  Pendragon must make a difficult decision to let a group on innocent people die to save the world.

Synopsis

Pendragon is a fourteen year old boy who has discovered his new calling to be a traveler.  Travelers are found throughout the universe and called to protect all of its inhabitants from the evil, shape-shifting St. Dane.   Pendragon and other travelers are able to transport through time and space in search of St. Dane by tunnels called flumes.  In this third adventure,  Pendragon and his friend Spader ‘flume’ to New York City in the 1930’s.  While trying to discover St. Dane’s next evil plan, the boys encounter brutal gangsters, a spunky female pilot, a Nazi spy and a fellow traveler.  This traveler, Gunny, helps them navigate through this new culture to discover their enemy’s latest evil plan.  This time Pendragon encounters his greatest test.   He must choose between saving the innocent lives of the passengers on the ill fated Hindenburg or the lives of millions that will live on earth in the future.

Although I would not consider this book a pillar in fine literature, it was definitely full of fast paced action and adventure that will draw you in. This is the first book I have read in this series and although it mentioned characters and incidents from past books I was able to follow along.   Young readers will enjoy the pop-culture references and dialogue along with the inter-twined historical events.  The ending was a great cliff hanger leaving you ready for the next installment.