Charlie Stone and His Greatest Adventure

In Charles Reece’s debut sci-fi adventure, Charlie Stone straddles the past, present, and future. The novel chronicles Charlie sharing stories with his son, Curtis, in the present day, incidents in Charlie’s boyhood in 1969, and his subsequent time-travel to the year 2269. The author skillfully makes the past come alive for young readers, especially the fervor surrounding the first man on the moon. For an audience likely accustomed to modern-day technology, Reece’s descriptive language captures the excitement that eleven-year-old Charlie and his best friend, Danny, share as they watch the moon-walk on a small black-and-white TV. While the events of 1969 are far removed from today’s generation of young readers, they nonetheless will be able to relate to the main character who, with his best friend at his side, waits in great anticipation on a momentous event. Charlie alludes to his Cherokee ancestry, but is kept free of any Native-American stereotypes. Indeed, Charlie’s heritage promises to be important for reasons that are never quite made clear in this novel, but hopefully will be revealed in the sequel. Time-travel lovers will love it when Charlie reaches the year 2269. It’s a rollicking joyride of androids, self-driving cars, and virtual reality sure to entertain any reader. Charlie’s relationship with his android father figure, Art, is fun and entertaining with plenty of laughs as well as tender moments too. You will keep turning pages to see how Charlie handles each challenge. In turn, while enjoying Charlie as he faces each situation with ingenuity and aplomb. There's bits of slapstick humor that will surely draw chuckles and will keep readers enjoying this fun-filled, fast-paced tale.