The Never War
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 First edition cover |
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| Author | D. J. MacHale |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Pendragon |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Aladdin |
| Released | May 1, 2003 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback & Hardback) |
| Pages | 352 pp (first edition, paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-7434-3733-0 (first edition, paperback) |
| Preceded by | The Lost City of Faar |
| Followed by | The Reality Bug |
The Never War is a book in the Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale. In this book, the main character, Robert "Bobby" Pendragon follows the antagonist, named Saint Dane, to a territory called First Earth, which is basically our Earth, in 1937.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
Bobby Pendragon and Vo Spader, the Traveler from Cloral, arrive on First Earth (New York City, 1937) shortly after the death of Bobby's uncle, Press Tilton, by bullets from gangsters that Saint Dane has hired. They meet the First Earth Traveler, a bell captain at the Manhattan Tower Hotel named Vincent "Gunny" Van Dyke. Bobby and Spader become employed as bellhops there, and investigate the ties between First Earth's Turning Point, rival crime godfathers Max Rose and Winn Farrow, and the Nazi party.
The critical connection is revealed to be the Hindenburg zeppelin. To understand its significance, Bobby and Gunny visit Third Earth, in the year 5010. The Traveler Patrick accesses a computer that predicts the future in which they save the Hindenburg: industrial spies working for Max would lead to the Nazis developing an atomic bomb and winning World War Two.
Bobby and Gunny return to First Earth, only to find that Spader and Rose have gone ahead, seeking to stop Winn Farrow from shooting a firework rocket into the dirigible. Bobby is flown to the LZ-129's launch site by a female aeroplane pilot called Nancy Olsen (alias Jinx), who has been his client at the Hotel. There, he commandeers Max Rose's car and drives to the rocket's launch pad. Spader, misunderstanding, tries to stop the rocket from launching; Gunny holds him back. Looking up, Bobby sees the faces of those who will die in the explosion and is reluctant to let them die. Gunny again intervenes, holding him until the rocket launches and the zepplin burns.
Full of angst over his role in the tragedy, Bobby returns to his home on Second Earth (the twentieth and twenty-first centuries) for a pause in his Travels. Without any family, he lives with his friend Mark Dimond, who is a confidante or "acolyte" of the Travelers. Later, he travels with Gunny to Veelox, leading into The Reality Bug.
[edit] Characters in "The Never War"
- Robert "Bobby" Pendragon - Bobby is the main character of the story and is taken here to First Earth after his victory over Saint Dane on Cloral.
- Saint Dane - takes the form of quite a few people, including a diva, a spy, and a raven.
- Vincent "Gunny" Van Dyke - The Traveler from First Earth. He is the bell captain of the Manhattan Tower Hotel. This is our first encounter with Gunny. He is the reason that First Earth was saved by holding back Bobby when he tried to kick over the rocket. Gunny got his name because of the fact that he simply couldn't fire a gun, no matter how hard he tried.
- Maximillian Rose - A ruthless gangster who operates a spy ring out of the Manhattan Tower Hotel. Among his many criminal enterprises, he sells government secrets to the highest bidder, whether friend or foe. He supposedly dies trying to save all of his money and the secret plans to make a bomb that were aboard the Hindenburg.
- Nancy "Jinx" Olsen - A pilot for the Coast Guard who longs for adventure and finds it when Bobby asks her to fly to where the Hindenburg will be docking. Jinx's dream is is flight, but the misogynistic Coast Guard has made her their poster girl, who simply goes around to conferences and talks to people about being a pilot. When Bobby says he must reach the Hindenburg's docking site, she has been grounded from flying by the Coast Guard, but she sees how important it is for Bobby, and does it anyway.
- Winn Farrow - He is the nemesis of Max Rose who would stop at nothing to destroy Rose and his criminal empire. He hates Max because Max has become wealthy, whereas Winn's own, more reckless actions made him resort to living in an abandoned slaughterhouse in the meatpacking district of New York and hiring gangsters to do his bidding. He is ultimately responsible for the blowing up of the LZ-129 (Hindenburg), for which he used a rocket.
[edit] Setting statistics
The book is set on the territory known as First Earth, which is Earth in the year 1937.
Some statistics about First Earth, taken from The Guide to the Territories of Halla:
- Territory Era: AD 1937
- Landmass: Seven continents making up approximately 92.5 million square miles. Seventy percent of the territory is covered with water, making up approximately 224.5 million square miles.
- Movies: A Day at the Races, starring the Marx Brothers; Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs
- Popular sport: Baseball (New York Yankees defeat New York Giants for the professional championship)
- Radio broadcasts: Notable performers include Edgar Bergen and Charlie MoCarthy, Jack Benny, Bob Hope
- Notable books published: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien; And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, the first book by Dr. Seuss
- Notable events: Destruction of the airship Hindenburg (event captured and broadcast as the first coast-to-coast radio broadcast) Amelia Earhart, female aviator, disappears while attempting to fly around the world. Opening of the Golden Gate Bridge. First cartoon starring Daffy Duck
- Time measured in: minutes
- President of the United States: Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Notable Inventions: ballpoint pen, photocopier, nylon, cellophane tape, first jet engine, electric digital calculator
- The Traveler: Vincent "Gunny" VanDyke
[edit] External links
| Books in the Series: | ||||||||
| The Merchant of Death · The Lost City of Faar · The Never War · The Reality Bug · Black Water · The Rivers of Zadaa · The Quillan Games · The Pilgrims of Rayne (forthcoming) · The Guide to the Territories of Halla (Companion Book) | ||||||||
| Characters: | ||||||||
| Bobby Pendragon · Saint Dane · Loor · Alder (Pendragon series) · Vo Spader · Vincent "Gunny" Van Dyke · Patrick · Aja Killian · Kasha · Remudi · Nevva Winter Elli Winter " · Courtney Chetwynde · Mark Dimond | ||||||||
| Locations: | ||||||||
| Halla · Second Earth · Denduron · Cloral · First Earth · Veelox · Eelong · Zadaa · Quillan · Ibara · Third Earth | ||||||||
