Pacific Book Review   

What fun!  Reading J. Z. Colby’s book, Nebador: Book One: The Test, is as cute as seeing a youngster wearing a Spock outfit at a Star Trek convention.  How do people become sci-fi enthusiasts?  They start young, and this book is the ideal fertilizer for their young, developing minds.

J. Z. Colby no doubt has a grand plan for developing this as a series, as Nebador: Book One: The Test is the first of many books planned to carry the story forward.  The story revolves around a visitor to a kingdom that becomes threatened by a high-priest and forced into exile with 5 student followers.  The survival of the group depends on their ability to gain personal power, to stand on their own two feet, with a smile on their face, in the middle of a universe that contains a million ways to crush you – a slogan of the Nebador Transport Service. 

The characters within this book have names such as Ilika, Toli, Neti, Doti, Gema and Bora who live and travel throughout Rumble Town and Cobble Town.  Those names remind me of the Pig-Latin we played as kids.  The book is written to an age group at 8 to 10 years old, perhaps a bit older or younger depending on the child.  There are map illustrations that provide a maze-like image for the reader to put together in his or her mind; line drawings depicting portions of the street maps showing the location of homes, intended for the reader to imagine how best to go from place to place.  Also there are examples of basic logic, math, dietary habits, and social behavior laced throughout the story providing a variety of teaching experiences. In one example of math, J. Z. Colby shows the “power of 10” in a decimal example in a very unintimidating way. The teaching of English has some poetry and letter recognition, and teachings are also developed in navigation skills, preparations for trips, and thoughtfulness to others.

The entire theme of the book provides personal power to the reader, thus enabling them to survive in the crushing universe – a sound message to all children to seek their inner strength and build their confidence.

This book, along with the series when released, would be a thoughtful gift for a youngster with a propensity to read and has an open mind for the fantasy of science fiction and adventure.  The book is also a wonderful addition to any home library, or to give to a child embarking on a trip or to camp.   As the series will become available over the next year or two, we hope the reading level of the other books parallel the development of those fans that begin with Nebador:  Book One: The Test.