Isle of Man: Book Two of The Park Service Trilogy

I have to say that I think I liked this second book of The Park Service Trilogy more that the first one! I have no doubt that the conclusion of this series will be even better.I have to keep this relatively brief because there is really no way to reveal the full scope of my feelings without dropping major spoilers and you know how much I hate to do that. I will warn you that while I won't post spoilers for this book, there will be spoilers from book one.This book takes these characters into places that I never expected both emotionally and logistically. The bulk of book one takes place on what appears to be a new planet. It's actually Earth 900 years in the future where the "Park Service" has all but destroyed humankind on the surface allowing it to return to an "eden-like" state. What humans managed to survive are continually hunted by drones programmed to kill them. Aubrey discovers all of this when he essentially escapes from the underground world where he grew up. Now Aubrey, Jimmy and Hannah are on a mission to de-program the drones so they can free the people underground without fear of them being hunted on the surface.This book takes them halfway across the globe in search of what they need to free Aubrey's people. On The Isle of Man nothing is what it seems, but it's all so very interesting! It's like stepping back into medieval Ireland complete with a castle and tournament games. The imagery is so vivid that you feel like you are right there roaming the castle with Aubrey and competing in the tournament with Jimmy.There are some definite "hold your breath" moments in this book. You hit a point where the action just keeps coming at you and then things take a turn that I totally wasn't expecting. I have to say that I have a whole new respect for Ryan Winfield after reading the last 1/4 of this book. I would imagine that it takes a lot out of a writer to put his characters through this, not to mention what they are sure to face in the next book.There are some pretty tense moments between Aubrey and Jimmy in this book and it makes you wonder just what exactly is between these two. At times they are the best of friends, but there are times when they seem to be more although it's never quite clear. While it may not be intentional, there is definitely some tension between them. It will be interesting to see where this leads, if anywhere. It's clear that Aubrey has grown throughout the course of these books. He is truly well on his way to becoming the man he will need to be in order to lead his people once they are freed. He is starting to see people for what they really are instead of how they portray themselves to others.** "Maybe humans are the problem. Some humans, anyway. At least a person can see a shark's teeth. They don't hide their intentions. And they don't kill because they can kill, they kill because they need to survive." **So, I loved this book! I had a couple minor issues with the first book, but there was nothing like that in this one. It's a great YA read and really I think my daughter is going to love this series if I can ever part with my Kindle Fire long enough to let her read it!

After I finished The Park Service, I immediately opened up Isle Of Man. Lucky me, I had already bought all 3 and had them ready to read one after another should I want to.I wanted to.I started Isle Of Man in the evening and I believe I posted on Facebook at 1:42 that I had to get up at 6:30 the next morning but I didn’t want to put it down. I eventually did and got 3 1/2 hours of sleep. I picked it back up as soon as I could the next day.In Isle of Man Aubrey has so much resting on his shoulders, he is having to grow up so fast. There are times when he has to navigate between his girlfriend Hannah and his best friend Jimmy when one is pulling him to make one decision and the other wants him to go the other way. That’s hard enough at 15 without the future of the world on your shoulders.Isle of Man was just as fascinating, if not even more so if that is possible, as The Park Service. I don’t know how but there is even more action in this book. Now we are following Aubrey, Jimmy, and Junior around the world as they attempt to set the people of Holoscene II free. There were times that I was holding my breath wondering if a character I had come to love was going to make it through something, there were times I was literally sick to my stomach, I had tears in my eyes in some moments, and a big grin in others.Ryan Winfield has this amazing talent. I have experienced the same thing with every book I have read of his, The Park Service, Jane’s Melody, South Of Bixby Bridge, he writes in such a way that the world is real. You can see the characters, you can feel the emotion, every bit of it, the sadness, the disappointment, those happy moments, the moments of pure horror, you feel as if you are living in this world when you are reading something written by him. There is this jolt back to reality when you shut the cover or swipe that last page over. That’s what the great authors do. They are able to distort your reality as you are reading their work, they make you feel what their characters are feeling, it’s as if you are one of the characters. I don’t know if that makes sense. I have said it in a different way before, it’s as if you are part of the story verses seeing it from afar. That’s what a journey through Ryan’s books are for me. I loved Isle of Man. As with The Park Service, this is one I would let my 15 year old son read. This is a series that I think anyone from teenage years up to adult would enjoy.Amazing read!

The Park Service Trilogy is aimed at young adults and since it's a very long time since I was a young anything, this really wouldn't be my first choice of reading material.I was introduced to Ryan Winfield through South of Bixby Bridge, which is most definitely aimed at an adult readership. I loved this book and for this reason alone, decided to read more by Ryan Winfield.The Park Service is a pretty good page turner, set 1000 years in the future. Humanity has been effectively destroyed on the surface of the planet with a literal 'sub culture' existing five miles underground.The main protagonists, Aubrey and Jimmy, are fifteen year old boys who arrive from totally different backgrounds to become friends with a common purpose, to save humanity.The second book continues the story as they travel across the Atlantic in a submarine with a mad professor and a fox to find a 'key' to disable a computer system which is threatening the remaining human settlements on the surface of the planet, and to enable them to free the brainwashed underground population.They arrive at The Isle of Man to find a primitive human settlement, presided over by a Lord, who quite literally holds the 'key'.But is the mad professor the friend he led them to believe? The story enters a sinister twist at the end and I can't wait to read the last instalment. I'm hooked!I hope this trilogy is reaching it's targeted readership. Anything that gets young people reading has my vote!

The first book was good enough that I bought parts two and three before I'd even finished.Having just now read part two (Isles of Man) I can't wait to dive into the final book. There are some scores that need settling and I need to know what happens!The more I read and the more the story unfolds, the more it gathers pace and more I enjoy it! It just gets better and better as it goes along and it was good enough to start with ;)Really glad I stumbled upon this saga.

I'm not much for writing or even reading big book reviews, so all I want to say is, personally I really REALLY enjoyed reading this series and would recommend it!

This is one of the best trilogy's I have read in a long time. I can't put it down. Full of surprises.

wonderful sad to get to the end