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Jumper #3
Impulse
Steven Gould returns to the world of his classic novel Jumper in the thrilling sequel Impulse. Cent has a secret. She lives in isolation, with her parents, hiding from the people who took her father captive and tortured him to gain control over his ability to teleport, and from the government agencies who want to use his talent. Cent has seen the world, but only from the safety of her parents' arms. She's teleported more than anyone on Earth, except for her mother and father, but she's never been able to do it herself. Her life has never been in danger. Until the day when she went snowboarding without permission and triggered an avalanche. When the snow and ice thundered down on her, she suddenly found herself in her own bedroom. That was the first time.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 8, 2013
About the author
Steven Gould
51 books1,118 followersSteven Charles Gould is an American science fiction author. His novels tend to have protagonists fighting to rid government of corrupt antagonists. The struggle against corruption is the focus, rather than the technology.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 372 reviews
November 19, 2014
Progression of the Jumper series:
Book 1, Jumper: Let's take a simple concept and weave a cool story that's brilliant in its simplicity.
Book 2, Reflex: Let's take that simple concept and add to it by restraining it, but while also pushing boundaries. Also, let's add a cool mystery and some spies.
Book 3, Impulse: Let's take all the great things we've built up so far ... and add teenage angst! A forced romance! A holier-than-thou attitude for all the characters!
(Okay, these are misleading, cause it's not teen angst in the hilarious or awesome way.)
Impulse takes up a number of years after Reflex, enough time for the jumping couple to have a daughter, Cent, who is now a teenager. She's repressed to say the least, especially owing to the family's understandable obsession with secrecy. Cent doesn't even have a birth certificate, they're so afraid of word getting out about them.
Also understandable. However, she's a teenager now and she's dying for friends, so she finally convinces her parents she can go to school without screwing things up.
Of course, there are bullies, and love interests, etc. and it's just about impossible to not screw things up like we already knew.
First, I felt judged much of the time. This family of jumpers spends most of its time doing humanitarian things, keeping all it's actions green and reducing it's carbon footprint. Usually, I'm all for this stuff, but I felt like the message was, if you stray in the least you're the worst person in the world.
Second, it was a little hard to believe the tale from Cent, who is this shut-in who immediately befriends some girls, has guys crushing on her, and is the absolute best at everything in the world. And add to that the paragraph above and it gets a tad annoying.
Third, there wasn't really any plot going on. Midway through the book, nothing's really happening because Cent's just barely getting things going at school and facing bullies and whatnot, but nothing that amounts to an overall plot to keep you glued. Nothing that pushes you to keep going because you have to find out what happens!
At the very end, I was finally entertained, and that's why I can't completely hate this book. If I weren't listening to it on audiobook, I probably would have given up at the midway point. It's a case of too little too late.
Speaking of audio, I thought the narration was great, though a bit jarring at first. It's been the same male narrator for the first two books and now it switches, again understandably, to a female narrator. It's just weird hearing a woman do Davy and even Milli for that matter, but only for the first disc or two. It's quickly forgotten.
2.5 out of 5 Stars (better than okay, less than recommended)
Book 1, Jumper: Let's take a simple concept and weave a cool story that's brilliant in its simplicity.
Book 2, Reflex: Let's take that simple concept and add to it by restraining it, but while also pushing boundaries. Also, let's add a cool mystery and some spies.
Book 3, Impulse: Let's take all the great things we've built up so far ... and add teenage angst! A forced romance! A holier-than-thou attitude for all the characters!
(Okay, these are misleading, cause it's not teen angst in the hilarious or awesome way.)
Impulse takes up a number of years after Reflex, enough time for the jumping couple to have a daughter, Cent, who is now a teenager. She's repressed to say the least, especially owing to the family's understandable obsession with secrecy. Cent doesn't even have a birth certificate, they're so afraid of word getting out about them.
Also understandable. However, she's a teenager now and she's dying for friends, so she finally convinces her parents she can go to school without screwing things up.
Of course, there are bullies, and love interests, etc. and it's just about impossible to not screw things up like we already knew.
First, I felt judged much of the time. This family of jumpers spends most of its time doing humanitarian things, keeping all it's actions green and reducing it's carbon footprint. Usually, I'm all for this stuff, but I felt like the message was, if you stray in the least you're the worst person in the world.
Second, it was a little hard to believe the tale from Cent, who is this shut-in who immediately befriends some girls, has guys crushing on her, and is the absolute best at everything in the world. And add to that the paragraph above and it gets a tad annoying.
Third, there wasn't really any plot going on. Midway through the book, nothing's really happening because Cent's just barely getting things going at school and facing bullies and whatnot, but nothing that amounts to an overall plot to keep you glued. Nothing that pushes you to keep going because you have to find out what happens!
At the very end, I was finally entertained, and that's why I can't completely hate this book. If I weren't listening to it on audiobook, I probably would have given up at the midway point. It's a case of too little too late.
Speaking of audio, I thought the narration was great, though a bit jarring at first. It's been the same male narrator for the first two books and now it switches, again understandably, to a female narrator. It's just weird hearing a woman do Davy and even Milli for that matter, but only for the first disc or two. It's quickly forgotten.
2.5 out of 5 Stars (better than okay, less than recommended)
April 3, 2013
Originally posted at FanLit
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Impulse is the third book in Steven Gould’s JUMPER series. The first book, Jumper, which was more thriller than science fiction, told the story of Davy, a teenager who discovered that he could teleport. He used his ability to fight the terrorists who caused him some personal pain. In the second book, Reflex, Davy is captured by people who want to use his power for their own purposes and Davy’s wife Millie sets out to find him. Both Jumper and Reflex were exciting stories.
Many years have passed and now Davy and Millie have a teenage daughter named Cent (short for Millicent) who has just learned that she can jump, too. Davy is still paranoid because of the kidnapping ordeal he experienced so the family lives in a remote cabin in the Yukon, jumping in and out to travel the world and do humanitarian work. Cent, a very bright girl, is home-schooled, but despite her excellent education and her ability to instantly travel anywhere in the world to see, do, buy, and eat cool new things and meet cool new people, she decides that what’s missing in her life is the experience of small-town American high school. So she talks her parents into taking on new identities, buying a house in the states and sending her to high school. She tests out of her grade, but decides not to skip ahead so she can be with kids her age.
Thus starts a typical high school drama that includes all the stuff you normally find in these types of stories… plus teleporting. So, we have:
✓ a protagonist who’s smarter than everyone else
✓ who enters a new school in the middle of the term
✓ where she learns on the first day that the lunch room is divided into cliques — the football team, the fundamentalists, the nerds, the geeks, the gangstas, the wangstas, etc
✓ so she ends up sitting with two unpopular nerdy girls who love anime and quote literature
✓ one of whom is the requisite Goth girl
✓ and she has a horrible first day in gym class when the bitchy queen bee tortures her in the locker room, in the gym, and in the shower afterwards
✓ and there’s a nasty assistant principal who’s got it in for homeschooled students
✓ and one really cool teacher
✓ and there’s a boy she has a crush on
✓ and soon she and her friends are being threatened by bullies and they must figure out how to outwit them
Much of this was so hackneyed, though there were some bright spots such as the focus on snowboarding (instead of football or basketball).
But that’s not the only reason I didn’t like Impulse. Another problem is that Cent and her family are essentially the “Sue” family. They’re annoyingly noble, intelligent, educated, mature, and sophisticated, and the way they are portrayed compared to every other character just makes the whole thing feel smugly superior. There are so many examples of this — Davey and Cent using everyday opportunities to calculate physics and math problems in their heads, their realtor being ignorant of African geography, the small town vandalizing electric cars because of their gas and oil industry, Cent being teased for doing her homework correctly and not procrastinating, Cent and Millie quoting Shakespeare in their conversations, Millie quoting FERPA to the high school secretary and getting mad at a PTA meeting because they want to raise money for the football team instead of academics, Cent blowing away the placement exams despite being home-schooled, Cent eating foreign food with chopsticks at lunch and, of course, the whole family spending their free time jumping around the world on humanitarian missions. A few of these things would have been fine and fun (the humanitarian missions were cool), but it all added up to be just too much superior urbanity at the expense of the crude small-town hicks.
For such intelligent and rational people, though, I couldn’t figure out why they kept nearly giving themselves away after taking such pains to hide their ability to jump. They don’t actually live in the house, Millie jumps to PTA meetings, and Cent jumps out at lunchtime to get hot foreign food to eat.
Except for the normal teenage high school drama, not much happens until the end of the book when Cent begins to uncover some nasty goings on when dealing with the bullies. The action picks up when she begins using her jumping power to try to set things right and the story gets pretty tense. It was too little too late for me, though.
Impulse is published by Tor (not Tor Teen) but the promotional materials indicate that it’s for a teen and adult audience. Some parents might like to know that there’s a lot of foul language, but that’s not what bothered me. Maybe I’m a prude, but I didn’t think it was suitable for Millie to be recommending condoms for Cent’s first date. Worse, though, was the description of sex that was, as Cent euphemistically put it, “outside the normative range.” I can’t be more specific without spoiling the plot, so if you want more details, read this spoiler: To be fair, I should mention that Impulse gets mostly high marks from reviewers at GoodReads and Amazon. At the time I’m writing this, mine is a minority opinion.
I listened to the audio version of Impulse which was produced by Brilliance Audio and read by Emily Rankin. Ms. Rankin gave a really nice reading.
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Impulse is the third book in Steven Gould’s JUMPER series. The first book, Jumper, which was more thriller than science fiction, told the story of Davy, a teenager who discovered that he could teleport. He used his ability to fight the terrorists who caused him some personal pain. In the second book, Reflex, Davy is captured by people who want to use his power for their own purposes and Davy’s wife Millie sets out to find him. Both Jumper and Reflex were exciting stories.
Many years have passed and now Davy and Millie have a teenage daughter named Cent (short for Millicent) who has just learned that she can jump, too. Davy is still paranoid because of the kidnapping ordeal he experienced so the family lives in a remote cabin in the Yukon, jumping in and out to travel the world and do humanitarian work. Cent, a very bright girl, is home-schooled, but despite her excellent education and her ability to instantly travel anywhere in the world to see, do, buy, and eat cool new things and meet cool new people, she decides that what’s missing in her life is the experience of small-town American high school. So she talks her parents into taking on new identities, buying a house in the states and sending her to high school. She tests out of her grade, but decides not to skip ahead so she can be with kids her age.
Thus starts a typical high school drama that includes all the stuff you normally find in these types of stories… plus teleporting. So, we have:
✓ a protagonist who’s smarter than everyone else
✓ who enters a new school in the middle of the term
✓ where she learns on the first day that the lunch room is divided into cliques — the football team, the fundamentalists, the nerds, the geeks, the gangstas, the wangstas, etc
✓ so she ends up sitting with two unpopular nerdy girls who love anime and quote literature
✓ one of whom is the requisite Goth girl
✓ and she has a horrible first day in gym class when the bitchy queen bee tortures her in the locker room, in the gym, and in the shower afterwards
✓ and there’s a nasty assistant principal who’s got it in for homeschooled students
✓ and one really cool teacher
✓ and there’s a boy she has a crush on
✓ and soon she and her friends are being threatened by bullies and they must figure out how to outwit them
Much of this was so hackneyed, though there were some bright spots such as the focus on snowboarding (instead of football or basketball).
But that’s not the only reason I didn’t like Impulse. Another problem is that Cent and her family are essentially the “Sue” family. They’re annoyingly noble, intelligent, educated, mature, and sophisticated, and the way they are portrayed compared to every other character just makes the whole thing feel smugly superior. There are so many examples of this — Davey and Cent using everyday opportunities to calculate physics and math problems in their heads, their realtor being ignorant of African geography, the small town vandalizing electric cars because of their gas and oil industry, Cent being teased for doing her homework correctly and not procrastinating, Cent and Millie quoting Shakespeare in their conversations, Millie quoting FERPA to the high school secretary and getting mad at a PTA meeting because they want to raise money for the football team instead of academics, Cent blowing away the placement exams despite being home-schooled, Cent eating foreign food with chopsticks at lunch and, of course, the whole family spending their free time jumping around the world on humanitarian missions. A few of these things would have been fine and fun (the humanitarian missions were cool), but it all added up to be just too much superior urbanity at the expense of the crude small-town hicks.
For such intelligent and rational people, though, I couldn’t figure out why they kept nearly giving themselves away after taking such pains to hide their ability to jump. They don’t actually live in the house, Millie jumps to PTA meetings, and Cent jumps out at lunchtime to get hot foreign food to eat.
Except for the normal teenage high school drama, not much happens until the end of the book when Cent begins to uncover some nasty goings on when dealing with the bullies. The action picks up when she begins using her jumping power to try to set things right and the story gets pretty tense. It was too little too late for me, though.
Impulse is published by Tor (not Tor Teen) but the promotional materials indicate that it’s for a teen and adult audience. Some parents might like to know that there’s a lot of foul language, but that’s not what bothered me. Maybe I’m a prude, but I didn’t think it was suitable for Millie to be recommending condoms for Cent’s first date. Worse, though, was the description of sex that was, as Cent euphemistically put it, “outside the normative range.” I can’t be more specific without spoiling the plot, so if you want more details, read this spoiler: To be fair, I should mention that Impulse gets mostly high marks from reviewers at GoodReads and Amazon. At the time I’m writing this, mine is a minority opinion.
I listened to the audio version of Impulse which was produced by Brilliance Audio and read by Emily Rankin. Ms. Rankin gave a really nice reading.
September 17, 2024
He empezado el siguiente sin comentar este... es que no podía parar.
Descendencia habemus y progresión hereditaria tenemus. Bueno, la progresión más que hereditaria, es de experimentación, como hacemos los humanos, a partir de donde lo dejó el anterior.
Y es que hay que ver lo que da de sí un único superpoder, si lo analizas bien y eres creativo a la hora de explotar sus posibilidades. Y no se trata de que lo usen para distintas cosas, sino que parando, potenciando (y a saber que más "andos" por ahí), el propio proceso de teletransportación una vez iniciado y antes de que termine (en medio del tinglado, vamos, que es cosa de segundos, y no sé si ha lugar el plural), suceden... otras cosas (dependiendo de si paran en medio del meollo o lo aceleran in situ). Me encanta!!!.
Todos estos libros (menos el de Griffin, que el pobre no tuvo un segundo de normalidad) tienen un toque de frescura que me es muy difícil trasmitir a la hora de comentarlo. Los protagonistas tienen un superpoder pero los ves cercanos y cotidianos.
Acabo de empezar el siguiente y estoy que rabio de ganas por ver qué nuevo provecho sacaron a ese poder. Qué impaciencia!. Autores en GL Bis
Edito para comentar que la serie sobre este libro, no se le parece en nada, pero explota ese problema de que puedes arrastrar cosas cercanas (o el hecho de cómo se produce el salto en realidad) de una forma creativa que me encantó. No se parece al libro, pero es estupenda también. Más oscura, tal vez.
Descendencia habemus y progresión hereditaria tenemus. Bueno, la progresión más que hereditaria, es de experimentación, como hacemos los humanos, a partir de donde lo dejó el anterior.
Y es que hay que ver lo que da de sí un único superpoder, si lo analizas bien y eres creativo a la hora de explotar sus posibilidades. Y no se trata de que lo usen para distintas cosas, sino que parando, potenciando (y a saber que más "andos" por ahí), el propio proceso de teletransportación una vez iniciado y antes de que termine (en medio del tinglado, vamos, que es cosa de segundos, y no sé si ha lugar el plural), suceden... otras cosas (dependiendo de si paran en medio del meollo o lo aceleran in situ). Me encanta!!!.
Todos estos libros (menos el de Griffin, que el pobre no tuvo un segundo de normalidad) tienen un toque de frescura que me es muy difícil trasmitir a la hora de comentarlo. Los protagonistas tienen un superpoder pero los ves cercanos y cotidianos.
Acabo de empezar el siguiente y estoy que rabio de ganas por ver qué nuevo provecho sacaron a ese poder. Qué impaciencia!. Autores en GL Bis
Edito para comentar que la serie sobre este libro, no se le parece en nada, pero explota ese problema de que puedes arrastrar cosas cercanas (o el hecho de cómo se produce el salto en realidad) de una forma creativa que me encantó. No se parece al libro, pero es estupenda también. Más oscura, tal vez.
October 8, 2012
Fans of Jumper will love this book!!
I should not have started a Gould book at 11:30 at night. I finished right around 4:30am. I love the Jumper series. As a bookseller getting Fantasy people to try SF, I would give them Ender's Game followed by Jumper. Impulse is a wonderful continuation of the Jumper & Reflex storyline. Just to follow the characters 15 years later and get to see back into their lives, and what they have done with their abilities, and how they try to raise a child on the run.
Brian
Sci Fi Guy
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
I should not have started a Gould book at 11:30 at night. I finished right around 4:30am. I love the Jumper series. As a bookseller getting Fantasy people to try SF, I would give them Ender's Game followed by Jumper. Impulse is a wonderful continuation of the Jumper & Reflex storyline. Just to follow the characters 15 years later and get to see back into their lives, and what they have done with their abilities, and how they try to raise a child on the run.
Brian
Sci Fi Guy
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
January 20, 2013
Impulse (Jumper 3), the first Jumper novel in nine years. It’s been a long time coming, like having wisdom teeth pulled waiting for this novel. Yet, it’s really worth the wait. Impulse is reminiscent of the very first Jumper, a classic in my personal collection.
This time around Davy and Millicent are parents to sixteen year old daughter, Millicent; Cent for short. The characters of Davy and Millicent reflect what happened in the previous novels. They are isolated yet trying to make the world a better place through relief efforts, something gleamed from the short story, Shade (another must read for Jumper fans!).
Although it feels very similar to Jumper, it stills feels fresh. Cent makes some of the same mistakes that her dad made when he fresh learned to jump, only with a faster learning curve which definitely helped the story progress quicker to the action.
There is one gripe with the book. The character of Cent adjusts too easily being isolated and growing up with the only two jumpers in existence. Maybe it’s the clues to how she so well adjusted is in the sixteen years since Reflex. But the case could be made that she didn't adjust that well because she still ending up getting her family on the radar of the Organization.
After trolling the internet I found one source that said another novel is coming out next EXO. I hope it’s true because the thought of another nine plus years wait is unbearable. I can’t imagine what it’s been like for people who read Jumper when it original came out like twenty years ago. Twenty years and only three novels... it’s a dedicated bunch.
I’ve read all of Steven Gould’s books. But it’s something about the Jumper series and Wildside that connects with that kid that first purchased Hardy Boys 1: The Tower of Terror and fell in love with reading. If you’ve never read Jumper before you don’t have to feel intimidated to start with Impulse. I think it gives you better insight when things from the previous novels are mention. And they are mentioned in a matter of fact tone giving the read a since of history to the characters, they have full lived lives.
This time around Davy and Millicent are parents to sixteen year old daughter, Millicent; Cent for short. The characters of Davy and Millicent reflect what happened in the previous novels. They are isolated yet trying to make the world a better place through relief efforts, something gleamed from the short story, Shade (another must read for Jumper fans!).
Although it feels very similar to Jumper, it stills feels fresh. Cent makes some of the same mistakes that her dad made when he fresh learned to jump, only with a faster learning curve which definitely helped the story progress quicker to the action.
There is one gripe with the book. The character of Cent adjusts too easily being isolated and growing up with the only two jumpers in existence. Maybe it’s the clues to how she so well adjusted is in the sixteen years since Reflex. But the case could be made that she didn't adjust that well because she still ending up getting her family on the radar of the Organization.
After trolling the internet I found one source that said another novel is coming out next EXO. I hope it’s true because the thought of another nine plus years wait is unbearable. I can’t imagine what it’s been like for people who read Jumper when it original came out like twenty years ago. Twenty years and only three novels... it’s a dedicated bunch.
I’ve read all of Steven Gould’s books. But it’s something about the Jumper series and Wildside that connects with that kid that first purchased Hardy Boys 1: The Tower of Terror and fell in love with reading. If you’ve never read Jumper before you don’t have to feel intimidated to start with Impulse. I think it gives you better insight when things from the previous novels are mention. And they are mentioned in a matter of fact tone giving the read a since of history to the characters, they have full lived lives.
Read
September 25, 2013I loved Jumper the book. I liked its YA sensibility while still being a read for adults. It has been my go-to book when people ask what I think New Adult is, even though it came out before the Potter generation was reading. (Assuming that the New Adult sub genre was invented for the Harry Potter readers who wanted f or sf fixes a step up from school stories, with younger protagonists entering the adult world.)
Impulse returns to that sensibility with Cent, the smart sixteen-year-old daughter of Davy and Millie, who has been raised completely off-grid; who travels all over the world with her teleporting parents. She has everything a kid could want . . . except friends. She wants to go to high school. And when she figures out how to jump, or teleport, her parents come to the same realization that all parents must: their child is not only ready to venture into the world, she is capable of it.
So David, the PTSD paranoid, and Millie, the family therapist who anchors their little family, go about making it possible, choosing a small town with relatively low crime, and some safe-guards.
The book starts out deceptively slowly, as Cent begins school (and runs afoul of a bully the first day), and her anxious parents try not to hover too much, by getting involved in their own projects--Millie with disaster relief, and David with trying to track down the mysterious corporate entity that captured and tortured him for the secret of his teleportation (Reflex).
With Davy's drive to experiment and her mother's drive to right wrongs, Cent creates a life for herself at high school about which her parents only know the superficials. Like her first crush . . .and the discovery that the school bully is involved with some serious nastiness. It accelerates to a headlong pace, and finishes satisfyingly while leaving plenty of threads.
Nice evocation of locale and distinctive, vividly described characters enrich the story, and it was a relief to see Gould somewhat restraining his urge to bring in Christian fundamentalists just to highlight how backward, venal, and stupid they are.
I want to read more about Cent!
Impulse returns to that sensibility with Cent, the smart sixteen-year-old daughter of Davy and Millie, who has been raised completely off-grid; who travels all over the world with her teleporting parents. She has everything a kid could want . . . except friends. She wants to go to high school. And when she figures out how to jump, or teleport, her parents come to the same realization that all parents must: their child is not only ready to venture into the world, she is capable of it.
So David, the PTSD paranoid, and Millie, the family therapist who anchors their little family, go about making it possible, choosing a small town with relatively low crime, and some safe-guards.
The book starts out deceptively slowly, as Cent begins school (and runs afoul of a bully the first day), and her anxious parents try not to hover too much, by getting involved in their own projects--Millie with disaster relief, and David with trying to track down the mysterious corporate entity that captured and tortured him for the secret of his teleportation (Reflex).
With Davy's drive to experiment and her mother's drive to right wrongs, Cent creates a life for herself at high school about which her parents only know the superficials. Like her first crush . . .and the discovery that the school bully is involved with some serious nastiness. It accelerates to a headlong pace, and finishes satisfyingly while leaving plenty of threads.
Nice evocation of locale and distinctive, vividly described characters enrich the story, and it was a relief to see Gould somewhat restraining his urge to bring in Christian fundamentalists just to highlight how backward, venal, and stupid they are.
I want to read more about Cent!
July 21, 2015
Loved it. Fans of the series will get a wonderfully written new entry and enjoy every minute of it. I'm waiting to do my review until the audiobook comes out. Hopefully next week. I burned though this so quickly I can't even remember all the point where I LOL'd for reals.
Alright so I'm still reading this faster than should. I honestly loved this book. It was a perfect installment to this series. Whether you're here now because of your love of scifi, the movie, or randomly picked off the store shelves I think there's something for us all.
Between the voice of Cent and the actual narrator(I must find out how old she was Holy smokes Emily Rankin AKA Emily Janice Card [yup!!]) it really sounds like a teenager was telling you this story. I think it's great. I mean I know it's Gould's writing but really it reads like Cent is real and this is a story about what her life is like in a very important transition of her life. She gets to go to public school. If only it were that simple. Even knowing the most common traps and pitfalls is not going to get this girl through the day. I appreciate how real the day to day felt even in a family with super powers.
I don't remember who said it, and if you do - please reply, but I once heard of someone talking about a show or movie with a good bit of people with super powers. I'm paraphrasing here but "it's not about the powers they have but the people they truly are". Clearly it's stuck with me and here is another great example of "normal" humans getting extraordinary things done. No spoilers but it never seems forced or unrealistic. It just seems like this is how this particular family unit lives.
Now all those positives said I have one negative. Any seasoned fan... hell a n00b who's paying attention realizes that David has a fairly real paranoia from his previous experiences in the series. So can anyone tell me, throughout all the safety measures and precautions, hacks in phones limiting cell tower pickup, disguises, etc etc. Why he would allow his daughter to bring in the most exotic lunches to school daily? It's absurd and it really pains me to say it. I welcome everyone's opinion on this but I think that's the only thing within the pages where I groan internally and try and act like it's not a big deal even though any reasonable person knows that that is like putting a big bullseye on an already hunted individual (family).
See I can't even figure out how to follow that paragraph. It puts such a downer on a very excellent book. I wish everyone could read this. This is one of the super powers on my "if it were real, I'd like that" list. Nightcrawler anyone? YES! Just the idea of a cool family where the sky is the limit living in a world with limits abound makes this interesting. Even if you didn't have..hmm what are they called this time around? Oh, no worries. Even if you didn't have "them" you can still believe that showing off their ability to teleport in the world would be a no no. Who wants that kind of attention.
Yeah I'm sorry, I just can't get the flow back. The food this is minor. I swear on my life. It just cuts me up a bit cause Cent, David, or Millie - some combination of the Rice family, could've been the one cooking fabulous meals on a daily basis and it wouldn't have stuck out as much. Reading or in the moment. Arg. Definitely going on my "read to many times I'm embarrassed to admit it" shelf. I cannot wait to see what Gould does next. My only sincere hope is that it doesn't take another decade to read about it. BUT if it does it cool. I know it's aged well.
Alright so I'm still reading this faster than should. I honestly loved this book. It was a perfect installment to this series. Whether you're here now because of your love of scifi, the movie, or randomly picked off the store shelves I think there's something for us all.
Between the voice of Cent and the actual narrator
I don't remember who said it, and if you do - please reply, but I once heard of someone talking about a show or movie with a good bit of people with super powers. I'm paraphrasing here but "it's not about the powers they have but the people they truly are". Clearly it's stuck with me and here is another great example of "normal" humans getting extraordinary things done. No spoilers but it never seems forced or unrealistic. It just seems like this is how this particular family unit lives.
Now all those positives said I have one negative. Any seasoned fan... hell a n00b who's paying attention realizes that David has a fairly real paranoia from his previous experiences in the series. So can anyone tell me, throughout all the safety measures and precautions, hacks in phones limiting cell tower pickup, disguises, etc etc. Why he would allow his daughter to bring in the most exotic lunches to school daily? It's absurd and it really pains me to say it. I welcome everyone's opinion on this but I think that's the only thing within the pages where I groan internally and try and act like it's not a big deal even though any reasonable person knows that that is like putting a big bullseye on an already hunted individual (family).
See I can't even figure out how to follow that paragraph. It puts such a downer on a very excellent book. I wish everyone could read this. This is one of the super powers on my "if it were real, I'd like that" list. Nightcrawler anyone? YES! Just the idea of a cool family where the sky is the limit living in a world with limits abound makes this interesting. Even if you didn't have..hmm what are they called this time around? Oh, no worries. Even if you didn't have "them" you can still believe that showing off their ability to teleport in the world would be a no no. Who wants that kind of attention.
Yeah I'm sorry, I just can't get the flow back. The food this is minor. I swear on my life. It just cuts me up a bit cause Cent, David, or Millie - some combination of the Rice family, could've been the one cooking fabulous meals on a daily basis and it wouldn't have stuck out as much. Reading or in the moment. Arg. Definitely going on my "read to many times I'm embarrassed to admit it" shelf. I cannot wait to see what Gould does next. My only sincere hope is that it doesn't take another decade to read about it. BUT if it does it cool. I know it's aged well.
February 14, 2013
I reserve fives for books where I can't imagine doing anything different. Where I can't find a single flaw I can honestly say would have made the book stronger. So I don't give those out very often. This is one of those exceptional cases. What an amazing, page turner of a read. Just perfect in every way. With not only exceptional craft but an exceptional spirit. Gould has written a book about a teen protagonist that examines teen angst and struggles without wallowing down in the usual "me against them" parental-child relationship and rebellion. Cent has her moments of struggle and rebellion with her parents, but at the heart, they love and understand and respect each other on a level that's the exception, not the rule in this type of literature to my experience. At the same time, they face incredible dangers together and through it all, all three manage to grow and change in ways that challenge them, challenge their expectations of each other and, at the same time, cause them to grow closer. It's well paced, with extremely well drawn characters. In fact, even most of the minor characters seem to grow, and it's so subtly done that you don't notice it until the end. This book is not just for young adults, but for everyone. A great story of family, friendship and adventure all wrapped up in one with fun science fiction dressing. Highly recommended. One of the best of the year, no doubt.
February 6, 2017
I have a deep and abiding love for JUMPER. I just had to get that out there. I found it in my teen years, and I have lost count of the number of times I read it. I love Davy. You want to talk about book boyfriends? Davy was (*cough*is*cough*) my first book boyfriend. (Along with Paul Atreides, but let's not get into THAT here.) Basically, if you're looking for a fantastic sci fi book, go for JUMPER.
Then read REFLEX.
And now we come to IMPULSE. Which . . . Okay, I really can't think of anything to say except you shouldn't read it without reading the other two first. That and it was awesome. I started to read it with great wariness, worried that it would be a let down. It was not. It was great.
So, in conclusion, read JUMPER, REFLEX, and IMPULSE.
(You may ignore GRIFFIN'S STORY, which was Gould's noble attempt to connect the world of his books to the world of the completely crap movie. He tries. It's not his fault.)
PS- Also read WILDSIDE.
Then read REFLEX.
And now we come to IMPULSE. Which . . . Okay, I really can't think of anything to say except you shouldn't read it without reading the other two first. That and it was awesome. I started to read it with great wariness, worried that it would be a let down. It was not. It was great.
So, in conclusion, read JUMPER, REFLEX, and IMPULSE.
(You may ignore GRIFFIN'S STORY, which was Gould's noble attempt to connect the world of his books to the world of the completely crap movie. He tries. It's not his fault.)
PS- Also read WILDSIDE.
July 3, 2017
Unlike others this was just predictable teenage angst story but with superpowers. Too much angst vs adventure.
July 12, 2013
3.5 Stars
As ever, unsolicited copies can be a real mixed bag, especially when the book turns out to be a later book in a series you've never read. I almost didn't read Impulse because I really hate reading series out of order and I had neither time nor free resource by which to acquire and read the first two. However, the publicity contact assured me that Impulse works as a standalone, so I decided to give it a go because Tor publishes quality stuff. Anyway, I am very glad I gave Impulse a chance, because it turned out to be super awesome, the only problem being that I now really want to read Jumper and my library still doesn't have it.
Now I can certainly infer a lot about the plots of the previous two books from what I read in Impulse, but I was never had to sit through any long infodumps about the plots of the last two. Nor was I ever confused or out of place because I hadn't read the first two. Impulse functions well as a standalone, since the main character was not a part of the previous books (from what I can tell). You do not need to read the prior books to appreciate Impulse.
The main character of Impulse is the daughter of the original young adult hero from the first books. He's now grown into the over-protective father of a sassy, brilliant teenage daughter. Cent, short for Millicent, has lost patience with their isolated lifestyle. Now that she's sixteen, she wants to go to a real school, make friends, and enjoy a social life that consists of more than just her parents for the first time ever. Though fearful that his enemies will track them down, Davy agrees, because he loves Cent so much.
Seriously, I love how loving this family unit is. They're way closer than most because they're literally the only people they can completely trust, as evil types are trying to hunt down Davy and use his powers for evil. Millie, Davy and Cent argue, but there's never a time where it's not completely obvious that they all love one another. When it comes time for big decisions, they make them as a family, and Cent trusts them with details about her life that most kids don't share. Of course, Cent's a teen too, so she does keep some shenanigans under her hat, because sometimes what you're parents don't know can't hurt them, right?
Cent does occasionally embarrass herself in her first experiences with other teens, but, honestly, she's just a champ. She's ballsy, friendly, incredibly bright, sporty (she snowboards - how cool is that?), and pretty, so she was never going to have a horrid time of it. Despite that, she immediately attracts the attention of a bully, Caffeine, who becomes obsessed with taking Cent down after Cent embarrasses her by moving out of the way and letting Caffeine go down hard. I love how Cent takes everything in stride. She has this crazy confidence about so many things, because of her powers, experiences, and intelligence, but on the other hand being confused by boy drama can make her cry. Cent's such a fun heroine.
Also, the story focuses mostly on the bullying, which has a wider impact than Cent initially realized, rather than romance. However, the romance is actually super cute, even if it does get a bit instalovey at the end. Up to that point though, she and her boy have some great banter, AND he's a smart, sweet reader. Yes to that!
The one aspect that didn't really work for me was the more fantastical side. All of the jumping is fun, sure, but the endless practice sessions that Cent did got a little old. Plus, any time the third person limited perspective switched to Cent's mother (relief work in other countries) or father (researching the people looking for him), I felt my attention waning, though thankfully their chapters were really short. Still, I don't really think those chapters were needed, except as an incentive to fans of the first two books.
Whether or not you've read Jumper and Reflex, Steven Gould's Impulse is an action-packed read with a kickbutt heroine. Impulse has humor, adventure, plotting, fighting and a little bit of romance. The series has appeal for male and female readers alike.
As ever, unsolicited copies can be a real mixed bag, especially when the book turns out to be a later book in a series you've never read. I almost didn't read Impulse because I really hate reading series out of order and I had neither time nor free resource by which to acquire and read the first two. However, the publicity contact assured me that Impulse works as a standalone, so I decided to give it a go because Tor publishes quality stuff. Anyway, I am very glad I gave Impulse a chance, because it turned out to be super awesome, the only problem being that I now really want to read Jumper and my library still doesn't have it.
Now I can certainly infer a lot about the plots of the previous two books from what I read in Impulse, but I was never had to sit through any long infodumps about the plots of the last two. Nor was I ever confused or out of place because I hadn't read the first two. Impulse functions well as a standalone, since the main character was not a part of the previous books (from what I can tell). You do not need to read the prior books to appreciate Impulse.
The main character of Impulse is the daughter of the original young adult hero from the first books. He's now grown into the over-protective father of a sassy, brilliant teenage daughter. Cent, short for Millicent, has lost patience with their isolated lifestyle. Now that she's sixteen, she wants to go to a real school, make friends, and enjoy a social life that consists of more than just her parents for the first time ever. Though fearful that his enemies will track them down, Davy agrees, because he loves Cent so much.
Seriously, I love how loving this family unit is. They're way closer than most because they're literally the only people they can completely trust, as evil types are trying to hunt down Davy and use his powers for evil. Millie, Davy and Cent argue, but there's never a time where it's not completely obvious that they all love one another. When it comes time for big decisions, they make them as a family, and Cent trusts them with details about her life that most kids don't share. Of course, Cent's a teen too, so she does keep some shenanigans under her hat, because sometimes what you're parents don't know can't hurt them, right?
Cent does occasionally embarrass herself in her first experiences with other teens, but, honestly, she's just a champ. She's ballsy, friendly, incredibly bright, sporty (she snowboards - how cool is that?), and pretty, so she was never going to have a horrid time of it. Despite that, she immediately attracts the attention of a bully, Caffeine, who becomes obsessed with taking Cent down after Cent embarrasses her by moving out of the way and letting Caffeine go down hard. I love how Cent takes everything in stride. She has this crazy confidence about so many things, because of her powers, experiences, and intelligence, but on the other hand being confused by boy drama can make her cry. Cent's such a fun heroine.
Also, the story focuses mostly on the bullying, which has a wider impact than Cent initially realized, rather than romance. However, the romance is actually super cute, even if it does get a bit instalovey at the end. Up to that point though, she and her boy have some great banter, AND he's a smart, sweet reader. Yes to that!
The one aspect that didn't really work for me was the more fantastical side. All of the jumping is fun, sure, but the endless practice sessions that Cent did got a little old. Plus, any time the third person limited perspective switched to Cent's mother (relief work in other countries) or father (researching the people looking for him), I felt my attention waning, though thankfully their chapters were really short. Still, I don't really think those chapters were needed, except as an incentive to fans of the first two books.
Whether or not you've read Jumper and Reflex, Steven Gould's Impulse is an action-packed read with a kickbutt heroine. Impulse has humor, adventure, plotting, fighting and a little bit of romance. The series has appeal for male and female readers alike.
February 9, 2013
Steven Gould's 'Jumper" is probably the best novel about teleportation in science fiction. It tells the story about how David Rice learns to secretly use his jumping talent.
In "Reflex", the sequel to "Jumper", David is captured by a power hungry group that wants to coerce David to work for them. Hyacinth Pope, one of the leaders of the group, tortures and experiments on David, but Millie, his girlfriend, learns to jump and she rescues David and Pope is jailed.
In "Impulse", Gould explores what it would be like for a young teenager to have the jumping ability.
Now years later, David and Millie are married. They live way way off the grid in a remote cabin in Canada, with their young daughter Cent, who is unable to jump. Fearing the well financed groups that previously made him a prisoner, David has enacted many security safeguards, multiple internet accounts and fake disguises to live. No one even knows that Cent is even alive. She was born in the cabin with the help of a midwife and is home schooled. Meanwhile Millie and David use their talents and money to jump food to relief efforts in Bangladesh.
Cent, 15, chafes under her parents' controls and their paranoia. One day while snowboarding, she finds herself in the midst of an avalanche, which triggers her jumping ability. She tells her parents, and David and Millie help her learn to use her talent and she travels around the world learning to use her talent. However, Cent wants to hang out with kids her own age.
David and Millie reluctantly agree, that since Cent can jump, and presumably escape from harm, she can enroll in high school to learn how to interact with kids her own age. David provides her with a special telephone that cannot be traced to the family, and they buy a house in New Prospect so she can attend the local high school.
Cent goes to school and makes friends with a couple of local girls. She meets Brett, goes on a date with another guy and joins the snowboarding team. On the side she experiments on her abilities learning to increase her acceleration when she jumps, and control her talent better.
Meanwhile, instead of keeping a low profile at school, Cent gets on the wrong side of Caffeine, a bully and local drug dealer. Things gradually escalate and soon Cent is defending three local boys who are being blackmailed by Caffeine, and taking on Caffeine and her gang members, who gradually use more and more muscle on Cent.
There are some good high school scenes about the new girl in school, and her first exposure to jocks and boys. But inescapably, having the ability to jump, will mean that you are going to use it. Its almost impossible not to.
In the end, Cent, Caffeine, and David's old enemy Pope are all together in an airport, and Cent and her family must use their talent to escape.
Cent is a very likeable character and Gould interjects scenes with Millie and David that augment the story. Generally, "Impulse" is a good fast read about how a young person would deal with her talent, but it seems a little far-fetched that she would immediately get involved in a situation with a drug dealer and her gang members given her situation.Nevertheless, it definitely ratchets up the action.
This coming of age story is a good fast enjoyable read.
In "Reflex", the sequel to "Jumper", David is captured by a power hungry group that wants to coerce David to work for them. Hyacinth Pope, one of the leaders of the group, tortures and experiments on David, but Millie, his girlfriend, learns to jump and she rescues David and Pope is jailed.
In "Impulse", Gould explores what it would be like for a young teenager to have the jumping ability.
Now years later, David and Millie are married. They live way way off the grid in a remote cabin in Canada, with their young daughter Cent, who is unable to jump. Fearing the well financed groups that previously made him a prisoner, David has enacted many security safeguards, multiple internet accounts and fake disguises to live. No one even knows that Cent is even alive. She was born in the cabin with the help of a midwife and is home schooled. Meanwhile Millie and David use their talents and money to jump food to relief efforts in Bangladesh.
Cent, 15, chafes under her parents' controls and their paranoia. One day while snowboarding, she finds herself in the midst of an avalanche, which triggers her jumping ability. She tells her parents, and David and Millie help her learn to use her talent and she travels around the world learning to use her talent. However, Cent wants to hang out with kids her own age.
David and Millie reluctantly agree, that since Cent can jump, and presumably escape from harm, she can enroll in high school to learn how to interact with kids her own age. David provides her with a special telephone that cannot be traced to the family, and they buy a house in New Prospect so she can attend the local high school.
Cent goes to school and makes friends with a couple of local girls. She meets Brett, goes on a date with another guy and joins the snowboarding team. On the side she experiments on her abilities learning to increase her acceleration when she jumps, and control her talent better.
Meanwhile, instead of keeping a low profile at school, Cent gets on the wrong side of Caffeine, a bully and local drug dealer. Things gradually escalate and soon Cent is defending three local boys who are being blackmailed by Caffeine, and taking on Caffeine and her gang members, who gradually use more and more muscle on Cent.
There are some good high school scenes about the new girl in school, and her first exposure to jocks and boys. But inescapably, having the ability to jump, will mean that you are going to use it. Its almost impossible not to.
In the end, Cent, Caffeine, and David's old enemy Pope are all together in an airport, and Cent and her family must use their talent to escape.
Cent is a very likeable character and Gould interjects scenes with Millie and David that augment the story. Generally, "Impulse" is a good fast read about how a young person would deal with her talent, but it seems a little far-fetched that she would immediately get involved in a situation with a drug dealer and her gang members given her situation.Nevertheless, it definitely ratchets up the action.
This coming of age story is a good fast enjoyable read.
February 14, 2013
Impulse is the third book in the series that started with Jumper (1992) and continued with Reflex (2004). The first book is basically a coming of age novel about a teenager who escapes from an abusive home life with the remarkable ability to "jump" from one place to another instantaneously. The second book has a second person develop this ability, and is pretty much thoroughly an adventure/thriller, and the third book revolves around their daughter, who has had an odd sort of both socially isolated and particularly global childhood. Through the whole series there is some sort of evil hands-in-many-pockets powerful organization that wants to either control the jumpers or eliminate them as a threat.
Impulse is a page-turner, no doubt about it. I might have finished it in one day (the same day it arrived in the mail), except that Brian sweetly asked me to stop reading and turn the light off just before midnight that night.
As the father of two daughters, the eldest of which just had her first year of college, Gould has a really good grasp on the father-daughter relationship and some of the particular issues faced by a 16-year-old girl who is trying to develop her social life. I'm assuming the quirks caused by how her unique family is being stalked by terrorists is a situation he had to project himself into a little more, but it all works. And his young protagonist (who is delightfully geeky in the areas of math and science) also explores a fascinating new potential for the "jumping" skill by experimenting with the question of velocity. The snowboarding sequences are fun too.
Highly recommended.
Impulse is a page-turner, no doubt about it. I might have finished it in one day (the same day it arrived in the mail), except that Brian sweetly asked me to stop reading and turn the light off just before midnight that night.
As the father of two daughters, the eldest of which just had her first year of college, Gould has a really good grasp on the father-daughter relationship and some of the particular issues faced by a 16-year-old girl who is trying to develop her social life. I'm assuming the quirks caused by how her unique family is being stalked by terrorists is a situation he had to project himself into a little more, but it all works. And his young protagonist (who is delightfully geeky in the areas of math and science) also explores a fascinating new potential for the "jumping" skill by experimenting with the question of velocity. The snowboarding sequences are fun too.
Highly recommended.
Read
January 3, 2024Third in the saga of teleport David, his wife Milly, and now their daughter Cent. Steven Gould is the direct sf heir to Robert A. Heinlein and Joe Haldeman--he writes so sensibly and practically of impossible things that he makes you believe, well, the impossible. He's really given serious, extended thought in these novels (Jumper, Reflex) to just what it would be like to be able to teleport, and to just how attractive that would make you to the powers that be. If you live in daily fear of being kidnapped by forces determined to exploit your ability, what do you do with your life? How do you stay out of their reach? Do you decide to try to do good in the world anyway, at the risk of losing your freedom and self-determination? How do you raise a child in this world to be aware and responsible? (FYI, Milly and David do a pretty good job.)
I read Impulse in one sitting. Watching Cent, a very atypical rebellious teenager, learning to cope with her world's privileges and its dangers and even to extend its boundaries is riveting stuff. Cent is a marvelous addition to this world and is now my favorite character in it. I hope we get to go there again.
I read Impulse in one sitting. Watching Cent, a very atypical rebellious teenager, learning to cope with her world's privileges and its dangers and even to extend its boundaries is riveting stuff. Cent is a marvelous addition to this world and is now my favorite character in it. I hope we get to go there again.
April 28, 2014
One of the best things about this story is you can tell that the author has a teenage daughter (actually 2). I have one too, and much of the interaction with the parents was true-to-life. I hope I wasn't as overbearing a dad as Davy, but then I didn't have people actively trying to kill/capture me and my family.
In this book we learn what two Jumpers have to do to live their lives in a productive fashion, using their talents for good, and trying to avoid the bad guys who still hunt them. The methods they employ to stay secretive and still help with natural disasters are both clever and believable.
I have met several families who have home-schooled their kids, and a common theme is to re-integrate their kids into public high schools, so this also rang true for me. Cent's adventures and interactions seemed realistic (teens will get in trouble), and she learned about unintended consequences, and that it's really hard to anticipate how evil the bad guys can be.
The ending was a little too neat, as everything was resolved with only a little angst. There are possibilities for the series to continue, but it can also end here naturally.
In this book we learn what two Jumpers have to do to live their lives in a productive fashion, using their talents for good, and trying to avoid the bad guys who still hunt them. The methods they employ to stay secretive and still help with natural disasters are both clever and believable.
I have met several families who have home-schooled their kids, and a common theme is to re-integrate their kids into public high schools, so this also rang true for me. Cent's adventures and interactions seemed realistic (teens will get in trouble), and she learned about unintended consequences, and that it's really hard to anticipate how evil the bad guys can be.
The ending was a little too neat, as everything was resolved with only a little angst. There are possibilities for the series to continue, but it can also end here naturally.
December 29, 2015
I'm going to write just as horrible of a review as I thought this book was. It plain sucked. I forced myself to finish it just because I like to finish what I start. I was very entertained by Jumper and Reflex so I had high hopes for this book. However, this one was just way too out there for my taste.
I won't summarize the story for you, all the other reviews do that but I found it so unbelievable that Cent is jumping all over the place and supposedly no one is noticing.
Also, maybe I forgot something from the earlier books, but I have no idea . If that is explained in the previous books, than that is my fault I guess. However, it wouldn't make sense to someone who didn't read the previous two books either.
I could get very picky about lots of events in this book, but I won't bore you any more like the book did me. I really hated it.
I won't summarize the story for you, all the other reviews do that but I found it so unbelievable that Cent is jumping all over the place and supposedly no one is noticing.
Also, maybe I forgot something from the earlier books, but I have no idea . If that is explained in the previous books, than that is my fault I guess. However, it wouldn't make sense to someone who didn't read the previous two books either.
I could get very picky about lots of events in this book, but I won't bore you any more like the book did me. I really hated it.
October 25, 2014
When I got home from Christmas celebrations, I found this book waiting in the mailbox. I won it in a drawing and it must've arrived on Christmas Eve. What a great present!
Like the previous two books in the series (not including the movie tie-in), this one had me from the beginning and kept me going all the way through.
This one mostly follows David and Millie's daughter, Cent, as she discovers and learns her new ability. She finds new ways to use the ability, just like Davy did in the previous book, getting herself into plenty of trouble along the way.
Gould does a great job of bringing in complex issues without seeming too heavy or losing the fast pace. Most of them relate to Cent while she's getting used to her powers and the new experience of public school, but we still get to see what's going on with Davy and Millie and how their story progresses apart from their daughter.
Like the previous two books in the series (not including the movie tie-in), this one had me from the beginning and kept me going all the way through.
This one mostly follows David and Millie's daughter, Cent, as she discovers and learns her new ability. She finds new ways to use the ability, just like Davy did in the previous book, getting herself into plenty of trouble along the way.
Gould does a great job of bringing in complex issues without seeming too heavy or losing the fast pace. Most of them relate to Cent while she's getting used to her powers and the new experience of public school, but we still get to see what's going on with Davy and Millie and how their story progresses apart from their daughter.
January 19, 2013
I actually haven't read Jumper yet, but that didn't adversely affect my enjoyment in the least. People new to the series can start with this one without worrying.
My favorite thing about this book is that it made me want to go learn about new things, or relearn things I've forgotten: everything from Boyle's Law to international relief efforts to Jane Austen's publishing history. I love learning things from books, and a book that inspires me to go learn more about such a variety of subjects is a rarer find. This book's characters are competent and intelligent, and it expects its readers to be, too.
My favorite thing about this book is that it made me want to go learn about new things, or relearn things I've forgotten: everything from Boyle's Law to international relief efforts to Jane Austen's publishing history. I love learning things from books, and a book that inspires me to go learn more about such a variety of subjects is a rarer find. This book's characters are competent and intelligent, and it expects its readers to be, too.
October 17, 2020
I love the Jumper series. The idea of teleportation is..well..awesome. I especially loved the way the first book was written. Second book was something different entirely. Third book? It smells of YA, and I can sometimes glimpse the things that usually irritate me....reckles young main character, stupid choices and so on..but I didn't really mind this time. Mr. Gould is the master of the pen, and I enjoyed the book thorroughly, even on the third read :)
February 27, 2013
I enjoyed this, read it in one sitting.
November 9, 2014
This sequel features Cent (Miilicent) the daughter of Davy & Millie as she comes to terms with her powers & learning how to adapt to high school. Great fun!
August 17, 2018
YA. Clean YA. If I explained what that means, I'd be spoiling it...
Explanations for how Cent was applying her mutation though...eh. Discarded that after struggling with one page of it and just decided to enjoy the book. Although, wished I could have been patient to understand them more, cos I'm suspecting the god in the machine now...
Sigh. Poor Davy. Well at least, he only cried once...
I think the story is too fast in some ways though. She's barely controlled her flinching and next thing you know, she's already in high school? What gives?
And it's all over. I don't know, ended up being somewhat short, though I spent more than a week reading it. Sigh. That just means I have Exo and Griffin's Story to look forward to.
Well done, Mr Gould. Well played.
Huh. Just realized that the goodreads app doesn't have option to note the dates you started and finished a book. Kai, this app ehn. I'll go give it 2 stars in Playstore.
Explanations for how Cent was applying her mutation though...eh. Discarded that after struggling with one page of it and just decided to enjoy the book. Although, wished I could have been patient to understand them more, cos I'm suspecting the god in the machine now...
Sigh. Poor Davy. Well at least, he only cried once...
I think the story is too fast in some ways though. She's barely controlled her flinching and next thing you know, she's already in high school? What gives?
And it's all over. I don't know, ended up being somewhat short, though I spent more than a week reading it. Sigh. That just means I have Exo and Griffin's Story to look forward to.
Well done, Mr Gould. Well played.
Huh. Just realized that the goodreads app doesn't have option to note the dates you started and finished a book. Kai, this app ehn. I'll go give it 2 stars in Playstore.
October 31, 2020
I have to admit that after three books in this series, some of Gould's quirks do make me cringe. Occasionally there is an excess of specificity which can be off-putting. At the same time, that excess only adds to the "homeschooled" charm of the self-educated, curious protagonists across the series, and this installment especially. I also still appreciate that each novel feels like it has a good reason to exist. Rather than being a "because it's popular" cash-grab of a followup, Impulse adds new insight to the Jumper mythos from a fresh perspective. Most of all, Gould refrains from constantly one-upping the stakes with every book (a narrative device that I find particularly appalling). Cent's story feels perfectly scaled to her stage in life, and her personality resonates clearly with both Davy and Millie's legacy. This may not be a 5 star book for everyone, but it is every bit as good as the first in the series.
May 17, 2023
not sure what i was expecting, but when i thought about reviewing this the only thing that kept running through my head was the larry david gif where he's just like ehhh ummm. i should probably figure out how to actually post a gif here but that's too much work
March 1, 2022
Thus finally,, the daughter is here! A unique name, cent, but very glad to see that despite the hardships Millie and Davy are doing really well in building a life together that they try to keep privatized but is having difficulty in doing so, also keeping in mind the good of the world. To be quite honest, I can relate with how Cent has been raised, sheltered from the rest of the world to keep her protected. I was nothing close to the scale that Cent was being sheltered, having to be homeschooled, and trying to handle her responsibilities (her new powers that she has possessed) from a young age, and when she becomes a teenager it will become even more difficult for her. Hoping to read some of the experiences Cent will go through in the next book, since that’s where it all started for Davy as well. Maybe some father-daughter bonding adventures wouldn’t be too bad at all. The drama between Millie and Davy definitely did add some new drama to the story, and something will have to fill that void when Cent starts to go after her father’s footsteps. I did say I was a little disappointed with the second book, but the third book did not disappoint and came back strong, and is slowly turning into my favourite series.
May 11, 2022
Less actions compare to two previous books. But still enjoyable.
Good job, Steven!
Good job, Steven!
July 25, 2014
Aside from the awesomeness that is teleportation this book had no redeeming qualities. I hated it so much I'm not even going to clean up this review. Mostly gripes and maybe some spoilers:
Update: A fellow Goodreads member disliked my "review", griping that I reviewed the author rather than the book. It isn't hard to ignore an author/actor's politics, I rather enjoy Matt Damon's movies, the problem is when an author tries to choke you to death with his politics. I'm fairly certain that before he wrote this book Gould sat down and wrote a list of every single thing in American culture he disagreed with and checked items off the list as he wrote. You can't very well do something like that and not expect to be reviewed on your politics rather than your writing. I'm a political guy and Gould obviously is as well. If I ever learn proper grammar and write a book, a book that will obviously be flavored by who I am and what I stand for, Mr. Gould is welcome to come give me a negative review as well.
Regularly scheduled programming:
Pretty lame so far. I'm not really into this book, just listening to be listening at this point.
Not sure what the author thought a teenage drama would add to an action filled series.
I'm annoyed at the vice principal's statement "we often have our work cut out for us with homeschooled children". Sure, as long as you overlook the fact that homeschooled kids usually test higher than public school kids. More "government is the answer" liberalism.
"The fewer guns the better I guess" Thank you, liberal douchebag.
"Dad had bought an electric plug-in car, the sporty one" Riiiiight.
It's a good thing Cent got into public school so she could socialize...and learn to be more like the mediocre, procrastinating trolls that populate schools these days. I think I hate this book.
Chick needs to get some air conditioning for her ears, they're always heating up.
Talking about individuals giving $.50 rides to the top of a snow covered hill it is mentioned that one year the driver got greedy and started charging $2, but it backfired because the kids used their phones and got rides from somebody else. Whaaaat?! Did a liberal author just admit that the free market works without government intervention? Amazing.
The PTO Meeting: Thank God Milli wasn't tricked into donating money to that horrible, horrible, American love known as football and was able to donate toward intellectual interests instead.
I'm not sure Steven Gould actually went to an American school. But then again, none of his characters ever seem to have a breaking point so I'm not even sure Steven Gould is human.
Luckily Milli The Super Perfect Humanitarian was there to combat the effects of global warming.
No one says peeps anymore unless it's Easter, Steven. It's one thing to have your book dated by years it's another for it to be dated when it is published.
"The local imam shouted him down and quoted several verses from the quran on compassion" ...and then real life happened.
"All teenagers think they're invincible, it's probably a leftover from evolution" ...a leftover from something that didn't happen, that's impressive.
Ah, great, we've added lesbian teens. We've already got evil corporations and global warming, just got to add some gender choice rights and we'll have all the liberal dreams shoved into one book.
"Joe and I were discussing the theoretical top speed a snowboarder could hit using a 30 degree slope" You know, like teenagers do.
How eager would these people be to keep coming after this family if everyone that came after them was never heard from again?
"I wish all I had to concern myself with were your transportation and the safety issues that come with being a young woman in America" ...because all the other countries are so much safer.
I think the ending sucked. Asking Joe to put his and his family's safety in jeopardy for a teen crush was beyond stupid.
I hope this is the last book in this series. The teleportation is interesting, but the author's determination to be overly passive takes away from the believability of the characters. If you want to see a more interesting take on teleportation read Hard Magic.
Update: A fellow Goodreads member disliked my "review", griping that I reviewed the author rather than the book. It isn't hard to ignore an author/actor's politics, I rather enjoy Matt Damon's movies, the problem is when an author tries to choke you to death with his politics. I'm fairly certain that before he wrote this book Gould sat down and wrote a list of every single thing in American culture he disagreed with and checked items off the list as he wrote. You can't very well do something like that and not expect to be reviewed on your politics rather than your writing. I'm a political guy and Gould obviously is as well. If I ever learn proper grammar and write a book, a book that will obviously be flavored by who I am and what I stand for, Mr. Gould is welcome to come give me a negative review as well.
Regularly scheduled programming:
Pretty lame so far. I'm not really into this book, just listening to be listening at this point.
Not sure what the author thought a teenage drama would add to an action filled series.
I'm annoyed at the vice principal's statement "we often have our work cut out for us with homeschooled children". Sure, as long as you overlook the fact that homeschooled kids usually test higher than public school kids. More "government is the answer" liberalism.
"The fewer guns the better I guess" Thank you, liberal douchebag.
"Dad had bought an electric plug-in car, the sporty one" Riiiiight.
It's a good thing Cent got into public school so she could socialize...and learn to be more like the mediocre, procrastinating trolls that populate schools these days. I think I hate this book.
Chick needs to get some air conditioning for her ears, they're always heating up.
Talking about individuals giving $.50 rides to the top of a snow covered hill it is mentioned that one year the driver got greedy and started charging $2, but it backfired because the kids used their phones and got rides from somebody else. Whaaaat?! Did a liberal author just admit that the free market works without government intervention? Amazing.
The PTO Meeting: Thank God Milli wasn't tricked into donating money to that horrible, horrible, American love known as football and was able to donate toward intellectual interests instead.
I'm not sure Steven Gould actually went to an American school. But then again, none of his characters ever seem to have a breaking point so I'm not even sure Steven Gould is human.
Luckily Milli The Super Perfect Humanitarian was there to combat the effects of global warming.
No one says peeps anymore unless it's Easter, Steven. It's one thing to have your book dated by years it's another for it to be dated when it is published.
"The local imam shouted him down and quoted several verses from the quran on compassion" ...and then real life happened.
"All teenagers think they're invincible, it's probably a leftover from evolution" ...a leftover from something that didn't happen, that's impressive.
Ah, great, we've added lesbian teens. We've already got evil corporations and global warming, just got to add some gender choice rights and we'll have all the liberal dreams shoved into one book.
"Joe and I were discussing the theoretical top speed a snowboarder could hit using a 30 degree slope" You know, like teenagers do.
How eager would these people be to keep coming after this family if everyone that came after them was never heard from again?
"I wish all I had to concern myself with were your transportation and the safety issues that come with being a young woman in America" ...because all the other countries are so much safer.
I think the ending sucked. Asking Joe to put his and his family's safety in jeopardy for a teen crush was beyond stupid.
I hope this is the last book in this series. The teleportation is interesting, but the author's determination to be overly passive takes away from the believability of the characters. If you want to see a more interesting take on teleportation read Hard Magic.
February 5, 2022
This one. I really really enjoyed this one, my god. The previous book,,, it almost lost me, the despair was too much, the hopelessness unending. But this was just? so pleasant, warm, nice, COMFORTING. I really needed that and I really enjoyed reading this. The writing is just unbelievable as with any of the other Jumper books. Thank you, Steven Gould, for so much, I truly don't know what I'm gonna do once I finish this series.
December 20, 2014
Impulse is the third in a series, and I listened to the audiobook without a problem. I did wonder why and how the family had the power to teleport, but the overarching plot drew me in enough that I was able to overlook that and focus on a really good story.
Cent is the child of Davy and Millicent, and her parents can teleport. At the beginning, Cent can't, and she spends her days helping her parents' charity projects when she's not being homeschooled. They are in hiding from a shadowy organization that once imprisoned and tortured Davy, but their life seems pretty nice, if isolated. Then Cent develops the ability to teleport, and demands to attend school like a normal teenager.
A lot of the beginning dealt with the logistics of both their isolated home as well as they steps they took to buy a new home and set Cent up in school. Scattered throughout the book were scenes dealing with Millicent's relief efforts throughout the world, but you never spend enough time with those characters to really care about their fate. Although the chapters switch between Cent, Davy, and Millicent narrating, Cent is definitely the protagonist of this book as she navigates a particularly nasty gang at the local high school.
While there are some adult concepts addressed in this book, it seems appropriate for older teens. It was refreshing to see a teenage girl written with humor and empathy, even if some of the early bullying scenes seemed a little off. She loves anime and snowboarding, and her trials of finding new friends and figuring out teenage boys was written with a lot of empathy. Cent gets in trouble helping others, says the wrong things at times, and fights with her parents. She's a really likable character, and her eventual confrontation with the gang was good. Cent relies on her wits, but is still a teenager and is relieved when her parents do the heavy lifting.
Overall, I'd recommend this book. The narrator had a fantastic voice, and it was easy to tell which character was speaking due to her vocal changes.
Cent is the child of Davy and Millicent, and her parents can teleport. At the beginning, Cent can't, and she spends her days helping her parents' charity projects when she's not being homeschooled. They are in hiding from a shadowy organization that once imprisoned and tortured Davy, but their life seems pretty nice, if isolated. Then Cent develops the ability to teleport, and demands to attend school like a normal teenager.
A lot of the beginning dealt with the logistics of both their isolated home as well as they steps they took to buy a new home and set Cent up in school. Scattered throughout the book were scenes dealing with Millicent's relief efforts throughout the world, but you never spend enough time with those characters to really care about their fate. Although the chapters switch between Cent, Davy, and Millicent narrating, Cent is definitely the protagonist of this book as she navigates a particularly nasty gang at the local high school.
While there are some adult concepts addressed in this book, it seems appropriate for older teens. It was refreshing to see a teenage girl written with humor and empathy, even if some of the early bullying scenes seemed a little off. She loves anime and snowboarding, and her trials of finding new friends and figuring out teenage boys was written with a lot of empathy. Cent gets in trouble helping others, says the wrong things at times, and fights with her parents. She's a really likable character, and her eventual confrontation with the gang was good. Cent relies on her wits, but is still a teenager and is relieved when her parents do the heavy lifting.
Overall, I'd recommend this book. The narrator had a fantastic voice, and it was easy to tell which character was speaking due to her vocal changes.
November 5, 2015
This is billed as being basically stand-alone, since it's set 20 years after the previous books, but I think it works better when read in the context of the series. Cent's storyline here is satisfying in a wish-fulfillment way but not particularly deep; there are good guys and bad buys, and she plows self-righteously through them, always instinctively sorting them into the correct basket and never encountering any real danger. The depth comes from David and Millie, and watching all the little ways their past traumas have influenced them--and how they work to overcome that, and sometimes succeed, and sometimes fail.
And really, I'm okay with Cent's story being straightforwardly triumphant. There was plenty of pain in the previous books; what I want, at this point, is to see my favorite family of liberal superheroes thrive and find happiness. It probably helps that Gould's id is closely in alignment with mine; when I daydream about developing superpowers, my thoughts always wander into, "But how would I evade the people who wanted to use those powers for their own ends? How would I protect my family? What kind of cool fortress would I build myself? And when I was done with that, how could I use my powers for good?" Gould is very interested in these questions; if you aren't, the meticulous detail about the architecture of the Rices' isolated Canadian abode will probably be less engaging than it was for me.
(I particularly appreciate how he approaches the last question, because, okay, what the Rices are doing is obviously not the most efficient thing they could do. But humans don't always do the most efficient thing. The fact that the Rices choose not the best path but the path that makes them--in their liberal, charitable souls--feel best does a lot to humanize them for me.)
And really, I'm okay with Cent's story being straightforwardly triumphant. There was plenty of pain in the previous books; what I want, at this point, is to see my favorite family of liberal superheroes thrive and find happiness. It probably helps that Gould's id is closely in alignment with mine; when I daydream about developing superpowers, my thoughts always wander into, "But how would I evade the people who wanted to use those powers for their own ends? How would I protect my family? What kind of cool fortress would I build myself? And when I was done with that, how could I use my powers for good?" Gould is very interested in these questions; if you aren't, the meticulous detail about the architecture of the Rices' isolated Canadian abode will probably be less engaging than it was for me.
(I particularly appreciate how he approaches the last question, because, okay, what the Rices are doing is obviously not the most efficient thing they could do. But humans don't always do the most efficient thing. The fact that the Rices choose not the best path but the path that makes them--in their liberal, charitable souls--feel best does a lot to humanize them for me.)
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