One of my first thoughts when I picked up Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow by the multitalented Miller Brothers was “Boy, reading sure has changed.” Nonfiction underwent the transformation years ago: a book is a Web site is a blog is a Wiki is a link to a whole lotta more information. Fiction is changing more slowly, but the Miller Brothers illustrate (both literally and figuratively) the way the arts and technology intersect in our culture. A book is a picture is a game is a Web site is a trailer is animation is a community.
Which, if you feel that a story is more than just the words that tell it, is pretty cool.
Hunter Brown, the first book in the Codebearers Series, looks like it’s supposed to be more than a book. The cover art and many of the interior illustrations are done in a computer graphics style by the Miller Brothers themselves, and their Web site features animations, desktop backgrounds, and trailers using the same artwork. The pages have that faux dirty look, and I was particularly drawn in by the notes and book pages within the book, complete with unique handwriting and symbols. There are definitely times when this book feels like it’s crossing over into reality!
But ultimately, that has less to do with the fact that you can become a Codebearer on the Web site or decode special messages in the book’s pages, and more to do with the fact that this edgy novel for kids and teens deals with some very big, very real spiritual issues. When Hunter sees a vision of his world as it really is, we get a glimpse of our world as it really is — and it gives whole new meaning to the phrase “You won’t believe your eyes.”
Tomorrow, I’ll review the book in depth. Wednesday, I plan to conduct an interview with the men behind the book — Christopher and Allan Miller, who besides being awfully talented guys are also homeschool graduates! In the meantime, I encourage you to check out their Web site, where you can read the book in its entirety, watch a trailer, become a Codebearer, and learn more about the brothers. Their blog is worth reading as well.
Here are this month’s tour links:
Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Shane Deal
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Marcus Goodyear
Todd Michael Greene
Katie Hart
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Jason Isbell
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Mike Lynch
Magma
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
Wade Ogletree
John W. Otte
Steve Rice
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson
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