Saturday 14 April 2012

Dark Territory (The Tracks Book 1) by J. Gabriel Gates and Charlene Keel

Genre: YA Paranormal
Publication Date: July 1, 2011
Format: Paperback
Source: Library
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Buy: Amazon | Amazon Kindle | Book Depository | Kobobooks

Goodreads Summary:
Star-crossed love, supernatural evil, and martial arts meet at the abandoned tracks in the deceptively quaint village of Middleburg . . .


When Ignacio Torrez moved from the rough streets of LA to a small town dead smack in the middle of nowhere, he never expected to find himself in the midst of a gang war. But, he soon learns, these are no ordinary gangs. The wealthy, preppie Toppers on one side of the tracks and the working-class Flatliners on the other adhere to a strict code of honor and use their deadly martial arts skills, taught to them by the wise Master Chin, to battle one another for pride, territory, and survival. When Raphael, leader of the Flatliners, falls forAimee, a Topper girl, the rival gangs prepare for a bloody, all-out war. The only hope for peace between them lies within the dark territory of the abandoned train tunnels where the tracks cross. Under the direction of the mysterious and frightening Magician, the awesome power within the crossing sends the rivals on a terrifying mystical quest to fight the malevolent force that threatens the existence of Middleburg-and quite possibly, the world.

My Opinion:
I thought this book was just about gang wars between two gangs, the Toppers (the haves) and the Flatliners (the have nots). I was wrong about it.

What is interesting about this book is that it is about martial arts. The leaders of each gang (Toppers-Zhai, Flatliners-Raphael) were taught by Master Chin to adhere to a strict code of honor. But when Raphael unwittingly falls for Aimee, A Topper girl, everything went downhill from there. There was something more than meets the eyes, and it involves the dark territory of the abandoned train tunnels...

Be ready to be wowed by the number of characters in the book. They are all great and closely linked to one another within their own gang. You could read the tension in the atmosphere whenever the two gangs clashed. It's quite a thick book and once I got past the first half of the book, it got a little better and more interesting when the paranormal element came in though I find it was pretty short. Still, it was an interesting concept to bring many elements together- martial arts, mystery, romance, paranormal and action.

I must say I've enjoyed it and it would be better if the book was just a little bit shorter in length.

4/5 stars for Dark Territory.


Teasers:
- But just as he reached the window, the light inside blazed on. His head snapped around toward the glass, and he was paralyzed for a moment. Just inside the doorway of the room, her hand still on the light switch, stood Aimee Banfield, her eyes locked on his. (Page 126)

- "But the word you wrote--murderer. That was... about me." (Page 162)

- "Well, it looks like we're competing again, old friend," Zhai said.
"I'm soing to win," Raphael replied.
"Not this time."
"Well. I guess we'll find out, won't we?" (Page 382)

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