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| The Never War | |
 First edition cover |
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| Author | D. J. MacHale |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Pendragon |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Aladdin |
| Publication date | May 1, 2003 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback & Hardback) |
| Pages | 352 pp (first edition, paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-7434-3733-0 (first edition, paperback) |
| Preceded by | The Lost City of Faar |
| Followed by | The Reality Bug |
The Never War is a book in the Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale. D.J found his information on many websties which is said in the back of the book quote "This is real information." In this book, the main character, Robert "Bobby" Pendragon follows the antagonist, named Saint Dane, to a territory called First Earth, which is essentially Earth in the year 1937.
Plot summary
Bobby Pendragon and Vo Spader, the Traveler from Cloral, arrive on First Earth (New York City, 1937) shortly after the death of Bobby's uncle, Press Tilton, by bullets from gangsters that Saint Dane has hired. They meet the First Earth Traveler, a bell captain at the Manhattan Tower Hotel named Vincent "Gunny" Van Dyke. Bobby and Spader become employed as bellhops there, and investigate the ties between First Earth's Turning Point, rival crime godfathers Max Rose and Winn Farrow, and the Nazi party.
The critical connection is revealed to be the Hindenburg zeppelin. To understand its significance, Bobby and Gunny visit Third Earth, in the year 5010. The Traveler Patrick accesses a computer that predicts the future in which they save the Hindenburg: industrial spies working for Max would lead to the Nazis developing an atomic bomb and winning World War Two.
Bobby and Gunny return to First Earth, only to find that Spader and Rose have gone ahead, seeking to stop Winn Farrow from shooting a firework rocket into the dirigible. Bobby is flown to the LZ-129's launch site by a female aeroplane pilot called Nancy Olsen (alias Jinx), who has been his client at the Hotel. There, he commandeers Max Rose's car and drives to the rocket's launch pad. Spader, misunderstanding, tries to stop the rocket from launching; Gunny holds him back. Looking up, Bobby sees the faces of those who will die in the explosion and is reluctant to let them die. Gunny again intervenes, holding him until the rocket launches and the zeppelin burns.
Full of angst over his role in the tragedy, Bobby returns to his home on Second Earth (the twentieth and twenty-first centuries) for a pause in his Travels. After a few weeks, he receives a call from Gunny, and meets him back at Bobby's old house a few hours later. Gunny arrives in a limousine, and explains how Uncle Press had died, describing how an accomplice (who the Gangster revealed to be Saint Dane) persuaded Tony, the gangster's partner, into shooting a Tommy Gun into the flume. He states clearly that he never fired a bullet. Bobby thanks the gangster, and he and Gunny accompany the gangster down town to the flume. This is where "The Reality Bug" begins.
Characters in "The Never War"
- Robert "Bobby" Pendragon - Bobby is the main character of the story and is the Traveler from Second Earth. He goes to First Earth after his victory over Saint Dane on Cloral,
- Vo Spader - The Traveler from Cloral, as well as Bobby's friend and ally. However, his hatred for Saint Dane almost results in a victory for Saint Dane in First Earth.
- Saint Dane - The story's antagonist. A seven-foot-tall demon shapeshifter, he takes the form of quite a few people, including a spy, and a raven.
- Vincent "Gunny" Van Dyke - The Traveler from First Earth. He is the bell captain of the Manhattan Tower Hotel. This is our first encounter with Gunny. He is the reason that First Earth was saved, by holding back Bobby when he tried to kick over the rocket. Gunny got his name because he simply couldn't fire a gun, no matter how hard he tried.
- Maximillian Rose - A ruthless gangster who operates a spy ring out of the Manhattan Tower Hotel. Among his many criminal enterprises, he sells government secrets to the highest bidder, whether friend or foe. He supposedly dies trying to save all of his money, in the form of diamonds and valuable art, that were aboard the Hindenburg.
- Nancy "Jinx" Olsen - A pilot for the Coast Guard who longs for adventure and finds it when Bobby asks her to fly to where the Hindenburg will be docking. Jinx's dream is flight, but the misogynistic Coast Guard has made her their poster girl, who simply goes around to conferences and talks to people about being a pilot. When Bobby says he must reach the Hindenburg's docking site, she has been grounded from flying by the Coast Guard, but she sees how important it is for Bobby, and does it anyway.
- Winn Farrow - He is the nemesis of Max Rose who would stop at nothing to destroy Rose and his criminal empire. He hates Max because Max has become wealthy, whereas Winn's own, more reckless actions made him resort to living in an abandoned slaughterhouse in the meatpacking district of New York and hiring gangsters to do his bidding. He is ultimately responsible for the blowing up of the LZ-129 (Hindenburg), for which he used a rocket.
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