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    Jumper
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    Jumper
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    Jumper
    Ebook421 pages6 hours

    Jumper

    By Steven Gould

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Written in the 1990s by American author Steven Gould, Jumper tells the story of Davy Rice as he escapes his tortured childhood to explore the world via teleportation and find his long lost mother.

    At seventeen the world is at your feet… especially if you can teleport.

    David Rice barely remembers his mother. She left his alcoholic father when Davy was very young. She left Davy too, and since then all of William Rice’s abusive anger has been focused on his young teenage son.

    One evening, as he is about to receive another brutal beating, Davy shuts his eyes and wishes to be safe. When he opens them again, he finds himself in his small town’s library. Slowly, he realises he is very special, he can teleport.

    Armed with his new power, Davy sets out with new purpose: he will leave his abusive home and find his long lost mother. Davy’s confidence grows as his skills do, but they also draw unwanted attention and soon Davy finds that he too is hunted.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins UK
    Release dateSep 4, 2008
    ISBN9780007283514
    Unavailable
    Jumper
    Author

    Steven Gould

    STEVEN GOULD is the author of the beloved classic Jumper, basis for the 2008 film of the same name, as well as Wildside, Helm, Blind Waves, Reflex, and Jumper: Griffin’s Story. He is the recipient of the Hal Clement Young Adult Award for Science Fiction and has been nominated for both the Hugo and the Nebula awards. Gould lives in New Mexico with his wife, writer Laura J. Mixon.

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    Reviews for Jumper

    4/5

    552 ratings31 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Pretty good. Better than the movie
    • 3/5
      I'd give this book 3.5 stars, if Goodreads would let me.

      First of all - content warning for those of you interested: The book contains language (S***, and F***) and the like. It also contains violence, and a near rape scene.


      David (Davy) Rice is a regular teen that just wants to make it in the world. His father beat him and his mother, and this caused a break up in his family. Davy learns tries to learn to deal with his father's behavior, until, in one traumatic scene, he discovers that he has the ability to teleport, or "jump," at will. At that point, he "runs" away from home.

      Davy robs a bank for money, and begins an adventure in which he meets someone, hides his ability, discovers his long lost mother, and confronts terrorism.

      From a reader experience perspective, about 1/3 of the way through the story, I was wondering where the story was going. I knew there was a kid with an ability, but it felt a little like the plot wasn't really going anywhere other than to develop the character. Once Davy found his mother, and the subsequent events happened (I won't put the spoiler in here) the book really takes off.

      All in all, it was a good read once you get a good bit into the book.

    • 4/5
      Great fun!
    • 5/5
      The characters are much more relatable than the ones in the movie.
    • 3/5
      A 17 year old boy is physically abused by his father and then discovers he can teleport to escape the beatings…and then goes on to try to survive on his own with no knowledge of banking, credit, job skills, hormones, etc. The first half of the book was obviously intended to give us an extensive understanding of the hero's flaws and weaknesses...and motivations. For me, this whole section of the book can only be entertaining to a teenager to read---I don't respond well to naive adolescents with super powers. It isn't until the last half of the book when the story changes to one of vengeance against the terrorist who killed his mother that the tempo picks up. The tension increases as the NSA gets involved trying to capture the hero, etc., etc.; and the, now 18 years old, hero manages to outwit both the US government and a series of terrorists around the world in the attempt to avenge his mother's death and get his hostage girl friend returned from the NSA. This is a light read and is good for moderate entertainment but is devoid of any meaty philosophical content or any realistic (whatever that means) treatment of teleportation. And, after 'everything' is resolved, there's no hint of how the hero is going to survive into the future, nor what he'll do when he gets there.
    • 3/5
      Davy lives with his alcoholic, stingy, and abusive father. When he accidentally "jumps" (teleports) away when his father is about to beat him with a belt buckle. Seizing the opportunity, Davy runs away from home but finds himself accosted by a quartet of truck drivers. Luckily, he teleports away again. Realizing he has a strange and unbelievable talent, Davy decides to make his way in the world alone.Once in New York City, Davy finds that his age (seventeen years old) doesn't allow him to register for school or work without a parent or papers. In desperation, Davy plans a bank heist that can only be accomplished with his unique ability. After walking away with a sizable sum of money, Davy lives the high life: living out of hotels, buying expensive clothes and eating at expensive restaurants. Despite having nearly everything he needs only a "jump" away, he discovers that he can only teleport to places he has been to before and can clearly picture in his mind. Backed by his bank heist money, he travels extensively in order to accumulate a large number of teleportation sites. Eventually, Davy puts his ability to use in stopping airline hijackers, but this catches the attention of the NSA, which seeks to understand Davy's ability and use him for their own purposes.Despite the intriguing concept behind Steven Gould's Jumper, the novel doesn't offer much of a conflict for its protagonist until more than halfway through. While it is intriguing to follow Davy and see how he utilizes his ability, the plot is mostly just watching him figure things out. Much of the novel feels like a thought exercise in the best way to utilize such an ability to benefit oneself or others (within the confines of the mechanics of teleportation that Gould has established). In fact, I think the drastic changes made to the movie version of this book was to create a conflict and plot! The book is clearly aimed at a young adult audience, as Davy's angst may come across as childish or simply corny to older readers. Gould's description of New York City, and specifically Times Square, comes across as dated (the area hasn't been that way in over a decade and a half!). Despite the plain writing style and the sometimes annoying angst of Davy, the book was still interesting enough to keep me reading almost non-stop until I was finished. I guess it was after finishing the book that I realized that I wish more had happened. Make sure to check out Reflex, the sequel to Jumper, for a more action-packed (and better-plotted) story with Davy and teleportation. If anything, a movie should have been made from Reflex, with Jumper only serving as an introduction to the better story.
    • 3/5
      I don't like the protagonist much, and the other characters and events often don't ring true, but it does get points for being a page-turner.
    • 1/5
      Somehow it is even more boring and the main character less likeable, than in the movie.
    • 4/5
      Let's just first get this out of the way: YES I LIKED THE MOVIE (mostly because Samuel L. Jackson ;p). Lots. It was fun, exhilarating and all that jazz an action/adventure movie these days must be. But it was also, not to fine a point on it, as shallow as a puddle after a summer shower, also as these kinds of movies tend to be. Despite that, I enjoyed the movie for what it was, but the book is something completely different from the movie. Best you sort that out in your mind right quick (luckily, being a veteran Stephen King reader, this is an exercise that comes easier to me).

      While the movie is all about Davy and how he tries to escape the Paladins, who want to get their evil hooks in him and stop him from jumping or whatevs, the Paladins don't even exist in the book. I found this worked excellently for the book, turning it to more the story of a boy who's trying to literally escape his abusive past but keeps getting drawn back in while having to make hard choices about morality, privacy, agency and responsibility.

      Other stuff I liked:

      The author pulls no punches. There are some violent scenes in the movie, but in my view it's nothing a teenager these days hadn't seen a million times on TV or in a game and here it's not just gratuitous. (PROTIP: If you're looking for a book for your child to read, looking at the AGE OF THE PROTAGONIST is the best way to see if it's in your child's age bracket. Seriously, how do people not know this?)
      I enjoyed the voice of this book. Davy is a great character and is written in such a way that even when he says something in his own head, we can see what the thought behind it is, even if he doesn't necessarily have that level of knowledge yet.
      I really liked how seriously Davy took responsibility and how hard he tries to convince himself that it's okay, he doesn't need to feel guilty, and yet he still can't help but feel guilty about things he can't necessarily control.
      I couldn't put the story down. Although the main conflict isn't introduced until much later in the book, the narrative creates enough conflict with Davy and his coming to terms with his powers to keep you enjoying page after page even before the real "story" starts. Personally I wouldn't plot it like that, but it worked in this instance and some of the events in this "backstory introduction" become very important when looking at and understanding some of David's later choices.
      Solid ending. Always good, especially good here, even though it's the first of a series.
      Subtle yet effective glance at some feminist themes in relationships: the problems the dominant narrative of sex as a transaction creates for the individuals involved who don't want to follow that narrative yet know no other way, things like that mentioned in passing, things most girls and some guys have to deal with and normally sooner rather than later was really gratifying and added a bit of (sorely needed) depth to David's romance with Millie.

      Disliked:

      I didn't really feel the romance between David and Millie. There were great aspects around this arc (see the last bullet above), but I found most of the romance to be slightly passionless and pretty meh. Could definitely have been handled better.
      The descriptions in the action scene sometimes went by too fast, especially with his jumping thrown in. It was hard for me to maintain a sense of what exactly was going on in the battle scenes.

      RECOMMENDED FOR: "Soft" Sci-fi fans, those who like both contemporary YA and urban fantasy, anyone looking for a male protagonist, anyone who felt the movie slightly "lacking" and is willing to read this book as a YA and not a hardcore science fantasy. Just don't bother with the second book and you'll be golden.
    • 3/5
      Very much a young adult fiction - I enjoyed this book and the story of a young man discovering a way to escape his painful world by simply jumping.
      I would like to see the movie and see what Hollywood has done to the story.
      It's not high brow nor is it ground breaking but it was an enjoyable and fast paced book. I really would have finished it sooner had I more time to read - ticks all the right boxes for escapism, coming of age and sciences fiction. Recommended.
    • 5/5
      Gould's Jumper is hard to resist. Built from suspense and engaging characters, the novel moves quickly and really resists easy categorization. Much as I came to this novel because of enjoying the movie, Gould's original exploration has more depth and immediacy than what ended up portrayed on the screen (much as the synopsis doesn't particularly reflect that difference). From page to page, I was as much compelled by the characters as the plot, and Gould's writing mixes humor and suspense easily.All together, I'd recommend this to anyone interested.
    • 4/5
      Listened to the Audible version and loved this story. Beautiful read. While not terribly exciting topics it was very listenable.
    • 3/5
      This book had a very interesting (to me) premise as the main storyline of the book, the ability to teleport to anywhere the main character could picture in his mind. It was also quite a bit different than the movie of the same name that was apparently made using a similar premise. I liked the story but the characters really did not appeal to me so I can only rate this story as average.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book and found it to be superior to the film in almost every way. I did love the visual effect of the jumpers....jumping in the move but that was about it. Very clever and intelligent it presents Davy as a far more vulnerable character than the movie.

      I was drawn in by the story and the legend behind the idea and would recommend it to anyone who loves sci fi and has ever thought to themselves "I wonder what I would do if I could teleport?"
    • 4/5
      The initial 9 or so pages of a kid facing domestic abuse aren't exactly plesant reading. But from page 10 onwards he discovers a secret power. He can teleport. He doens't know why. And can barely control the how, at least to start. but it's enough. He's away and safe.And then reality kicks in. Alone in NewYork with limted funds. It's a scenario many runaway kids would have to deal with, but the teleport seems to make it all possible. Money, clothes cars. You're still alone though. And you have to be careful you don't want the police or anyone from government to get suspicious. Avoiding one person is trivial. But there are only so many places in the world. And still at the back of yoru head, in the quiet moments of the night. Family. What happened to mum?It's not a YA novel. It's about family and relationships, and the difficulties of growing up. You can't always make the best decisions all of the time, but you do still have to face the conserquences. It does all get a bit silly towards the end with the very best of conspiracy theories, but up until then it's quite a good look at the implications of being alone in the world. A nice hat tip to the seldom found Born to Exile by Phylis Eisenstein in the acknowledgements. I probably prefer her version, but they are very different stories. First in a series, but I'm unlikely to read the rest as I think this has already explored most of the interesting ground on the idea.
    • 4/5
      Davy Rice first discovered he could teleport when he "jumped" to the safety of his public library when his alcoholic father started to beat him. This wasn't the first time his father had beaten him but it was the last. Although he was still in high school he decided to take to the road to stay away from the abusive home. Turns out life on the road wasn't any safer and he jumped again to the library. This time he decided to be a little more prepared and he went back to his father's house, got some clothes, some food and money from his father's wallet. Then he took a bus to New York City. Turns out a teenager without a high school diploma, no driver's license and no birth certificate can't get a job even in the Big Apple. So Davy resorts to bank robbery which is pretty easy for someone who can teleport himself and anything he can hold.That's just the start of Davy's adventures. He gets involved with fighting terrorism and has to evade the National Security Agency when he comes to their attention. It's all pretty far-fetched but I rather enjoyed the book.
    • 3/5
      Believe it or not I almost like the movie better. I think because they are very different. I loved the movie. I liked this other version alright but in a very different way. This was an entertaining read but nothing more unfortunately. I love the concept but I couldn’t get into it like I had expected. I’m not even totally sure why, but I couldn’t. Oh well. Maybe another time.
    • 3/5
      Plot: 3 stars
      Characters: 2 stars
      Style: 3 stars
      Pace: 2 1/2 stars

      I found this book boring and tedious. It seemed like it should be a fun, scifi romp, but took off into the emotional weeds repeatedly. I found Davy hard to like, and despite the dramatic changes in his life, he never seems to grow as a person. Sure, he gets nicer clothing, but that's about it. The rest of the characters were even more flat. The romance aspects felt forced and trite. I'll probably skip the second book in this series and just try the third to see if it's gotten any better, since that one has a different MC.
    • 4/5
      I actually really liked this book; it is nothing like the movie. The movie and this book are completely different other than the fact that Davy can “Jump”. Honestly, the movie sucked. This book brings to life your childhood fantasies of being able to “teleport” from one place to another, or being able to get into locked places undetected. It’s like a cross between sci-fi and spy books, Davy is being hunted by the NSA and not some top secret government organization determined to kill all “Jumpers”. I really liked this book and can’t wait to read the next.
    • 4/5
      The general premise is great fun, and Gould is very creative about his uses of teleportation - in many ways, Jumper is a great 'becoming' story (think early Spiderman discovering his powers). I was interested in what was happening and what neat ways he'd find to use his gift next. Unfortunately, the writing doesn't live up to the ideas. The dialog in particular is very stilted and wooden, with no real feel for how people actually talk to each other, and while I like Davy's backstory and understand his motivations, his actual /personality/ doesn't show through much, nor does he seem 17. There's a relationship that's central to a lot that I don't understand at all - you never get a sense of why these two people are together.I'm interested enough in the world and the plot to check out the next book - maybe, someday.
    • 3/5
      I don't like the protagonist much, and the other characters and events often don't ring true, but it does get points for being a page-turner.
    • 3/5
      Couldn't resist this one since the hero discovers he can teleport at will, my superpower of choice. I enjoyed the movie version as well but I've enjoyed some of this author's other novels better than this one. The sequel, Reflex, was also better.
    • 3/5
      I like this book, but not as much as I expected to. The writing was a little juvenile for my tastes. The concept of the book, however, was really interesting, and it did entertain me quite a bit.
    • 5/5
      I had heard that this book is better than the movie, but after seeing the movie--which was awful!--I just couldn't bring myself to read this. Especially with its incredibly lame cover. (I've seen at least four different covers for this book and all of them suck.) However, I finally did read this book and it turns out that it's actually quite good! The main character is a seventeen-year-old who discovers he can teleport. He doesn't know why, he doesn't know how, he just knows he can. He uses this talent for the first time accidentally to get away from his abusive alcoholic father. He figures out he can teleport to anywhere he's been (and can remember accurately) or anywhere he can see. Now what? He's certainly not going home to his father and his mother left home years ago never to be heard from again. This is the story of love, loss and revenge, an exploration of right and wrong. It's not a difficult read but it's definitely a page-turner. If you saw the movie, forget it, this is nothing like that. This is a good, fun read with a hint of depth.
    • 3/5
      I really enjoyed the first half of this book, where the protagonist discovers his powers and starts working out whay kind of life he's going to build for himself. Then the story takes an abrupt left-turn as he decides to become an anti-terrorist superhero. Particularly after the events of 9/11 this makes the book seem rather trite.
    • 4/5
      The novel Jumper is an excellent foray into the world of teleportation. The concept of teleportation is fascinating, and the way in which Gould's character teleports is less fantastical than the movie trailers portray (I have been waiting to see the movie until I complete the sequel novel, Reflex). This makes Davy's teleportation more "believable", which now that I say that sounds ridiculous! This novel can be very heavy, and I would not recommend it to anyone younger than High School level. The main reason for it's showing on the Top 100 Banned Books is in the very first chapter, so if you can get past that, then you are on your way to enjoying the vast character development Gould provides. This novel takes a little while to pick up action-wise, but it deals deeply with the inner struggle Davy maintains. The pain of abuse from his Father, the struggle to come to terms with his ability, it weaves a tangled web inside Davy's character who can seem almost at the brink of schizophrenia.I enjoyed Jumper the novel, and have yet to see the movie. From what I have seen, and the non-spoiler plot points I have heard from friends, is that the concept of teleporting and the main character in name, though not entirely in his history, are the only uniting features of the novel and movie. I think the novel is more about dealing with your inner demons, dealing with past abuses, and figuring out how to get past that to lead a productive life, and break the generational cycle. Many sci-fi works have dealt with teleportation, but Gould's take on it is definately worth the read.
    • 4/5
      I had a lot of fun reading this book about Davy, a seventeen year old teleport. Even though, towards the end, some descriptions of the hijackings are a bit too long. Considering that this book was wrote many years before 9/11, I found the scene where Davy throws a terrorist from the World Trade Center a little creepy.All in all a very good book and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel Reflex.
    • 4/5
      I'm not quite sure how to rate this book. I bought this book after seeing the movie. I enjoyed the movie a lot and decided to see where it all started. When it arrived, I dove right in. I read half the book in a day, and then put it down for over a week before I finally finished it in an airport waiting for my plane. It was a good story, don't get me wrong, but it bore little resemblance to the film. In the film, a 17 year old boy discovers he can "jump" after falling into a freezing river. Then he robs a bank and lives the high life for 8 years until a secret organization starts to hunt him down. Good action flick, so I expected a good action story. But in the novel, our hero is 15 and a victim of serious child abuse. This is why I walked away from the book for so long. The first half was depressing. Really depressing. Another reviewer pointed out that the main character is almost raped. True, but that is only the tip of the iceberg in his sad life. Warning: some may consider the next paragraph a slight spoiler.Davy makes his first jump trying to avoid a beating. Then we follow him as a 15 year old runaway. Who is almost raped while hitch-hiking. Who can't hold a job because he has no social security card, or high school diploma. Who can't get a GED without his parents' approval. Who robs a bank so he won't starve. Who learns his mother left him after being nearly beaten to death herself. Who worries his father can jump and will find him. It goes on and on like that for far too long. This book does a good job of shining light on the ugly, harsh reality of life as a runaway. Only real runaways can't "jump" out of danger. The story finally picked up once he started traveling and attracted the attention of the NSA. Davy has a serious (and once again sad) motive for all his traveling besides wanting to see the world. After finally reuniting with his mother, she is killed by an airline hijacker. And he wants revenge. The NSA catches on to his visits to hot zone countries and subsequently learns his secret. There is no secret organization of Paladins and he never meets another jumper. But, the second half is very exciting as he cleverly eludes NSA agents, creates an illegal identity for himself, romances a college girl and jumps all over the world. There is also a good bit of humor in the second half too.The story is told in the first person, and has a lot of internal monologue. Sometimes, I got a little annoyed as Davy described everything he was seeing or thinking. However, this book is intended for young adults and the descriptive detail makes sense in that light. There isn't a lot of dialog compared to many other books, but there is a lot of action in the second half. The author doesn't reveal much about the "why" of jumping (as in the movie), but Davy does consider the issue throughout the book.Overall, I enjoyed the second half of the book enough that I'd like to read the sequel. It's too bad the sequel is currently out of print. I hope the movie attracts enough buzz that it re-released. Recommended.
    • 4/5
      This book is hard to rate and review because it's all over the map. (No pun intended, honest.)Point: The Young Adult fiction aspect puts forth a large amount of teen angst.But ... It's not unrealistic teen angst. Teens are angsty people.Point: There's also a large amount of introspection and exposition.But ... It's the first book in the series, and the narrator is figuring things out as he goes along.Point: Abuse and terrorism and sex? Why not throw in Paris Hilton and anthrax and call it "Fox News Channel Presents: Jumper"?But ... they are actually tied together pretty well. Sins of the father, the circle of violence, and all that. Subtext.Point: It's too mature for early-teen readers. (If the film actually showed everything in the book it would easily be an "R" rating.)But ... is it really? Is your early-teen reader really that sheltered? Are the Amish allowed to buy books about teleportation?Point: It's too goofy and sci-fi for late-teen readers.But ... I enjoyed it and I haven't seen my teens or in quite some time.Point: The main character is kindof a nerd.But ... so?Point: It's not as action-packed/sexy as the film!But ... that's true. If you want that, go read "Griffin's Story". Oh, and the book is funnier than the film.So ... take what you will. It's not a bad read if you don't try to pigeonhole it or pre-judge it.
    • 4/5
      Very fine writing highlight a well told tale of a teleport and his escape from an abusive father and a mother that (it appears) abandoned him.