Reading Response number 4:

Oblivion

by Anthony Horowitz

 

Oblivion is the fifth and final book in the Gatekeeper series, a series I have been emotionally invested in a very long time!!! I started reading it at the beginning of sophomore year, read about a third of it, and then stopped. I again picked it up Junior year and read another third of it, only to put it down again. Now I am hopping to pick it up for the final time.

 

the other gatekeepers because they do not know their fate

Why did I not finish the book? Well the answer is I don't want the story to end! I have loved these books for so long that I feel like if I don't know how it ends, it cant be over. on top of that I just know it will end horribly, because the book itself tells you it will!

 

But before I get in to that I will need to sum up four books worth of information in a couple of sentences. The Gatekeeper series is about a group of five teenagers destined to save the world. Each of these kids has a special power they can use. The problem is there is a group of bad guys called the old ones bent on destroying the world. For these next few responses I will try and focus on just one character so as to not have to do to much back story (side effect of jumping in after laying the book aside for a while).

 

Alright so now that that basic information is out of the way the main thing I want to focus on to day is the idea of fate. This idea, and primarily of knowing your fate is something extremely prevalent in this book. The question Horowitz really poses is, "If you knew your fate would you try and change it, and if you knew someone else's would you tell them?"

 

much like how Matt did not have a choice in his fate,
neither did this pug.

 Matt, who could be considered the main character, is the leader of the gatekeepers. He is the oldest, the most powerful, British and all around just a one of the most interesting characters I've ever read about. In the book Matt finds him self in what they call the dream world, a place where the five can meet up and talk even if they are hundreds of miles apart. While there he finds a library and reads a book about his life.

 

Now needless to say this would be kind of a scary thing. After all this means Matt knows how he will die! (this is not a spoiler, the book spoils it self!) When Matt is done reading he must decide what he will do, go down the path that is written, or try to avoid it.

 

Chapter 25

 

Nobody could be expected to go through that. I mean, nobody would do it if they knew how it was going to be.

 

(and then later when the librarian is asking if matt wants him to go get the others matt says)

 

"It doesn't matter whether I'd like it or not. It's what happens. You leave me here. You climb up the tower and ring the bell. The others arrive. We meet outside. And as for you and me, we never see each other again."

 

 

This quote shows just how demoralized Matt becomes after realizing his fate. He eventually decides to go through with what ever will happen to him, simply because he understands there is no out running fate. Matt isn't just left knowing his own fat though.

 



Chapter 25

 

Matt tried to force what he had read out of his thoughts. He wasn't the only one with problems. This adventure was going to hurt them all.

 

 

Matt makes the decision later on, to not tell the others about reading his own story. He believes that the truth would only make things worse for the other four. This brings up yet another interesting question. If you knew someone else's fate, would you tell them? Is that your right? Is that your responsibility? 

 

 

 

Matt thinking about his life after reading the book