Other Honorable Character Disclosure, Never Miss It! - Review of CEROS DAN BATOZAR by Tere Liye

Title: CEROS DAN BATOZAR

Author: Tere Liye

Publishing House: Gramedia Pustaka Utama

Published Year: 2018

Number of Pages: 376

Rating: 4.7/5

“Ketahuilah, bukan teknik bertarung, bukan menghancurkan gunung-gunung kekuatan terbaik dunia paralel, melainkan persahabatan. Selaluberusaha menjadi orang yang baik dan berani.” (“You know, it is not a battle technique, nor is destroying mountain, the best power in parallel universe, but it is the friendship. It is about always trying to be a gentle, and brave man.”) - Ngglanggeram, CEROS – Tere Liye (page 124)

If Rowling’s Wizarding World has Fantastic Beasts, Tere Liye’s parallel universe series has Ceros dan Batozar as its spin-off. This novel introduces readers to new characters who will have an important role in the next story. Unlike the previous four novels that are entitled based on the name of the universe, this spin-off novel highlights more on the characters. Therefore, Tere Liye named this novel Ceros and Batozar, the two new characters, and separated the story accordingly.

The first part entitled CEROS. Ceros is depicted as a twin wererhinoceros named Ngglanggeran and Ngglanggeram. The place where they lived was discovered coincidently by The Three when they had the study tour because Ali’s tools caught an intense signal of the parallel universe’s power. Then, they left the tour and traced the signal to go through the ocean. By driving ILY (a made-by-Ali flying cab), they dived into the seawater hundreds of kilometres deep and found a strange space with a big ancient named Bor-O-Bdur. Later they knew that the place only had one hour day and one hour night.

The Three, at the first arrival, had to fight against ceros who turned into terrifying, dreadful, and uncontrollable giant rhino monsters in the night. However, in the morning, the ceros turned into tame and friendly humans who showed The Three the amazing landscape of the place. The twin also shared their past story about their origin, Aldebaran Clan’s expedition 40 thousand years ago.

The conflict turned up fast as The Three knew that they couldn’t get out of Bor-O-Bdur easily. The place locked every single thing that came in. It was designed to keep the outside world safe from the rampage of the rhino monsters. However, there was still one condition that enabled them to come back to the surface. How could the Three come back home and what truth was actually hidden by the ceros about that?

After spending 129 pages on the CEROS part, the next part will introduce you to BATOZAR, who later became the loveliest ‘uncle’ figure for The Three. He is a notorious prisoner, a cold-blooded murderer, yet a great spy who had worked as a ruthless assassin for the Committee of Bulan in his past. Batozar wanted to see Raib to ask her a sentimental but nearly impossible wish. He escaped the prison and travelled to Bumi Clan after hearing news about Raib’s adventure story in Bintang Clan. His escapement then became headline news in Bumi Clan.

This information after all came upon The Three through Selena. Like speaking of the devil, The Three met Batozar for no purpose in a restaurant in their town. They then followed and traced him. Unexpectedly, when they and Selena tried to ambush Batozar, he abruptly kidnapped The Three. He detained Raib, Seli, and Ali in a very remote place. It was all for the sake of his desire to use Raib’s power as the pure descendant of Bulan Clan. Yet, it was not a piece of cake at all. Seli and Ali were also even hurt and scolded for defending Raib. Somehow, which friends would even let their team got suffering from someone who just knew them? However, witnessing her friends’ devotion, would Raib stay feeble over Batozar or would she get his wish come true? What was Batozar’s wish that felt very crucial and emotional?

The dominant strength of this fifth novel in the series is how Tere Liye depicted the theme, which is about friendship, through the story. He delivered the story while implying a relatable message, especially with a pile of heart-breaking scenes. Through those scenes, Tere Liye also finally provided the moral value of each part. The CEROS part taught readers that above challenging adventures, horrifying experiences, and risky trips, friendship matters the most. It becomes wonderful with a shedding-tears ending scene that will make the characters’ togetherness adorable. Next, in BATOZAR, besides the great battle scene, Tere Liye also offered something valuable that gives more learn about not judging a person by his appearance. Tere Liye expressed that message mostly through Batozar’s behaviour to The Three which marked him as a respectful and wise yet tough man.

“ … serangan paling mematikan tidak memerlukan kekuatan, apalagi suara menggelegar. Serangan paling mematikan justru berasal dari sentuhan lembut. Serangan terhebat bukan sesuatu yang datang dengan fantastis, spektakuler. Serangan terhebat justru datang dari kesabaran, Menunggu. Keheningan.” (“… the most hazardous attack does not need power, nor does need thunderous sound. The most hazardous attack actually comes from a gentle touch. The greatest attack is not as well something that comes fantastically or spectacularly. The greatest attack instead comes from patience. A wait. Silence.”) (Batozar in BATOZAR, page 269)

Associated with the plot, in this spin-off novel, Tere Liye somehow used a slight foreshadowing element to hint at some possible occurrence in the next story. He mentioned Aldebaran Clan which might be involved in the next story and become a plot development. At the same time, Tere Liye also gave the foreshadowing effect moment in CEROS’s resolution, which turns out to be related to the previous story’s occurrence from the Bintang novel.

Another point I was attached to from this novel is the development of the characters, especially Ali. At the beginning of the series, Ali was depicted as a careless, troublemaker, and ignorant boy. The adventures anyhow had turned him into a loyal and caring team member. As the smartest of the team, Ali often made pivotal decisions to save their lives. Even though sometimes he still acted annoyed, he never left his friends in the problem alone. He would always help and fight for them.

Bagaimana mungkin? Setelah semua petualangan kami di dunia paralel, setelah semua itu, persahabatan kami berakhir di sini. Ali mengorbankan dirinya terkurung di sini agar kami bisa pulang. Ali yang pandai bermain tebak-tebakan di Klan Matahari saat kompetisi mencari bunga matahari pertama mekar, … Ali yang selalu menghibur Seli jika Seli bersedih hati dan patah semangat, Ali yang menaklukkan permainan lelucon di Klan Bintang, … Ali yang menyaksikan kejadian robohnya tiang listrik di belakang sekolah, awal semua petualangan kami. (How could it be possible? After all our adventures in parallel universe, after all those, our friendship will end here. Ali will let himself being locked up here; so, we can be home. Ali who was good at playing guessing games in the Matahari Clan when the competition for the first sunflower blooms, … Ali who always amuses Seli when she is sad and discouraged, Ali who won the hilarious game in Bintang Clan, … Ali who witnessed the incident of the electric pole behind the school, the beginning of all our adventures.) (Raib’s POV in Ceros, page 120)

”Aku tidak akan menyerangmu. Percuma. Kamu akan lebih dulu melumpuhkanku. Tapi setidaknya, aku berdiri di depan sahabat terbaikku, membelanya. Itulah gunanya teman. Mungkin kamu tidak memahaminya, karena dua ratus tahun terakhir, kamu sendirian di dalam penjara, tidak punya teman—” (“I'm not going to attack you. It's useless. You will paralyze me instead. But at least, I stand in front of my best friend, defend her. That is what friends are for. I bet you don't understand it, because the last hundred years, you were alone in the prison, without any friends—”) (Ali in Batozar, page 291)

In this novel, I personally did not find any serious flaws. Somehow, on page 125, in the first part, CEROS, there is a miswritten adverb of time “122 seconds”. It is related to the time The Three had been spending in Bor-O-Bdur. It was supposedly written “122 hours” instead. Some other typos or mistyped have been found in this novel, but they are not blocking my way to finish this book for it is too incredible as the spin-off stories!

Even though Ceros dan Batozar’s plot doesn’t talk about The Three’s main mission to prevent The Uncrowned Man to take control of the universes, it is still a primary reading list for you who cannot miss any discoveries related to the main plot. This novel is not only drawing full of dramatic sense, but it is also a worthwhile one to expand your thinking of how logical this series is compared with the real universe. You can easily buy the original book in any official bookstore or get it online on a legal reading platform such iPusnas or iJogja.

How is your feeling after reading this article?

• interested; will look and read the novel
• interested; will add to the reading list
• not sure; consider it later
• not interested