Originally published in the Canberra Weekly on 12 September 2019.
Make sure to check out my extended reviews of The Bone Fire and Spaceside.
Tag: Canberra Weekly Review
Canberra Weekly Column – Young Adult
Originally published in the Canberra Weekly on 8 August 2019.
Make sure to check out my extended reviews for Graveyard Shift in Ghost Town, War of the Bastards and Dark Blade.
DEV1AT3 by Jay Kristoff
Publisher: Allen & Unwin (Trade Paperback – 17 June 2019)
Series: LIFEL1K3 – Book 2
Length: 423 pages
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
From one of the most prolific young adult fiction authors, Jay Kristoff, comes the follow up to his electrifying 2018 smash-hit LIFEL1K3, DEV1AT3.
Over the last few years, Australian author Jay Kristoff has been one of the leading contributors to young adult fiction, writing several bestselling series. His works include The Lotus War series, the highly regarded The Nevernight Chronicles, and The Illuminae Files, which he co-wrote with fellow Australian Amie Kaufman. DEV1AT3 is actually the second of three Kristoff books being released this year, as he has already released the first book in his second collaborative series with Kaufman, Aurora Rising. Darkdawn, the third and final book in The Nevernight Chronicles, is set to be released in early September.
People who keep an eye on my blog may have noticed that I did a short review of DEV1AT3 a few weeks ago in a Canberra Weekly column. I have been meaning to write up an extended review of the book for a while now, as it was quite an enjoyable book with a lot of cool features. DEV1AT3 follows on from the incredibly popular first book, LIFEL1K3. The LIFEL1K3 series follows the adventures of four young friends in the dangerous post-apocalyptic remains of America, now controlled by rival mega-companies and gangs of religious fanatics.
DEV1AT3 is set in the immediate aftermath of the dramatic conclusion of LIFEL1K3, when the protagonist of the first book, Eve, found out the terrible truth of her origin: she is secretly a lifelike, an android who can ignore the Three Laws of Robotics. Worse, she is actually a replica of Ana Monrova, the daughter of the creator of the lifelikes, Nicholas Monrova, whose creations rebelled against him and killed his entire family. With the realisation that everything she has ever known is a lie, Eve begins to plot with the murderous Gabriel and the other lifelikes to find the comatose body of Ana. While Eve simply wants to kill the woman whose life she is imitating; the other lifelikes will use Ana’s body to unlock Monrova’s secrets in order to start a robot revolution.
Out in the post-apocalyptic wastelands surrounding Babel, Eve’s friends, Lemon Fresh, Ezekiel and Cricket, have seen better days. Not only were each of them forced to abandon Eve for different reasons but they must all face their individual consequence of the events that occurred within Babel. When unexpected events force them to separate, each of these friends find themselves in a whole world of trouble.
Lemon Fresh’s status as a deviate, a genetic mutant with the ability to manipulate electricity, has always landed her in trouble, but now she finds herself the ultimate pawn in a war between two of the major corporations that rule the land. Kidnapped by an agent of BioMaas Incorporated, Lemon eventually finds herself falling in with a band of fellow deviate teenagers, each with their own unique abilities, and whose leader, the Major, may hold the secrets to her past.
At the same time, the logika Cricket is stolen and sold to the Brotherhood, a group of religious fanatics determined to destroy every android, deviate and genetically modified being they can find. As the Brotherhood edges closer to a war with the Major’s deviates, Cricket is forced to fight as a robot gladiator while learning the dark secrets at the heart of the cult. Meanwhile, Ezekiel, the one lifelike with any love for humanity, teams up with an old enemy in order to track down Lemon Fresh and Cricket. However, when Ezekiel’s mission leads him into the path of Eve and his other lifelike brothers and sisters, he attempts to find a way to stop their destructive crusade and save his beloved Ana.
This was a fantastic piece of young adult fiction that does a wonderful job of following up the first book in the series. Kristoff tells an exciting story which not only continues the plot lines of the first book but which also takes the characters in some intriguing new directions. However, despite some differences in plot focus, the book continues to feature the cool allusions to other works of fiction that made the first book such a treat to read, and it continues to explore aspects of this intriguing post-apocalyptic setting. Readers who did not get the chance to read the first book, LIFEL1K3, last year will easily be able to start by reading DEV1AT3. Not only is the story quite accessible but it also starts off with an extremely detailed summary of the events and characters from the first book, which allows anyone to fully catch up with where the plot is.
One of the most interesting changes between this book and LIFEL1K3 is that the protagonist of the first book, Eve, is instead cast as an antagonist, and we end up seeing very little of the book’s plot from her point of view. Instead, the plot of DEV1AT3 is mostly split between the three perspectives of Lemon Fresh, Cricket and Ezekiel, who each have their own unique storylines. Each of these storylines is noticeably different, with all three of them making use of some unique features to help create an intriguing and emotionally strong story. The reader gets a real feel for all three of these point-of-view characters throughout the course of their individual plots, and several intriguing new side-characters are introduced. These separate storylines come together to form one amazing overall narrative, which ends with an amazing cliff-hanger for each of the main characters that will ensure readers will have to check out the final book in this series when it comes out.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the LIFEL1K3 series is that each of the books is marketed as a crazy mash-up of several different works of fiction. For example, the first book in the series had a real Alita Battle Angel crossed with Mad Max and Blade Runner vibe to it. Many of the references to the plots of various other media titles that were started in the first book are continued in DEV1AT3. For example, the whole Mad Max vibe of life in the wasteland is actually really enhanced in this book, as the vast majority of the story is spent out in the nuclear wastes and smaller outposts that make up the ruins of America, with a number of crazy car chases in souped-up doomsday vehicles featured throughout. We also get a deeper look at the whole Bladerunner aspect of the story, as Eve comes to terms with actually being a lifelike and attempts to get revenge for her creation.
In this second book, Kristoff’s plot also makes allusions to several other pieces of fiction in the three various storylines. For example, Lemon Fresh’s storyline is an interesting post-apocalyptic take on the X-Men, with the super-powered teen finding kinship with a group of similarly gifted individuals in a world that hates and fears them. The new deviates introduced in this storyline have a pretty cool range of powers, have all been attacked because of their abilities and even have a wise old mentor character in the Major. The various twists associated with this storyline are really clever, and it was interesting to see more deviates aside from Lemon. Ezekiel also has a great storyline within DEV1AT3. While much of his story is still tied up with his feelings for Eve, the lifelike copy of the woman he loves, and all the Bladerunner-esque emotions and thoughts he and his lifelike family experienced in the first book, Kristoff adds a fun new element to his storyline in this book. For much of his storyline, Ezekiel actually teams up with Preacher, the cyborg bounty hunter who was an antagonist of the first book. This is a very fun team-up, and it harkens back to a lot of classic odd-couple crime movies, with the two having a very rocky relationship that kind of improves as the story goes along.
I personally liked Cricket’s storyline the most. Cricket is a logika, a sentient robot who must obey the Three Laws of Robotics. Cricket, who was previously a small assistant robot, had his personality transferred into a massive combat robot in the last book. However, he is kidnapped by members of the Brotherhood, the insidious religious group fighting against Lemon Fresh’s new deviate brethren. Cricket, who has to obey all the orders given to him by the Brotherhood due to the Three Laws of Robotics, is forced to fight in a series of gladiatorial combats. This storyline gives the reader the best insight into the ranks of the Brotherhood, and Cricket uncovers certain secrets while working for them. With the whole Three Laws aspect, this storyline is obviously very reminiscent of the science fiction classic I, Robot; however, Kristoff comes up with some humorous takes on the Three Laws. Thanks to the assistance of the snarky logika Solomon (who I found to be one of the funniest characters in DEV1AT3), Cricket starts to learn how to utilise the loopholes in people’s statements, so he has a degree of freedom and he also makes use of a simple solution to counteract one of the laws, which was pretty funny. All of these references to these established pieces of fiction are great, and I really liked how the author adapted them to fit his compelling young adult story. I especially enjoyed seeing some complex science fiction ideas, such as Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics, explained to a younger audience, with some cool tweaks to make a more entertaining and modern story.
In addition to fun story and clever references to other works, one of the most interesting things about the LIFEL1K3 series is the cool post-apocalyptic setting that the author has come up with. The nuclear ruins of America always makes for an intriguing setting for a story, and I really enjoyed the cool combination that Kristoff makes in this series with savage nuclear wasteland and high-tech cities. The sheer amount of creativity that Kristoff utilises for the setting is really impressive, as this book alone features wars between rival corporations, desert-dwelling religious nuts, mutants, rebelling androids, bandits and mutated monsters. All of these are utilised extremely well in the story, and I look forward to seeing what other cool aspects of this broken world become apparent in the next instalment of this series.
DEV1AT3 is another wild ride from Jay Kristoff that I had a lot of fun reading. Featuring an excellent story that makes great use of references to some classic pieces of science fiction and fantasy, DEV1AT3 is a fantastic read that refuses to slow down for everything. This is a highly recommended read for the older young adult market, and it will also appeal to older readers. I am extremely curious to see where Kristoff takes this story next and look forward to another electrifying adventure in this mad-cap world.
Throwback Thursday – Canberra Weekly Column – Historical Fiction
Reviewed as part of my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.
Originally published in The Canberra Weekly on 19 January 2017.
My above review for While the Moon Burns ended up being featured on the back cover of the paperback release of the book, as well as on the back cover of it’s sequel, From the Stars Above.
Make sure to also check out my reviews for the sequel to Treason, Cradle, as well as my reviews for Peter Watt’s next two books, From the Stars Above and The Queen’s Colonial.
Canberra Weekly Column – Australian Fiction
Originally published in the Canberra Weekly on 27 June 2019.
Make sure to check out my extended reviews for DEV1AT3 and The Emerald Tablet.
The Last Second by Catherine Coulter and J. T. Ellison
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (Trade Paperback – 26 March 2019)
Series: A Brit in the FBI – Book 6
Length: 449 pages
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Looking for a fun action thriller with a madcap villainous plot? Look no further than the latest book in the electrifying A Brit in the FBI thriller series, The Last Second, from bestselling author Catherine Coulter and her collaborator on this series, J. T. Ellison.
In the world of private space enterprise, no company is shining brighter than Galactus. Under the stewardship of its CEO, former NASA astronaut Dr Nevaeh Patel, Galactus makes its money launching communications satellites into orbit. However, Dr Patel has just secretly placed a nuclear-triggered electromagnetic pulse (EMP) device into the latest satellite Galactus has launched into space. If triggered, the EMP could not only knock out power on the planet’s surface but also devastate the satellites surrounding Earth, throwing humanity back to the Stone Age.
Dr Patel believes that while in space she was contacted by a race of aliens, known as the Numen, who have chosen her to introduce them to the world. Forced out of NASA, Dr Patel is convinced that if she destroys the satellites encircling the planet then the Numen will be able to journey down to Earth and proclaim her as their prophet. However, before she triggers the device, Dr Patel requires one specific item: the Holy Grail.
Dr Patel’s boss, the owner of Galactus, Jean-Pierre Broussard, is an avid treasure hunter who believes he has found the location of the Holy Grail off the coast of Malaysia. Dr Patel wants to use the grail to gain immortality so she can rule Earth together with the Numen. However, her attack on Broussard draws the attention of FBI Special Agents Nicholas Drummond and Michaela Caine, who quickly tie the assault with rumours of the impending detonation of an EMP. Racing against the clock, and competing with terrorists, spies and fanatics, Drummond and Caine must find a way to stop Dr Patel before it is too late and the world as we know it ends.
The Last Second is the sixth book in the A Brit in the FBI series, which spins off from Coulter’s long-running FBI Thriller series. Catherine Coulter is a true veteran of the fiction world, having been writing since 1978 with her debut novel, The Autumn Countess (or just The Countess). Since then she has written over 80 books, including her long-running The Sherbrooke series and the Baron, Night, Legacy and The Magic trilogies.
Coulter’s most famous work is probably her FBI Thriller series, which she has been writing since 1996. Currently featuring 22 novels, with a 23rd book on the way, the FBI Thriller series focuses on FBI agents solving a range of different crimes throughout the United States. A Brit in the FBI is a spin-off series that Coulter co-writes with fellow murder mystery and thriller writer J. T. Ellison. Ellison already has a number of her own books and series, including her Dr. Samantha Owens and Lieutenant Taylor Jackson series, but has been collaborating with Coulter since 2013.
A Brit in the FBI is set in the same universe as the FBI Thriller series and has featured some the characters from the FBI Thriller series in the past. The A Brit in the FBI books contain much more over-the-top adventures than the FBI Thriller books. For example, the fifth book in the series, The Sixth Day, features drones being controlled by a descendent of Vlad the Impaler assassinating major political figures throughout Europe.
I read the latest book in the Coulter’s FBI Thriller series, Paradox, last year and really enjoyed the clever and compelling murder mystery and thriller storyline it contained. As a result, I was interested to see what Coulter’s second series was like, especially after seeing some of the crazy-sounding plot synopses that the series has. The plot synopsis for The Last Second in particular also sounded pretty fun (aliens, EMPs and the Holy Grail, oh my) and I found myself in the mood for an exciting and over-the-top thriller. Luckily, I was not disappointed by this latest offering from Coulter and Ellison.
The Last Second is a deeply entertaining thriller with one heck of a crazy story that I had a very hard time putting down. It is chocked full of action, as the two main protagonists attempt to uncover the devastating plot in front of them and go through all manner of opponents and danger to save the world.
The story is told from a range of different perspectives, as nearly every major character in the book has at least one point-of-view chapter, often with a countdown timer at the front of it to let the reader know how much time remains until the EMP goes off. In addition to the stories set in the present, there are also a number of chapters that dive back into the past of the antagonist, Dr Patel. These chapters show how Dr Patel’s descent into madness began, and the factors that led her to launching an EMP into space.
Dr Patel’s backstory is pretty entertaining, and the reader is left wondering for a large part of the book whether the aliens Dr Patel believes she encountered, the Numen, are actually real or just in her head. The result was pretty much what I was expecting, but it was still a lot of fun to see where Coulter and Ellison took her story. I also liked the chapters which focused on her revenge against the people from her past who wronged her and got her kicked out of NASA, as well as the scenes where she worked to obtain the EMP. Dr Patel’s bodyguard/lover Kiera is another interesting inclusion. Adding a red haired, Irish terrorist trained lesbian to an already crazy story could be seen as overkill, but I quite liked it, especially as she had an amazing fight sequence with one of the protagonists near the end of the book.
Fans of the A Brit in the FBI Thriller series will love to see the two FBI agent protagonists, Drummond and Caine, back in action and the authors have made sure to bring back several recurring characters from the previous books in the series. Those readers who have not read any of the previous novels in the FBI Thriller or the A Brit in the FBI series should have no problem getting into this book. Coulter and Ellison ensure that their story is quite accessible to new readers, and anyone interested in enjoying a new thriller will easily be to have fun with this book.
The Last Second by Catherine Coulter and J. T. Ellison was everything that I hoped it would be and more. The authors make great use of their fantastic and crazy plot to create an electrifying and captivating novel that does an amazing job of entertaining the reader. A fantastic new addition to the A Brit in the FBI Thriller series, I cannot wait to see what sort of crazy adventure or plot Drummond and Caine will find themselves in next time.
Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Publisher: Allen & Unwin (Trade Paperback – 6 May 2019)
Series: Aurora Cycle – Book 1
Length: 470 pages
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
The superstar team of Australian young adult fiction authors Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff comes together once more to create an outstanding, heartfelt and deeply entertaining new novel that may prove to be one of the best young adult books of 2019.
Kaufman and Kristoff are two of the biggest and most creative authors currently writing young adult fiction. Kaufman is probably best known for her work with Meagan Spooner, where they have co-authored the Starbound trilogy and Unearthed series of books, the second book of which, Undying, was released earlier this year. She is also in the process of writing her own Elementals series, with the second book, Scorch Dragons, released a month ago. Kristoff first came into prominence with The Lotus War series, which debuted in 2012. Since then he has also written The Nevernight Chronicle, the final book of which is set to be released in September, while his latest book, Lifel1k3, was one of the most talked about young adult releases of 2018. Kristoff’s sequel to Lifel1k3, Dev1at3, is set to be released in a month, and he is currently working on an epic fantasy series, Empire of the Vampire, with the eponymous first book set to be released in September next year.
Kaufman and Kristoff have previously collaborated on the bestselling and award winning The Illuminae Files, a space opera epistolary series made up of three books which ran between 2015 and 2018. Their latest collaboration, Aurora Rising, is another epic piece of young adult science fiction and is the first book in their planned Aurora Cycle series, which is currently set to feature another two books, released in 2020 and 2021.
Aurora Rising is set in the year 2380 and follows a spacefaring team of young adventurers as they attempt to save the galaxy. In the future, humans have expanded out deep into the Milky Way, with fast intergalactic travel made possible through the Fold, dangerous space found on the other side of literal folds in the universe. The Aurora Legion are an independent peacekeeping force made up of humans and several friendly alien races. In order to complete their various humanitarian, exploration and peacekeeping missions, the Aurora Legion sends teams of young legionnaires, who can better withstand the rigors of the Fold, into the field. Each team is made up of six highly trained and skilled individuals, who together can solve any problem they encounter.
Tyler Jones is the star graduating cadet of the Aurora Academy, who, thanks to his dedication and ability, will be given first pick of his fellow graduating cadets to form an elite team. However, when an unscheduled joyride forces him to perform a risky rescue in the Fold, he misses the cadet draft, leaving him with a team of the cadets none of the other graduating squad leaders wanted. These include (the descriptions were copied from the blurb due to accuracy):
- His sister, Scarlet – A cocky diplomat with a blackbelt in sarcasm;
- His best friend, Cat – A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into her squad leader, in case you were wondering;
- Zila – a sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates;
- Finian – a smart-ass tech-whiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder;
- Kal – an alien warrior with anger management issues.
Forced to make the most of his bad luck, Tyler leads his team on a routine mission that quickly turns hairy when a hostile force of aliens seek to destroy them. However, genocidal aliens are the least of their problems, when they discover that the girl Tyler saved in the Fold, Aurora O’Malley, has stowed away on their ship. Aurora, the only survivor of a colony ship long thought lost, is 200 years out of time and desperate to figure out what happened to her colony and the family she left behind. The squad discovers that she is far more significant than they could ever imagine when she displays strange abilities and impossible knowledge of both the past and future. When shadowy government agents attempt to arrest Aurora, the squad are forced to go rogue to solve the mystery and end up in a race to save the galaxy.
Aurora Rising is a spectacular read, as these skilled authors take the reader through an intense young adult science fiction adventure in an intriguing new universe. The book’s story as a whole is an outstanding mixture of intense action, enjoyable science fiction elements and excellent character work, all wrapped up with clever storytelling that is both compelling and humorous. There are a number of great scenes and epic moments throughout this book that really highlight this book’s unique style and the writer’s ability to tell a story. For example, I personally liked an extended sequence that followed the protagonists as they embarked on an elaborate and seemingly impossible heist on a massive space station ruled by a vicious crime lord. The overall result is a near perfect read that I had an absolute blast checking out. This is an amazing piece of young adult fiction, with enough action and relatable characters to appeal to all manner of potential teen readers. Older science fiction readers will also have a great time with this book, especially as it sets up a captivating and ambitious new trilogy that will appeal to a huge and diverse audience.
This book is told from the first-person perspectives of the book’s seven protagonists, which includes Aurora and all six members of Tyler’s squad, each of whom gets a series of chapters throughout the book to tell the story. Kaufman and Kristoff make good use of the chapters each of the characters narrate and the reader gets a good idea of each character’s individual personality, as well as important snippets into their individual backstory. The authors also try to differentiate these chapters out a bit for some of the characters. For example, Zila’s chapters are rather short, blunt and analytical in nature, matching her personality, while Scarlet’s chapters feature her listing off the humorous pros and cons of her ex-boyfriends, figuring out which ones to stay in contact with. I really enjoyed how the authors told the story through these seven separate narrators, as not only did it bring me closer to the characters but it allowed the authors to showcase various perspectives of some of the more impressive sequences and events, allowing for a fuller and more intense story.
Aurora Rising features an outstanding complement of main characters, as each member of the squad, including Aurora, are looked at in some detail. I was very impressed with how the authors where able to create such expansive and intriguing backstories for all seven main characters, as each of them has their own issues or concerns. For example, Tyler and Scarlett are living in the shadow of their dead father’s heroics and trying to make him proud, Cat is deeply in love with Tyler and is having a hard time keeping her feelings in check, and Zila struggles with her disconnection with other people brought on by her tragic past. Other examples include the team’s two alien members: Finian, who to hides his feelings of abandonment behind his brilliance and snark; and Kal, who is torn between guilt about what his race’s warrior caste, of which he is a member, has done to his home planet and his surprising feelings for one of the other members of his squad. Aurora is perhaps one of the most complex characters, waking after 200 years to find that everything and everyone she knew is dead and parts of her past have been hidden for nefarious reasons. Add into that her discovery of uncontrollable mental abilities and the feeling that something mysterious is guiding her and she has a lot to worry about. One of the best things about this book is that whilst all seven characters are fairly complex individually, the book’s true strength revolves around the fact that when these characters come together they are an extremely dysfunctional crew. The crew starts off as a rebellious and overly sarcastic mess unable to work together effectively, even with their individual abilities and strengths. However, as the book continues, they do learn to cooperate to a degree, and the reader is made to really care for them, both individually and as a whole. I loved how these character relationships expanded and strengthened throughout the book, and I had a lot of fun with this humorous and entertaining group of people.
I really enjoyed the universe that Kaufman and Kristoff crafted to fit around this enjoyable and intriguing story. Visions of humanity’s future can always be a bit hit or miss, but I thought that the science fiction setting that the authors utilise in this book, which sees humanity expanding and interacting with other races while dark secrets and wars build up in the background, to be a fun and well-thought-out setting. The characters visit an interesting and inventive number of locations through the book, all of which really add to Aurora Rising’s adventure and action.
I liked the author’s concept of the Aurora Legion, an intergalactic peacekeeping organisation that sends teenage operatives into action due to science fiction reasons. One of the things I quite enjoyed about this was how these teams were designed to have six members whose joint abilities and specialities would allow them to anticipate and overcome any problem. As a result the teams are made up of:
- Alphas – leaders
- Faces – diplomats
- Aces – pilots
- Gearheads – mechanics/inventors/technicians
- Tanks – combat specialists
- Brains – science officers/medics
This team breakdown proved to be quite an interesting concept, even if they do sound like party roles in a MMORPG (tank, healer, DPS etc). I liked this idea and the various characters slid into the roles quite effectively.
I also had a lot of fun with the universe-expanding insertions that Kaufman and Kristoff placed before a number of the book’s chapters. These insertions are written as information pages being read by Aurora on her uniglass, an AI tablet called Magellan, who has a playful sense of humour and who also provides some amusing commentary within the story. These information pages provide the reader extra information about the universe, including about the Aurora Legions, the roles of the squads’ various members, the history of the universe, alien species, locations the protagonists visit and other relevant inclusions. While each of these pages contains universe factual information, Magellan adds humorous twists to each of these pages which are very entertaining and really fit into the easy going and entertaining mood of most of the book. However, these information pages do change and get more serious in the darker parts of the book, which also helps prepare the reader for the shift in mood. I loved these inclusions, not only appreciating the inventive universe building they allowed, but also the fun take on the classic idea of in-universe media inclusions.
Aurora Rising is an absolutely fantastic book that blasts off with action, humour and amazing characters to create a deeply compelling and relentlessly entertaining story. Australian authors Kaufman and Kristoff are an outstanding writing duo, and their latest collaboration is an amazing piece of young adult fiction that brilliantly establishes their new trilogy and ensures that future instalments of the Aurora Cycle will be some of the most sought after young adult books for 2020 and 2021. Aurora Rising comes highly recommended from me, and it is one of my favourite new young adult books of 2019 so far.
In a Great Southern Land by Mary-Anne O’Connor
Publisher: HQ (Trade Paperback format – 18 March 2019)
Series: Standalone
Length: 416 pages
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Historical drama author Mary-Anne O’Connor once again presents the readers with a powerful and moving journey through a number of iconic moments in Australian history with her fourth book, In a Great Southern Land, which focuses on Australia’s colonial history and the chaos surrounding the infamous Eureka Stockade.
In 1851, the colonised but still mythical continent of Australia represents many things for many different people. For the Clancy family living in Ireland it represents freedom, as they seek their own land away from the British aristocracy that controls their country. For young Eve Richards it represents a harsh prison; she is unfairly transported as a convict after losing everything that she cares about.
Once in New South Wales, Eve briefly encounters the wild but kind Clancy brother, Kieran, who manages to save her from a harsh life in the Tasmanian colonies. Following a bad experience as he left Ireland, Kieran is wondering around Australia in search of a new purpose, while his family, including his brother, Liam, and his sister, Eileen, settle in Orange. Despite the love of his family, Kieran’s temper and thirst for adventure leads him down to the goldfields at Ballarat, close to where Eve is employed as a convict servant.
It does not take long for Kieran and Eve to find each other again, and the two are soon drawn together romantically. However, their plans for their future and a life together are imperilled by events occurring around the goldfields. The corrupt colonial regime is imposing harsh taxes on the miners attempting to scratch a living at the fields, and resentment and hostility is growing. When several shocking events become a catalyst for revolt among the miners, Kieran finds himself being forced to choose between supporting his friends or marrying Eve. Can Kieran and Eve’s relationship survive the chaos of the Eureka Stockade, or will tragedy once again strike them both?
This is the fourth book from Australian author Mary-Anne O’Connor, who specialises in historical dramas set in the backdrop of significant events in Australia’s history. Her 2015 debut, Gallipoli Street, features aspects of World Wars I and II as well as the Great Depression. Her second book, Worth Fighting For, is set in World War II, while her third book, War Flower, focuses on Australia in the 1960s, including the country’s involvement in the Vietnam War. In a Great Southern Land is the author’s first foray into a 19th century setting, and her love and dedication to recounting parts of Australia’s complex and chaotic history once again shines through.
At its heart, In a Great Southern Land is a dramatic story of several individuals who are searching for a new beginning, and find love, loss and upheaval in their new home. I have to admit that dramatic novels are not usually the sort of book that I am naturally drawn to, but something about this book really appealed to me and I had a great time reading it. The main characters are extremely sympathetic and realistic, and the reader can not help but get drawn into their story. A lot of bad stuff affects all of them, especially Kieran and Eve, and you are left hoping that they can hang on and find the happiness that they deserve. I quite enjoyed the romance angle between Kieran and Eve; it came about quite naturally and had quite a satisfying conclusion. I really got into this fantastic story and I was impressed by how this fantastic dramatic tale was woven so effectively into the book’s amazing historical elements.
One of the things I quite liked about this book was O’Connor’s ability to examine and bring several aspects of Australia’s colonial history to life. Several iconic parts of the mid-19th century Australian experience are explored by the author, including the transportation of convicted criminals from England to Australia, the often terrible convict lifestyle, the resettlement of Irish settlers to various parts of Australia and the trials and tribulations of those seeking their fortunes in the goldfields. On top of that, O’Connor also explores various Australian locations, including historical Sydney, Melbourne, Orange and Ballarat. All of these examinations of history are deeply fascinating, and I really enjoyed reading about them. The author has obvious skill at portraying all the historical aspects, and the reader gets a real sense of what it would have been like to experience these historical events, ordeals and locations.
The most significant historical event that occurs within this book is the Eureka Stockade, which plays a huge role in the overall story. O’Connor does an amazing job examining this interesting and often venerated piece of Australia’s colonial history and explores so many of the key elements surrounding the event. As such, the reader gets an excellent idea of what events led up to the Eureka Stockade, and why the participants thought it was necessary to organise as they did. The actual battle at the Eureka Stockade is pretty brutal and tragic for the reader and becomes one of the major parts within the book. I quite liked the examination of the aftermath of the event, especially the rather entertaining, but apparently accurate, courtroom sequence, which I was not as familiar with. O’Connor does a fantastic job brining the Eureka Stockade to life, and I was quite impressed with how it was utilised in the telling of the book’s dramatic storylines.
I really enjoyed the author’s underlying examination of freedom and control that seemed to permeate a large amount of In a Great Southern Land’s plot. Throughout the story, the main characters experience high amounts of oppression or prejudice, often from upper-class English characters, due to a wide range of social factors. For example, before the Clancy family leave for Australia, they are oppressed by the rich, English family who controls their land and whose greed takes something precious from Kieran. Eve is taken advantage of by the son of the household she works for and is then cast out when the affair is discovered without the son standing up for her. Even when they reach the promised land of Australia, the characters are still oppressed. The Clancy family still face discrimination for being Irish, with the police targeting Kieran, and one particularly dislikeable doctor refusing to leave a party to treat someone from Ireland. Eve, on the other hand, is treated poorly as a convict, and even after she finds work with a nice, wealthy family, she and Kieran are forced to act a certain way with Eve’s employers in order to gain permission to marry. This underlying oppression and the resentment and anger that these characters felt plays wonderfully into the events that led up to the Eureka Stockade, and it was intriguing to see how these events affected the characters’ decisions in relation to these events.
In this book, Mary-Anne O’Connor has produced another outstanding historical drama that the reader really gets drawn into. The main story is deep and emotive and ties in well with O’Connor’s rich and detailed depictions of historical events that represent key points in Australia’s colonial history. In a Great Southern Land is an amazing and powerful read that I was quite happy to find myself really enjoying. I ranked this book 4.5 stars, and I will be quite interested to see what period of Australian history O’Connor decides to explore next.
The Secret Runners of New York by Matthew Reilly
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia (Trade Paperback Format – 26 March 2019)
Series: Standalone/Book 1
Length: 328 pages
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
The end of the world has nothing on the horrors of high school in this fast-paced and widely entertaining new book from bestselling Australian author Matthew Reilly.
When Skye Rogers and her twin brother, Red, are forced to move to New York city, they are enrolled in the prestigious The Monmouth School, learning institute of choice for the city’s ultra-wealthy and social elite. Even among the children of the rich and powerful there exists a well-established hierarchy, and in The Monmouth School, the top of the social ladder are the friends and cronies of the Collins sisters, Misty and Chastity. Despite only wanting a quiet existence in her new school, Skye finds herself drawn into their orbit against her better judgement.
Skye soon discovers that hanging out with the Collins sisters is very different from the usual high school cliques. The social group is probably the most exclusive in New York, and it comes with certain privileges. Thanks to an ancient family secret, the Collins sisters are able to activate an ancient tunnel beneath Central Park that allows teenagers to run through an alternate version of New York: a post-apocalyptic nightmare littered with ruined buildings and filled with crazed survivors.
When Skye and her fellow runners find evidence that the New York they are visiting is actually a future version of their own timeline, they need to find a way to come to terms with the end of the world, especially as the apocalypse appears to be only days away. As society starts to crumble and the poor rise up against the rich, Skye tries to find a way to use her knowledge of the future to save everyone she loves. However, Skye is about to learn that her new friends are far more concerned with revenge and are planning to use the end of the world to take her down.
Matthew Reilly is a veteran author of weird and electrifying fiction, having written a number of intriguing books in the last 20 years, many of which fall within the techno-thriller or science fiction genres. In addition to a number of fun sounding standalone novels, Reilly has also published two substantial series, the Shane Schofield series and the Jack West Jr series. Matthew Reilly is one of those authors that I have been meaning to check out for some time, as a number of his novels sound absolutely bonkers and really creative. I am particularly drawn to his 2014 release, The Great Zoo of China, which essentially sounds like Jurassic Park with dragons; his 2013 historical thriller The Tournament; and the books in the Jack West Jr series, which features secret organisations fighting for control of ancient artefacts with world-and universe-ending potential.
I was therefore very excited to get an advanced copy of The Secret Runners of New York, due to its intriguing time travel and armageddon concepts. I actually really enjoyed The Secret Runners of New York and had a lot of fun reading it. The book features a surprisingly entertaining use of over-the-top high school drama that actually combines really well with the interesting science fiction elements mentioned above. The result is an unpredictable and amusing overall story that I had a very hard time putting down and which I powered through in very short order.
The book revolves around the students at The Monmouth School (you have to say the “The”; it’s that type of place), New York’s premier high school for the rich and snooty. Please remind me to never send any of my theoretical children to any school thought up by Reilly, as the author creates a learning institution that is essentially a viper’s nest of bitchiness, enforced social hierarchy and petty revenge, all of which is enhanced by the fact that the characters are all ultra-rich or have massive superiority complexes. The quote below from main character Skye, one of the few well-adjusted characters in the book, shows her experiences within the first few minutes at The Monmouth School:
“In the space of a few minutes I’d seen a taunt about sluttiness, a threatened punch to the uterus, some humble bragging by the Head Girl about the school’s social status and a dose of good old-fashioned mean-girl passive aggressiveness from Misty. School, I reflected sadly, was school no matter how high the tuition fees were.”
I have to admit I did find Reilly’s portrayal of most of the rich teenage girls in this book to be a tad extreme and unrealistic (yes, in a book featuring time travel, that’s what I am finding unrealistic). I have never been and never will be a teenage girl, but I hope that teenage girls in high school couldn’t possibly be as petty and vicious as the girls portrayed within this book, even if they are the daughters of the uber-privileged. That being said, I found this over-the-top viewpoint of high school life to be extremely entertaining and it was a fantastic element throughout the book. Watching the level-headed and somewhat cynical protagonist have to deal with this insanity was a lot of fun, especially when you would imagine most people would be more concerned with the end of the world than with who made out with which guy. An unbelievably amusing part of the story, these high school elements are great, just try and avoid thinking about it too much.
In addition to the look at the mean girls of high school, I did quite enjoy Reilly’s critique of the ultra-rich and powerful in New York City. The protagonist finds herself drawn into the world of debutant balls, society politics and the other classy responsibilities of being rich in New York. Again, this is an interesting part of the story, and the rich characters with their extravagant lifestyles do offer a nice disconnect from reality. I liked Reilly’s examination of how the rich would be targeted during apocalyptic events such as the one portrayed within this book, and it played nicely into some of the current protests and perceptions of the 1%. it’s another glorious over-the-top element for this book that provides the reader with a lot of entertainment and a real dislike of most of the privileged characters.
The science fiction parts of this book are incredibly well done and are an excellent part of this book. Not only is there a devastating cosmic storm that will wipe out most of humanity in hours, but there is an unrelated magical tunnel that the protagonists can use to visit the future. Reilly does an amazing job creating a devastating and crazy post-apocalyptic New York City for the readers to explore. I was really impressed with all the brutal descriptions of how the city was in ruins and had been dramatically reclaimed by nature as the infrastructure falls into disrepair, and the whole thing is an amazing setting that Reilly uses to full effect. I really liked how the author uses the time travel elements within the book. Watching the protagonists slowly work out that this world is a future version of their own timeline is amazing, and it was great seeing them see all the testimonials and letters from their families describing the events that are yet to happen in their future. The various time travelling shenanigans used by both the protagonists and antagonists of this book helped enhance this already exciting story, and I loved the way that the characters are able to see the consequences of their actions in both timelines before they actually happen.
The author has also utilised some eye-catching visual elements throughout the book to enhance the story being told. There are a number of maps used to show the key locations of the book, and there are even a couple of diagrams used to explain the potential time travel issues in this book. I personally liked the way that the font changed to signify the characters going into a different timeline and thought it was a nice touch. A range of other text techniques are used to signify angry or desperate messages on different locations, such as walls or the entirety of buildings, often conveying the emotion behind these messages. All these visual treats are great, and they really make this book stand out.
The Secret Runners of New York is currently being marketed to the teen and young adult audiences, but this book is really on the edge of what young adult fiction is. While it is focused on teenage characters in high school, there are a significant number of very adult inclusions throughout the book. It is interesting to note that in an interview at the back of the book, Reilly himself indicates that he does not see this story as being as a piece of young adult fiction, and I think that is shown in the way that he wrote this over-the-top story. There is a high level of violence, drug use, coarse language and sexual references featured throughout this book, and as a result, I would say it is not really appropriate for the younger audiences and is probably more suited for older teenage readers. This is definitely one of those young adult marketed books that adult readers can really enjoy, and there is no upper limit on enjoying this crazy tale.
This was an incredibly entertaining and captivating book that I had a lot of fun with. Matthew Reilly pulls no punches when it comes to portraying the book’s petty and vicious teenage rich girl antagonists, which turns an already intriguing science fiction book into a wild thrill ride of revenge, betrayal and insanity. I have to say that I quite enjoyed my first taste of Matthew Reilly’s writing and I am extremely keen to check out some of his other works in the future. At the moment The Secret Runners of New York is a standalone book, although the author leaves a number of storylines open for sequels or prequels, and I would be interested to see where he takes the story next.
The Unseen Library 