Being a father of two in my late twenties, I’ve not read much YA fiction (apart from The Hunger Games, Go Read It NOW!), as I’m outside the demographic. But when I was offered the chance to read this new offering from Nate D. Burleigh I jumped at the chance. In the past I’ve read a few of his short tales and have being suitably impressed, so I thought why not?
Without giving too much away the story, set in late eighties America involves a young man named Coert who discovers by way of a genetic awaking, has developed extraordinary powers, giving him a God-like power over the rest humanity, who he must harvest in order to gain sustenance in order to continue using his great power. But it seems a power even greater than himself is stalking the students of his high school.
There’s enough twists and turns in this to keep your attention, even if it is aimed generally at a teen audience, I enjoyed it all the same and found myself chuckling in places at a few of the one-liners. The action scenes are excellently described and there’s enough gore without scaring off younger readers.
The monster is apt, tying in nicely with the story and various legends and mythologies, making for a brutal and seemingly indestructible villain who ever hungers for the end of humanity (which good villain doesn’t?).
The setting of late eighties America is beautifully caught as is the parlance of the times, Burleigh takes you there, creating an atmosphere you can’t deny was once real and really mattered to the author.
My only sore point is the ending was a little abrupt, I like things tied off nice and neatish when I finish a novel, and the cliff-hanger ending, whilst keeping the story open ended for an obvious sequel, wasn’t needed in the way it was done.
A well crafted story, deserved of its praise. Though I suspect that a younger crowd might gain more enjoyment from this that I did, still a decent read that held my attention throughout.
Without giving too much away the story, set in late eighties America involves a young man named Coert who discovers by way of a genetic awaking, has developed extraordinary powers, giving him a God-like power over the rest humanity, who he must harvest in order to gain sustenance in order to continue using his great power. But it seems a power even greater than himself is stalking the students of his high school.
There’s enough twists and turns in this to keep your attention, even if it is aimed generally at a teen audience, I enjoyed it all the same and found myself chuckling in places at a few of the one-liners. The action scenes are excellently described and there’s enough gore without scaring off younger readers.
The monster is apt, tying in nicely with the story and various legends and mythologies, making for a brutal and seemingly indestructible villain who ever hungers for the end of humanity (which good villain doesn’t?).
The setting of late eighties America is beautifully caught as is the parlance of the times, Burleigh takes you there, creating an atmosphere you can’t deny was once real and really mattered to the author.
My only sore point is the ending was a little abrupt, I like things tied off nice and neatish when I finish a novel, and the cliff-hanger ending, whilst keeping the story open ended for an obvious sequel, wasn’t needed in the way it was done.
A well crafted story, deserved of its praise. Though I suspect that a younger crowd might gain more enjoyment from this that I did, still a decent read that held my attention throughout.
RSS Feed