Take some ordinary teenagers, throw in a billion-dollar biopharmaceuticals company, genetic engineering, morally corrupt scientists and some sexual tension, and you have Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate’s fantastic new book, Eve and Adam.
To celebrate the release of Eve and Adam I’m giving away 2 hardback copies.
Thanks to everyone who entered. This competition is now closed.
I think I’m probably James Dashner’s number one fan (outside of the US). His Maze Runner Trilogy is one of my favourite series and the first book, The Maze Runner, is in my top 5 books. It’s one of those books that keeps you constantly on edge, trying to figure out what the heck is going on, and James Dashner’s amazing storytelling sends a shiver down your spine. Although the first book is my favourite of the series, James keeps you in suspense and reveals little pieces of the puzzle throughout the rest of the trilogy (The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure), making you eagerly await the next installment. The Death Cure was the perfect ending to the series, but James felt there was still more of the story he wanted to tell, specifically how the world went to hell in a hand basket and why there needed to be a maze in the first place. The prequel to the Maze Runner Trilogy, The Kill Order, has just been released in the US and I had to know how it all started.
Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares hit the earth and mankind fell to disease.
Mark and Trina were there when it happened, and they survived. But surviving the sun flares was easy compared to what came next.
Now a disease of rage and lunacy races across the eastern United States, and there’s something suspicious about its origin. Worse yet, it’s mutating, and all evidence suggests that it will bring humanity to its knees.
Mark and Trina are convinced there’s a way to save those left living from descending into madness. And they’re determined to find it—if they can stay alive. Because in this new, devastated world, every life has a price. And to some, you’re worth more dead than alive.
I felt completely satisfied after finishing The Death Cure, but The Kill Order is like dessert. James reveals even more pieces of this wonderful puzzle of a story, connects them with pieces from the other books in the trilogy, and turns everything you thought you knew on its head. The story shows us what happened after the sun flares struck the earth, how people coped in the aftermath, where the Flare virus came from and how it spread. It’s told through the eyes of completely new characters, Mark and Trina, and we follow their fight for survival after the sun flares strike the earth. The things that Mark and Trina see are terrifying, horrific and sometimes incredibly creepy. Several times I thought twice about reading it before bed, in case those images stayed in my head. Although they’re different characters, you feel for them just as you felt for Thomas, Teresa and their friends.
Now that I’ve read The Kill Order I desperately want to start the series all over again, because there’s all this new information I didn’t know the first time around. One thing I especially love about The Kill Order is that Thomas and Teresa make an appearance, which really connects this book with the rest of the series. James’ ability to connect all the pieces of his story together left me shaking my head in amazement and thinking ‘Wow, this guy is good!’
If you want a series that blows The Hunger Games out of the water, read The Maze Runner Series.
5 out of 5 stars
N.B. This is the US hardback edition of The Kill Order. The paperback edition, published by Chicken House, will be available in NZ in March 2013. I’m an impatient reader, especially when it comes to series, so I couldn’t wait.
Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate have introduced us to characters that we both love and love to hate. They’ve coauthored over 100 books together, including one of the coolest series of my childhood, Animorphs. Michael is the author of the fantastic Gone series and BZRK, and Katherine stole our hearts earlier this year when she introduced us to the loveable, One and Only Ivan. They’ve joined forces once again to bring us creation story like no other, Eve and Adam.
Evening Spiker is recuperating from a freak accident in her mum’s medical facility. She is healing at a remarkable rate, faster than physically possible. As she grows closer to the hot lab assistant Solo, who seems to be hanging around a lot, she realises that things at Spiker Biotech are not quite as they seem. Joining forces, Solo and Eve uncover a secret so huge it could change the world completely. Spiker Biotech is about more than just saving lives. It’s about creating them.
Eve and Adam is an exciting, futuristic thriller, and one hell of a cool book! Take some ordinary teenagers, throw in a billion-dollar biopharmaceuticals company, genetic engineering, morally corrupt scientists and some sexual tension, and you have Eve and Adam. Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate sure know how to write and they suck you in from the very first sentence. This has to be one of the best first sentences ever – ‘I am thinking of an apple when the streetcar hits and my leg severs and my ribs crumble and my arm is no longer an arm but something unrecognizable, wet and red.’
The narration of the story alternates between Eve (Evening or E.V. to her friends), the daughter of Terra Spiker (head of Spiker Biopharmaceuticals) and Solo who is Terra’s ward. After her accident, Terra gives Eve the task of designing the perfect boy, using special software that her company has developed. After some initial skepticism Eve takes to the task and it takes her mind off her injuries, but it’s not long before she starts to wonder why her leg doesn’t hurt and there are no scars. Solo is a mysterious character and you wonder what his motives are. He seems to be sneaking around looking for something in particular, and puts on an act to make himself seem dumber than he actually is. When he finds what he has been searching for it’s shocking and neither him or Eve are quite prepared for the trouble that follows. Into this mix comes Adam, Eve’s perfect boy. I love the way that Eve describes him when she first sees him in person,
“He’s the most beautiful male I’ve ever seen. Ever. Anywhere. George Clooney and Johnny Depp and Justin Timberlake and all of them, all of them, would be cast as Adam’s less attractive best friend.”
The story is so gripping that I read it in one day. The end left me wondering whether Eve and Adam is the start of a new series or whether it is a stand alone novel. I felt like there were a few unanswered questions so this may not be the last we see of Eve, Adam, Aislin and Solo.
5 out of 5 stars
Sometimes it would be nice to be able to escape your own life and pretend to be someone else. What if you could connect yourself to a virtual world, where you could do exactly that and look completely different. You could have a different face, a different body, and you could even be a unicorn or a dragon. In this virtual world, everything is clean and bright, and you can work, shop and play. Enter the world of the Metashpere in Jeff Norton’s new book, Metawars: Fight for the Future.
Jonah Delacroix can’t stand the real world – so he lives most of his life inside a global computer-based virtual world called the Metasphere, where everyone is represented by an avatar. When he discovers the avatar of his dead father, and assumes his online identity, a series of events are unleashed that compel Jonah to race across the real world with a secret society to protect the freedom of all mankind…
Fight for the Future is the first book in Jeff Norton’s action-packed science fiction series about the fight for cyberspace. The real world has fallen into ruin and humans now spend most of their lives in the Meatasphere, a virtual world full of life and colour, where people work, go to school and socialise. There are two warring factions fighting for what they believe is right. The Millenials believe that the Metashphere should be controlled, but the Guardians believe it should be free. Matthew Granger, the creator of the Metasphere and leader of the Millenials has just escaped prison and will stop at nothing to take back his creation, one piece at a time.
The main character is Jonah Delacroix, a teenager who lives on a bus in the real world with his mum, but like most people, prefers to spend his time in the Metashpere. His father, who was once Matthew Granger’s personal pilot, was killed when a Guardian bomb blew up the airport. Jonah knows where his loyalties lie, but these loyalties are constantly tested in the story. Who do you trust when everyone thinks they’re right? One thing I really liked about the story was that there are no clear villains. They may seem like villains but they’re only fighting for what they believe is right. Matthew Granger’s character was really interesting and I’m looking forward to seeing how Jeff develops his character in the next book.
Metawars is a real boys story and the perfect book to hook reluctant readers. There are heart-stopping action sequences, spies, terrorists and cool characters. It’s sure to grab those video game addicted teens as they’ll understand the allure of wanting to be constantly plugged into the virtual world. To hook them in, all you need to tell them about the book is it’s like Alex Rider crossed with The Matrix. Once they’ve read Fight for the Future they’ll be hooked and eagerly awaiting the sequel The Dead Are Rising.
4 out of 5 stars
Eve and Adam is one of my most anticipated books of the year. It’s written by two amazing authors (and husband and wife) Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate. They’re both amazing authors in their own right, but I’m looking forward to seeing how their imaginations come together in the same story.
Eve and Adam is due out in NZ on 1st October.
In an unforgiving future, two warring factions – the MILLENNIALS and the GUARDIANS – are locked in a brutal battle over control of an online virtual world called the Metasphere.
Jonah Delacroix has always known which side he’s on – the same side as his dead father. But when he assumes his father’s avatar, he learns that things aren’t as black and white as he once believed. He’s catapulted into a full-throttle race through both worlds – but can he find the truth?
Metawars is a great new futuristic Young Adult novel by Jeff Norton. It’s a very cool, action-packed story, kind of like Alex Rider meets The Matrix. Metawars is out now in NZ from Hachette NZ.
Check out these great videos from the two factions of the story.
A Mutiny in Time, the first book in Scholastic’s new interactive series, The Infinity Ring is released today. Like the hugely popular 39 Clues series, the story doesn’t stop when you close the book. It’s one of those books that comes with extra bits and pieces so that you can find out more about the story and the characters. The Infinity Ring series is all about time travel so you follow the characters through different time periods. Each book comes with a Hystorian’s Guide, a collectible map that includes a special code to unlock exclusive content on the Infinity Ring online game. The multi-dimensional game on http://www.infinityring.com allows readers to play as the main characters from the books, as they travel back in history to fix the “Great Breaks,” key events that have gone wrong, altering history as we know it. Players can interact with characters and explore key events in history alongside Christopher Columbus, Abraham Lincoln, and other figures featured in the books.
Book 1 is called A Mutiny in Time and it’s written by one of my favourite authors, James Dashner (author of The Maze Runner series).
History is broken, and three kids must travel back in time to set it right!
When best friends Dak Smyth and Sera Froste stumble upon the secret of time travel — a hand-held device known as the Infinity Ring — they’re swept up in a centuries-long secret war for the fate of mankind. Recruited by the Hystorians, a secret society that dates back to Aristotle, the kids learn that history has gone disastrously off course.
Now it’s up to Dak, Sera, and teenage Hystorian-in-training Riq to travel back in time to fix the Great Breaks . . . and to save Dak’s missing parents while they’re at it. First stop: Spain, 1492, where a sailor named Christopher Columbus is about to be thrown overboard in a deadly mutiny!
Reserve your copy of The Infinity Ring: A Mutiny in Time at your library now or grab a copy from your bookshop.
Enter my competition to win one of two copies of The Infinity Ring: A Mutiny in Time.
Scholastic NZ are also running a really cool competition to celebrate the release of the series. All you have to do is register and play the Infinity Ring game on http://www.scholastic.co.nz/assets/pdf/tileE.pdf and you go in the draw to win iPods and iPads.
Today I’m joined by Ambelin Kwaymullina, author of the fantastic new futuristic Young Adult series, The Tribe. The first book in the series, The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf was released last month and if you haven’t heard all the hype about it you can read my review here on the blog. I caught up with Ambelin to ask her a few questions about her hot new series.
Wow, it’s really hard to describe your own work! I guess I can describe what I wanted the story to be…although I think it’s really up to my readers to judge. Here goes:
Mysterious. Dramatic. Thrilling. Smart. Hopeful.
Mostly, it was Ashala herself. She is such a strong character, that it would have been impossible for me not to tell her story. From the beginning, the first line of the book has always been the same – ‘He was taking me to the machine.’ Those words followed me around for a few days before I began writing, lurking in my consciousness and demanding that I write more. Then, once I started writing, I had to keep going until I reached the end – I certainly couldn’t leave Ashala trapped in the detention centre!
Yes, it is. Aboriginal people, and Indigenous people from all over the world, have strong connections to our homelands and the ancient spirits of our peoples. Ashala’s world is very different to the one we live in now, of course – the tectonic plates have shifted, creating a single continent, and people no longer make divisions on the basis of race. But Ashala’s ancestors were Aboriginal, so I knew she’d have a deep love for the forest that she lives in. And I knew that her connection to country would be a source of strength and courage for her, the same as it is for Indigenous peoples now.
No, I know how it ends. Many of the small details are mysterious to me, but I know where all of the Tribe will be, at the end of the story. And, for this particular story, I think that’s important. I don’t think I could tell it the way that it deserves to be told otherwise.
Oh yes. I didn’t have a lot of narrative space to explore this in the first book, but as the series goes on, readers will find out much more about how all the different abilities function, and what their strengths and limitations are. There’s some tough times coming for the Tribe, too – so they’re all going to have to push themselves, and be able to control their abilities a lot better than most of them can now.
Harder! Much, much harder…also, with picture books, I’d gotten used to being able to pore over every single word until I was satisfied the text was completely perfect. It takes much longer to do that with a novel, which was something I hadn’t realised until I was hopelessly overdue on a deadline. I think, though, that writing picture books, where you have to tell a complete story in not a lot of text, did teach me to be more disciplined with words than I would have been otherwise. That was helpful. On the other hand, I am going to have to learn to restrain my perfectionist tendencies, or I’ll never get the second book done.
There’s so much great dystopian fiction, and sci fi/fantasy fiction, for young adults – here’s some I’ve particularly enjoyed: Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games series, Isobelle Carmody’s Obernewtyn series, Veronica Roth’s Divergent series, and Moira Young’s Dustlands series.
The next stop on Ambelin’s blog tour is with Celine at http://forget8me8not.blogspot.com.au/.
The Infinity Ring is a new interactive series like The 39 Clues. It’s one of those books that comes with extra bits and pieces so that you can find out more about the story and the characters. The Infinity Ring series is all about time travel so you follow the characters through different time periods. Each book comes with a Hystorian’s Guide, which is your key to unlocking the next adventure in the online game.
Book 1 is called A Mutiny in Time by James Dashner and it’s out at the end of the month.
When best friends Dak Smyth and Sera Froste stumble upon the secret of time travel — a hand-held device known as the Infinity Ring — they’re swept up in a centuries-long secret war for the fate of mankind. Recruited by the Hystorians, a secret society that dates back to Aristotle, the kids learn that history has gone disastrously off course.
Now it’s up to Dak, Sera, and teenage Hystorian-in-training Riq to travel back in time to fix the Great Breaks . . . and to save Dak’s missing parents while they’re at it. First stop: Spain, 1492, where a sailor named Christopher Columbus is about to be thrown overboard in a deadly mutiny!
Reserve your copy of The Infinity Ring: A Mutiny in Time at your library now or grab a copy from your bookshop from 28 August. I’ll also have 2 copies to give away when the book is released.
Scholastic NZ are running a really cool competition to celebrate the release of the series. All you have to do is register and play the Infinity Ring game on www.infinityring.com and you go in the draw to win iPods and iPads.
This is a recent video that Chris Morphew posted on YouTube about his fantastic Phoenix Files series. I’m a huge fan of The Phoenix Files and highly recommend it (especially for fans of Michael Grant’s Gone series).
My Best Friends Are Books 