Review: Mutant City by Steve Feasey

Fifty years ago, the world was almost destroyed by a chemical war. Now the world is divided: the mutants and the pure, the broken and the privileged, the damaged and the perfect.

Thirteen years ago, a covert government experimental facility was shut down and its residents killed. The secrets it held died with them. But five extraordinary kids survived.

Today four teenagers are about to discover that their mutant blood brings with it special powers. Rush and three brothers and sisters he can't remember. Two rival factions are chasing them. One by one, they face the enemy. Together, they might just stay alive . . .

I am a big fan of Steve Feasey's Changeling series; if you have kids who are 9+ who like werewolf stories and have not yet discovered these books then they are well worth you getting your hands on them. Zombie Dawn, the fifth and final book in that series, was published back in 2011, and I know I'm not the only fan who has been waiting impatiently to see what Steve produced next. Finally, three years on, from a different publisher and aimed at a slightly older age group, we have Mutant City and it is well worth the wait.

Mutant City is set in a post-apocalyptic world where much of the landscape has been turned into a dangerous wasteland created by all the of the nastiest weapons that you can think of. A large number of people were lucky, living underground for years, until it was deemed safe to emerge. These people now live in City Four in luxury and safety, in a society where disease and imperfections have been eradicated. Unfortunately though, a significant number of people ere not able to make it underground, and since then they have been living in the scorched earth wasteland (think the Cursed Earth outside the walls of Dredd's Mega-City One), many of them migrating towards the city where they have to live outside its walls in slums. Many of these people are physically and/or mentally damaged by the radiation and chemical residues from the war, and disease and starvation are rife. 

So far so good. Steve has created a world of the haves and the have-nots, much like a futuristic version of parts of our own world: South Africa under apartheid; the favelas in Brazil; places wherever a minority of people possess a majority of the power and wealth, whilst the majority live in misery. What makes this different from all those other YA post-apocalyptic/dystopian stories is the mutant twist. We aren't talking people whose bodies have been mutated by radiation here: the heroes of Steve Feasey's story are a small group of young people who, a number of years before, were genetically altered, and now find special powers emerging, much to their confusion. Split up and spirited away to safety by rebels whilst they were small children, circumstances now dictate that they come out of hiding. However, due to a telepathic mental-block placed on them by one of their fellow mutants they have no idea why they are now felt drawn towards City Four, journeys that will be fraught with danger for everyone one of them.

Bloomsbury have billed this as being great for fans of Marvel's X-Men, and I see no reason to disagree with this. In fact, if I hadn't read this in the press release I would probably have used the same comparison myself. These youngsters each have a special utility that is largely hidden, although if looked at carefully a normal human would probably feel that there was something slightly different about them; something not-quite-right. Just like the X-Men is very much about the various characters, so too is Mutant City, although as well as being a strength of the book it also creates a slight flaw. Steve Feasey has created a fantastic ensemble of chacarters in Mutant City, but as all of these five special young people (and the various villains and supporting cast) need to be introduced to readers, and as all have been kept separated for years, this means multiple POV shifts. The effect of these is two-fold: in the early stages of the book it means that the plot moves on quite slowly in places, and the sudden shifts to a different character's POV felt slightly jarring in places. There was one shift in particular that had me checking that I didn't have a few pages missing in my proof copy.

Please believe me though when I say that it is well worth persevering though these minor issues as once the story gets going the pace really picks up and we are treated to an action-packed science fiction adventure. As I've already said, the main characters are the stand-out element of this book, and the way they interact injects both humour and pathos into the story. In addition, the host of secondary characters, including a particularly  nasty cast of villains, also add to the plot, and set this up to be the first in what I expect to be a thrilling and highly entertaining science fiction series that is perfect for 11+ readers. The X-Men comparison is also a great way to get it into the hands of reluctant readers who are fans of the various X-Men and superhero movies that have become so popular in recent years.
My thanks go to the good people at Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of the book.

My All Hallow's Read by Steve Feasey (author of the Changeling series)

At the beginning of the month I blogged about Neil Gaiman's fantastic All Hallow's Read idea. Judging by the number of times it is getting mentioned on Twitter it sounds as if the 'tradition' is really taking off this year, especially over in the US. My All Hallow's Reads gifts have been dispatched to various households around the UK, and I know that many others have been doing the same. Perhaps we can make this just as big on this side of the Atlantic over the next few years.

What would you All Hallow's Read be? Changeling author Steve Feasey has kindly joined us here on The Book Zone to tell us about his choice.

~~~

The book that I’m going to recommend for All Hallow’s Read is Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg. I read this book while on a caravanning holiday with my family when I was about 14. I was reading a mixture of books at the time, and I thought this would be the perfect thing to bridge the gap between my love of horror and my newly blossoming liking for crime thrillers.

During the holiday, my family would often go to the club on the caravan site, and having seen my mother do the Birdy Song dance once was enough to make this teenage boy decide to boycott the place for the remainder of the stay. I found myself alone in the caravan with Hjortsberg’s book. To say the experience of reading it alone there, with the sea wind rocking the entire structure back and forth, added to the fear the book instilled in me would be the understatement of the century!

It’s a brilliantly written novel, and having seen the film adaptation, Angel Heart, since reading it, I was extremely glad that the book came to me before the film. Written in a Chandleresque, hard-boiled detective novel style, the basic premise is that a private eye is hired by an enigmatic and sinister client to find a missing person. The investigation quickly turns into a living nightmare as our hero, Harold Angel, gets drawn into a world of dark forces that he can’t even begin to understand.

The twist at the end is, for those who haven’t seen the film, simply brilliant.

Not an easy read, but well worth the effort for lovers of dark fiction.

~~~

“Bloouuurrgghhhhahh!” (That’s Zombie for “I want to eat your eyes!”) - Steve Feasey's Zombie Dawn Guest Post

One of the things that strikes me when I do school events and talk about classic horror creatures is just how popular zombies are. It surprises me because on face value there isn’t much about them to suggest what’s so appealing. They don’t have the charm and allure of their undead brethren, the vampires, but nevertheless, every student seems to have an opinion on them, and all have a favourite film, book or game featuring them. It’s a good job too because with the final book in the series, Changeling: Zombie Dawn, featuring the shuffling undead in a big way, I knew I would have to explore what the appeal was, and what I was going to do about my own particular take on them.

Zombies are problematical for a writer if you’re not embarking on a ‘world domination and mankind’s last stand against the undead’ type of book. And the reason that they’re a problem is that they proliferate so damn fast! It takes very few zombies very little time to multiply into a vast army of rotting, shuffling, brain-eating creeps. As Caliban says in the book: “They infect others around them and spread like a virus.” And that’s the problem. Once a zombie outbreak occurs, it quickly becomes a pandemic.

One of my favourite zombie books is Max Brooks’s World War Z. It’s a great take on the tried and tested zombie apocalypse theme, and is in my opinion one of the best books written on the topic. Max very quickly has the zombie outbreak infesting numerous countries, and within the blink of an eye the human population is on the verge of annihilation. It’s gory and funny and brilliantly imagined, and if you haven’t read it yet I recommend you do so. But I didn’t want a zombie plague that would quickly turn into a worldwide disaster; I wanted a suppressed outbreak that would be devastating, but manageable. So I came up with the idea for the containment dome that traps both humans and zombies alike, and the more I thought about it, the more I knew how terrifying that would be for those stuck inside. 

The other great thing about zombies is the ‘method of dispatch’ which has to be employed by anyone facing them down. And it would seem that the more gruesome the act of ruination, the better. Classic zombie theory (if there isn’t such a thing, there should be) would suggest that removing the head or destroying the brain are de rigueur when it comes to seeing off these pesky revenants, and that lends itself to some great (and often very funny) action sequences involving a wide variety of weapons. 

Before writing ZD I really got into The Walking Dead graphic novels by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore, and I was really excited to find out that it was going to be made into a TV series. The books are amazing and, like World War Z, are ‘must reads’ for zombiephiles. Graphic novels can be an expensive hobby, so if you can’t afford the 80+ issues that the series is currently running to, ask your library for them. 

So there you have it: my take on zombies and the walking dead. Long may they shuffle and moan and groan because most of us can’t seem to get enough of them.

~~~

Huge thanks to Steve Feasey for taking the time to write this great zombie post for The Book Zone. The Changeling books have been one of my favourite series of the past few years and a review of Zombie Dawn will appear on The Book Zone in the near future.

Steve Feasey Zombie Dawn (Changeling) Blog Tour

The more observant amongst you may already have noticed the banner on the right hand side of this page giving details about the forthcoming blog tour that Changeling author Steve Feasey is embarking on. Just in case you haven't spotted it, the tour kicks off tomorrow at Empire of Books blog, and Steve will visit three other blogs before finishing his journey here at The Book Zone. I won't spoil any surprises by telling you what Steve will be writing about on each blog, but I know he has loads of really interesting things to tell us.


Tomorrow is also the release date for Zombie Dawn, the fifth and final chapter in Steve's brilliant Changeling series, and I know there are many readers who can't wait to find out what happens to Trey and his friends.

News: Changeling: Zombie Dawn by Steve Feasey Sneak Preview

If, like me, you are impatiently waiting for the release of the final book in Steve Feasey's brilliant Changeling series, then you could do a little better than pop over to Paul Kane's Shadow Writer website where you can read the Prologue and first chapter of Zombie Dawn. Less than two months to go until its release, and this short teaser has got me wishing my life away again. Just click on this link to go there http://www.shadow-writer.co.uk/zombiedawn.htm

Review: Demon Games (Changeling) by Steve Feasey

Teenage werewolf Trey is facing the most important and dangerous mission of his life. He must journey into the dark Netherworld and rescue Alexa, daughter of his vampire guardian Lucien, who is being held hostage by a powerful demon lord. But strength and courage alone are not enough to succeed – instead Trey must ‘win’ both their freedoms by participating in a death-match against his deadliest nemesis yet. The forces of evil are stacked against him and Trey can only be certain of one thing . . . one of them WILL die.


Even though it has only been five months since I read the first three books in the Changeling series (pretty much back-to-back as I was playing catch up), it feels like much longer. I wrote a review at the time in which I stated that I was really looking forward to seeing what happened to Trey, Alexa et al next, and this sense of anticipation was heightened even further by the interview that Steve very kindly did for The Book Zone. It was with no small amount of excitement then that I came home from work recently to find a package from Macmillan waiting for me - Demon Games had finally arrived.

The thing I like most about Steve Feasey's writing is that he manages to make  every book seem fresh - even though each one is a continuation of a story, he skilfully alters the tone for each new episode. The first book was very much about Trey discovering that he is not a normal boy; Dark Moon saw him gradually coming to terms with his powers, and developing them to the point where he was able to use them in combat, albeit still somewhat reluctantly. And then along came Blood Wolf, a book that was far more about Trey's feelings and his character than the previous two episodes had been; yes, there were other events happening involving Alexa, Philippa and Lucien, but exciting though they were, as a reader I fraced through these scenes to get back to the story of Trey in Canada. With Demon Games Steve Feasey yet again allows his writing to take a different direction - this book is all about bringing the various plot strands together to set us up for a (hopefully) mind-blowing finale in the final book in the series, Zombie Dawn. 

Demon Games sees Trey entering the Netherworld proper for the first time in the series. Whilst he was soul-searching in Canada things went pretty badly for his friends back home, and Alexa has now ventured into this land of demons on a mission of her own. Trey, who is finally admitting his feelings for Alexa (to himself at least), realises that the only option is for him to launch his own rescue mission and follow her into the unknown, especially as Lucien is currently AWOL. As such the story is a little more fragmented than previously, as the point of view jumps between the stories of the different characters, from Trey to Philippa, then on to Lucien, Alexa or Caliban and back again, but this jumping around adds to the excitement I felt as a reader as many of the chapters end on a cliffhanger for one character, and we don't necessarily get to discover the resolution of this moment of tension until a chapter or two later. By using this method of telling his story Steve Feasey manages to keep the tension levels are almost inbearable levels, and the reader fully interested in every character's story, and not just Trey's.

Having the whole story set in the Netherworld also allows Steve Feasey to let his imagination run riot, with vivid descriptions of landscapes, cities and inhabitants, and it is this latter category where he really lets rip - there are more demons and nether-creatures in this book that any of its predecessors, and most of them are pretty nasty. The Demon Games of the title are an event that Trey find himself competing in (I will leave you guessing as to the prize if he winds), and I have a feeling that the author had a great deal of fun in writing these scenes.

Like all great 'penultimate book in a series' books Steve Feasey leaves some tantalising loose ends to keep us hungry for the final episode, and judging by the final revelations in Demon Games, and the amazing cover for Zombie Dawn, I think Changeling fans are in for one hell of a treat with the next book as well. Steve also has a growing legion of fans in the US, where the first book in the series was released as Wereling back in April, and Dark Moon scheduled to be published in February 2011. I feel a little sorry for American fans of the series that they are so far behind us UK readers, but please believe me US readers of The Book Zone - the wait is more than worth it.

Demon Games is available to buy right now and my thanks go to Macmillan for providing me with a copy to review. I love this 'job'!


(That's book two finished in the R.I.P. Challenge)

News: Book Cover - Changeling: Zombie Dawn by Steve Feasey

I am currently not far off finishing reading Changeling: Demon Games, the fourth book in Steve Feasey's fab werewolf series (known as the Wereling series in the USA). I hope to get my review online by the end of the week, but in the meantime I just HAD to share this little piece of news with you. Earlier today Steve Feasey posted an image of the cover for Zombie Dawn, the fifth and final book of the series, on his blog and it is such a great cover that I wanted to post the image here too. In my opinion it is the best of the Changeling covers so far.... what do you think?

This certainly gives Changeling fans something to look forward to. I'm not sure when the exact release date is yet - as soon as I know I will add it to this post.

Review: The Changeling Series by Steve Feasey

Trey thought he was an ordinary teenager. Then he meets a mysterious stranger, Lucien Charron – luminously pale, oddly powerful, with eyes that seem flecked with fire and skin that blisters in sunlight. Somehow Trey finds himself in a luxury London penthouse, like a Bond villain’s lair. It’s the heart of a sinister empire, built on the powers of the netherworld – werewolves, vampires, sorcerers, djinns. And Trey himself has a power that’s roaring to break free. Is he a boy or is he a beast?

The world has gone vampire crazy and adult books featuring these creatures of the night and a host of other supernatural beings are being released almost daily under the banner of Urban Fantasy. In YA literature however, vampires and Shan's demons were reigning supreme, until the beginning of 2009 when the first book in Steve Feasey's Changeling series was released (the series is known as Wereling in the USA). Having become a little bored with the genre I never picked up Changeling at the time, and it is only recently that I have read the books, thanks to Dom Kingston at Macmillan who sent me all three of the books released so far. I am so grateful that he got in touch through my blog - it was a rare luxury to be able to read three excellent books in a series for the first time, almost back-to-back.

The first book in the series focuses on orphan Trey's personal voyage of discovery as he finds out that he is a werewolf, the only pure blood still in existance. He is helped on this journey by his new vampire mentor Lucien Charron, Lucien's daughter Alexa, and tough guy/troubleshooter Tom Callaghan, one of the few humans we come across in these books. This new found 'family' aid Trey in coming to terms with his new abilities, and also train him in the skills he will need should he ever come face to face with his nemesis, the evil vampire Caliban, who is determined to wipe all pure blood werewolves off the face of the planet.

I am determined not to give too much away in case you have not yet read any of these books, so I am not going to mention too much of their plots. Suffice to say, Steve Feasey has created a well imagined world, where creatures of the netherworld are used for both good and bad. The author has dreamed up a myriad of these nether-creatures, including shapeshifters, a battle-angel and my favourite, the particularly nasty Necrotroph. This demon is pure evil, desribed as a "hard-to-kill parasitic demon. Inhabits a body and controls the victom's mind. Leaves its prey dead or insane". The Necrotroph plays a big part in the second and third books and the scenes in which it appears are particularly dark and terrifying. Steve Feasey very kindly provides us with a demon lexicon in each of the books, a nice reference aid to help the reader keep up with the array of creatures that appear throughout the story.

Boys will love these books (and probably a large number of girls as well). Trey is a very believable character and despite being a werewolf many boys will be able to identify with him and the challenges and new emotions he faces. The plot is very fast paced and full of great action scenes, and there are many quieter moments that help build the tension so that the final climactic scenes feel even more rewarding when you get to them. 

Trey is no Twilight Jacob Black-style shapeshifter; when he changes he becomes a werewolf in the traditional sense - half human, half wolf - a brutal, towering beast who manages to retain his human thoughts and emotions only by wearing an ancient amulet that prevents him from becoming Wolfan, when his animal side would completely take over. It is not until the third book, Blood Wolf, that we see what a Wolfan is really capable of, and it certainly ain't pretty. In this book Trey's voyage of discovery takes him further afield, when he flies to Canada to search for his long estranged Uncle Frank. Where the other books focused on Trey's fight against Caliban and his netherworld forces this book is much more about Trey trying to find somewhere he feels he truly belongs. During this Canadian visit he discovers the LG78, a pack of Wolfan living on Frank's land, and these creatures do not have an amulet to suppress their basic animal instincts, and at this point Steve Feasey really lets rip and we see far more blood than in either of the previous books.

The greatest benefit of reading a series of books back-to-back is seeing how the characters develop, especially the secondary ones. The first book in any series has to focus primarily on devloping a small handful of characters. This is especially the case in books in this genre where a main protagonist has to come to terms with discovering they are not human and Changeling is no exception. Dark Moon and Blood Wolf see characters other then Trey having to deal with new challenges and emotions and then leave us wanting even more. The great news is that according to Amazon Demon Games, the fourth book in the series, is due to be released in September. I am very excited about this book, but I am not going to say any more about it now as very soon The Book Zone will be featuring an interview with Steve Feasey in which he tells us a little more about this book.