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.

Review: The Fabulous Four Fish Fingers by Jason Beresford

KangaRuby bounced, Nightingale soared and The Chimp swung with Slug Boy gripped in his fingers. The scene that greeted them was truly terrible… 

After an encounter with a crisp-loving elf, best friends Gary, Bel, Ruby and Morris are given superpowers. In their new identities, The Chimp, Nightingale, KangaRuby and Slug Boy must stop super-scary (and super-hairy) villains Jumper Jack Flash and The Panteater from stealing all the sweets (and pants) in Tumchester. But first the Fabulous Four Fish Fingers need to learn to work as a team (and remember not to step on Slug Boy).

Four friends following their escapee pet parrot into a derelict house accidentally summon a crisp-loving, purple tracksuit-wearing elf named Cyril. Cyril grants the foursome one wish and after a little dithering they ask to be turned into superheroes and within minutes a brand new team of superheroes is born, each one in possession of the powers of a different animal: Gary becomes The Chimp, Ruby is Kangaruby, Bel becomes Nightingale and Morris (poor Morris) ends up as Slug Boy. 

For their hometown of Tumchester these newly acquired powers could not be more timely as two particularly nasty criminals are on the loose, their goal to steal all the sweets in town. The Panteater (an anteater who is allergic to ants) shows no mercy to anyone who gets in his way, using his super-long tongue to whisk away the pants of his victims, and now he has teamed up with a man-rabbit-pirate thing,Jumper Jack Flash, so-called because he ties people up with their own jumpers. Can the Fabulous Four Fish Fingers learn to use their new powers, and work together as a team without squabbling, in time to stop the crime wave and unmask the evil genius behind them?

 

This book is bonkers and 7+ kids will love it. Aimed at children who love the likes of Roald Dahl, David Walliams and Andy Stanton, it is a very funny, entertaining story that will have young readers giggling away incessantly. The book's author, Jason Beresford, does not yet have the writing skills to match these three kings of children's literature, but it is still a cracking read, and an impressive debut.

There are two key elements to this book's appeal. The first is the off-the-wall humour that runs throughout the whole story. I'm not just talking about the occasional funny moment, kids will find a laugh-out-loud moment on nearly every page. For me, as an adult reader, I found some this humour to be a little forced in places, as if the author was trying a little too hard to be funny, (something I never felt when reading Dahl, Walliams, etc), but I would doubt that many young readers would agree with me. The Panteater and Jumper Jack Flash are like something you might find in a Monty Python sketch, and I would not be surprised if Jason Beresford grew up on a TV diet of the best of British comedy like Python, Black Adder and Red Dwarf.

However, although the humour is what will keep kids totally engrossed in the story, the real heart and soul of the book are the characters of the Fabulous Four Fish Fingers themselves. These are a group of unremarkable children who have been friends for as long as they can remember. They are not the kind of kids who stand out at school (except for Morris, who seems to be the preferred target of his school's resident bully), and so when they acquire powers that could make them stand out from the rest it takes some time for them to come to terms with this monumental change in their lives, a change that could tear their friendship apart. Morris, in particular, feels excluded from the group because of his seemingly rubbish superhero identity and power (would you want to turn into a slug and be known as Slug Boy, but every one of the Four has to deal with their own insecurities and failings before they can gel toegterh as a team of superheros rather than just as group of friends.

As with most books if this ilk there are many accompanying illustrations, perfectly produced by Vicky Barker. Ms Barker's images not only complement the text well, they also add brilliantly to the humour, by giving readers a visual reference for the characters (and especially the wacky villains) created from Beresford's insane imagination.

The Fabulous Four Fish Fingers was published on 1 August and my thanks go to the lovely people at Catnip for sending me a copy to read. Why not head on over to the Fabulous Four Fish Fingers website at http://www.thefabulousfourfishfingers.com/ to read the first chapter and find out more about the characters.

Review: Hero.com and Villain.net Series by Andy Briggs

Hero.com: Rise of the Heroes

Surfing the net during a lightning storm has amazing consequences for a group of teenage friends. Superhero powers are theirs at the click of a mouse! Trouble is, they don't know what the powers will be until they try them out... But super powers carry super responsibilities. When a weather-altering, world-conquering supervillain kidnaps their mum, they have to decide: save her... or save the world!

Villain.net: Council of Evil

School bully Jake Hunter receives a mysterious email inviting him to join a scheme for world domination. With unlimited power and wealth at his fingertips, how can he resist? But to get it he has to become an arch-criminal, entangled in a plan that threatens the planet. And that could just be a step too far...

With so many new books coming out each month I often find it difficult to find the time to read older books that for one reason or another have slipped me by. One such series is the Hero.com/Villain.net series by Andy Briggs, even though I had seen them in shops and bought them for the school library. Looking back I can't explain this, as the premise itself should have been enough to grab my undivided attention. If you also have not yet discovered these then you are in for a treat. The basic concept is that young people discover a way to download various superpowers through the internet, the websites in question being hero.com and villain.net, and as the names imply one is geared towards doing good and the other towards acts of evil and world domination. An original idea on its own, but there is a much more interesting facet to these stories in that the Hero.com books follow the stories of the good characters, and the Villain.net books follow the story of a bully who has gained his powers through the 'other' website. And elements of their stories intertwine.

Looking at what I have written I have to admit that my description just does not do these books and their concept justice. These stories have to be read to be believed and that is exactly what you should do. I share the opinion of many writers that it is the villains that they get the most fun out of creating, and so I started with the first book in the Villain.net series - Council of Evil. there was so much in this book that will appeal to 10+ boy readers - explosive action scenes, superpowers, a fast-paced plot and many moments of dark humour. 

As soon as I had finished it I moved straight on to its herioc companion piece - Hero.com: Rise of the Heroes, and it was only then that I was able to truly appreciate the cleverness behind Andy Briggs's storytelling. As I have mentioned already, the two stories intertwine, but at no point had my reading of the first book revealed any of the eventual plot developments in the second book. As I read Rise of the Heroes small pieces of the puzzle fell into place, and young readers will enjoy spotting where the two plots cross over. For example, in one book we have a brief introduction to a particular character but as he is good his back story would not be an appropriate addition to the story; in the companion book we find out more about him, at a time and place when it fits the story perfectly.

There are four books in each series and to get the most out of the books each 'pair' really should be read one straight after the other. I am yet to read these others in the series but I hope to squeeze them in as soon as possible as I can't wait to find out how the stories of the various heroes and villains develops. My thanks go to Andy Briggs for sending me copies of the books.

Review: Meteorite Strike by A.G. Taylor

Sarah and Robert are sure their number is up when their aeroplane crashes over the Australian desert. But this is no ordinary air disaster. A meteorite strike has impacted Earth, bringing with it a deadly alien disease. Thousands fall victim to the virus, falling into a deep coma. Luckily, Robert and Sarah appear to be unaffected - until they begin to exhibit some extraordinary psychic side-effects. This quickly makes them a target for HIDRA, a rogue international agency determined to experiment on them like lab rats in an attempt to control their superpowers. Before long, the children are captured in HIDRA's secret desert HQ, a prison for superhuman kids who can control fire, create storms and tear steel with their minds. This new generation of superheroes must join forces if they are to escape HIDRA. But what kind of world awaits them outside?

Watch out Walden, Craig and Muchamore.... there's a new kid on the block and he's good. Thanks to the generous folks at Usborne I managed to Twitter win/blag a copy of the first book in Mr Taylor's Superhumans series, and I enjoyed it immensely. Amazon.co.uk have it scheduled for a 29th January 2010 publication date so not too long to wait for this.

The premise is not eaxctly original - groups of young people developing superpowers and learning how to use them has been seen a lot in the last decade, with the X-Men movies and then the Heroes TV series. Joe Craig has covered some similar ground with his Jimmy Coates series, as has Sophie McKenzie with her Meduda Project. So, having seen it all before, what made this book so enjoyable? Firstly the pace - Mr Taylor really does deliver a white-knuckle ride full of tense action scenes. Without giving too much away, the climatic battle scene is a real page-turner; I was late picking my wife up from the station because I really wanted to see how things were brought to a conclusion for our heroes. Ooops!

His characters are also very believable and, for a debut novel, I was impressed with how quickly I became involved in their story. The relationship between brother and sister Sarah and Robert is well observed - their mother has recently died and long-absent father is suddenly on the scene to look after them, creating tension and confusion, with a healthy dose of mistrust on Sarah's part. Mr Taylor uses the events in the story well to help bring these characters together. I also liked the fact that unlike Sarah and Robert, the majority of people in the story have no immunity to this virus from outer space - an original concept that adds another element to the traditional kids with super powers premise.

The Bookseller has described Meteorite Strike as a "...heart-racing, breath-stopping thriller. There’s a cinematic quality to this adrenaline-fuelled adventure." and I can agree with this whole-heartedly. This is most definitely a book that will appeal to action-loving boys of all ages. It is also the first in a new series, with the second book, Alien Storm, scheduled for release later in 2010.