The End - Book Review

The End (The Enemy #7)
by Charlie Higson

What is it about:
Shadowman, realizing that Saint George's army is headed toward the center of London, has raced ahead to warn the kids of the impending disaster. He knows that he has to make them understand--somehow--that they are going to have to work together. This means that Nicola and her kids at the Houses of Parliament, David and his kids at Buckingham Palace, Matt at St. Paul's, General Jordan Hordern and his troops at the Tower of London, the squatters in St. James Park, and all the kids at the Natural History Museum must unite. But will they do it in time? The book culminates in a massive pitched battle in Hyde Park. How will it play out? Who will be the winners and who the losers? One thing is certain: this series will not go out with a whimper!

What did I think of it:
This is a great ending to a very cool series.

It's time for the kids to decide if they can put aside their differences and work together to defeat the sickos and their disease. There's lots of action, squabbling, and sneakiness. I feared for the lives of some of my favorite characters once again.

Slowly, but surely, this book builds up to a big finale. After the finale there's not much of an aftermath, and that's the only thing I was a bit disappointed about. I had wanted to read a bit more about what happened to those who were left standing.

But overall this is a really great book, and series. I will most definitely reread this series in the future, and can recommend it to everyone who loves a good Post Apocalyptic tale about children and younger teens trying to survive against seemingly impossible odds.

Why should you read it:
It's a really cool, action-packed Post Apocalyptic read.

The Hunted - Book Review

The Hunted (The Enemy #6)
by Charlie Higson

What is it about:
The sickness struck everyone over fourteen. First it twisted their minds. Next it ravaged their bodies. Now they roam the streets - Crazed and hungry.

The others had promised that the countryside would be safer than the city. They were wrong. Now Ella's all-alone except for her silent rescuer, Scarface - and she's not even sure if he's a kid or a grown-up.

Back in London, Ed's determined to find her. But getting out of town's never been more dangerous- because coming in the other direction is every SICKO in the country. It's like they're being called towards the capital and nothing is going to stop them...

In the penultimate book in The Enemy series, the survivors' stories cross with chilling consequences.

What did I think of it:
The last book ended on a cliffhanger, so I was very glad to discover this book continued where book 5 ended.

Ella wasn't one of my favorite characters, but in this book she grew on me. She's very young and this shows in how she acts. Luckily the stoic Scarface is a perfect counterweight to Ella, who can be naive. Ella's story line is cool and full of action and surprises.

Next to Ella's story line is Ed's. I've liked Ed from the start and I'm surprised he made it this far. Most of my favorite characters have the habit of dying on me in series like this. Ed sets out with others to find Ella. And the bodies start piling up! One of the new characters of the last book joins Ed, and I'm still in two minds about this character, and the other new characters. In my opinion they're too weird. Not in appearance, but in behavior, making them caricatures instead of characters. Maybe it's just me, but they take away from the suspension of disbelief you need for a tale like this.

Overall this is a very entertaining read. Things are racing towards the climax and I already picked up the last book in this series to find out how this all will end.

Why should you read it:
It's a very cool Post Apocalyptic reads for younger teens.

The Fallen - Book Review

The Fallen (The Enemy #5)
by Charlie Higson

What is it about:
First the sickness rotted the adults' minds. Then their bodies. Now they stalk the streets, hunting human flesh.

The Holloway crew are survivors. They've fought their way across London and made it to the Natural History Museum alive - just. But the fight will never end while the Enemy lives, unless there's another way...

The kids at the museum are looking for a cure. All they need are medical supplies. To get them means a journey down unknown roads. Roads where not only crazed, hungry sickos hide in the shadows. Suddenly it's not so clear who - or what - they're fighting.

What did I think of it:
It's been a while since I read the other books in this series, so it took a bit of effort to get back into the story. These books not following each other chronologically, but skipping back and forth in time, or taking place at the same time, does make it even more difficult to keep track of events.

Still after the first few chapters I was back on track and once again gripped by the story.

There's lots of action and overall mayhem. Higson still doesn't shy away from killing off what seem like important characters, and adds more strange and creepy events and characters to the mix. There were some new characters I wasn't so sure about, but maybe they'll grow on me (if they live long enough).

It does seem like things are heading more and more towards an end game. With two more books to go I'm very curious what will happen next, and if at least some of my favorite characters will survive.

The book does end with a cliffhanger. Luckily I have the next book in my TBR pile, although if the next book will continue where this one left off is anyone's guess. That just means I will have to make sure to get the last book in this series soon as well ;-)

Why should you read it:
This is a really cool post-apocalyptic series for younger teens.

The Sacrifice - Book Review

The Sacrifice (The Enemy #4)
by Charlie Higson

What is it about:
The sickness destroyed everyone over the age of fourteen. All across London diseased adults are waiting, hungry predators with rotten flesh and ravaged minds.
Small Sam and his unlikely ally, The Kid, have survived. They’re safe with Ed and his friends at the Tower of London, but Sam is desperate to find his sister.

Their search for Ella means Sam and The Kid must cross the forbidden zone. And what awaits them there is more terrifying than any of the horror they’ve suffered so far . . .

What did I think of it:
I'm very much enjoying this series.

I like how Higson is slowly showing more about the sickness that has turned the adults into monsters, and how the children are discovering more about what is happening around them.

From the start of this series Higson has been killing off characters left and right. Not only minor characters, but also characters that played a major part in the story. This makes this series a very intense read: You never know if your favorite characters will survive. In each of the previous books at least one (if not all) of the characters I was rooting for died. So imagine my surprise that in this book all my favorite characters survived! (Mind you: other characters did die, so your reading experience might be different than mine.)

Next to a lot of action, nasty sickos trying to eat our heroes, and information about the sickness, there's also different factions of kids taking it out on each other, as if they don't have enough trouble already. But that only adds to the thrill-ride of this series, and you can bet I will get my trotters on the next book, even though I fear what will happen to my favorite characters. Can their luck hold?

Why should you read it:
It's an action packed Post-Apocalyptic read for younger teens and up.

The Fear - Book Review

The Fear (The Enemy #3)
by Charlie Higson

What is it about:
The sickness struck everyone sixteen and over. Mothers and fathers, older brothers, sisters, and best friends. No one escaped its touch. And now children across London are being hunted by ferocious grown-ups who are hungry, bloodthirsty, and not giving up.
DogNut and the rest of his crew, in search of the friends they lost during the fire, set off on a deadly mission from the Tower of London to Buckingham Palace and beyond, as the sickos lie in wait. But who are their friends and who is the enemy in this changed world?

What did I think of it:
I am really enjoying this series. It has zombie-like creatures, cool characters, and lots of action.

The events in this book take place after those in book 2, but overlap with events from book 1. So this series isn't written in a chronological order, which made me stop and think at times, to remember what happened in the other books to make sense of certain events in this book.

I liked that in this book the kids mostly talked about sickos, or zombies, instead of referring to the changed adults as mothers and fathers. They still do this at times though, and I still think it's highly unlikely that anyone (whatever his/her age) would call a crazed zombie-like being by such a friendly name.

What I also like about this series is that Higson doesn't shy away from killing off characters. And it's not just the side characters that are in danger of losing their life. Anyone can die at any moment, making this series an intense read, because you never know if your favorite character will live to see the next chapter so to speak. (And those who know my luck in these things can guess what happens to my favorite characters ;-)

All in all this is a really cool read, and you can be sure I will be getting my trotters on the next book somewhere in the future.

Why should you read it:
It's a really cool Zombie read.

The Dead - Book Review

The Dead (The Enemy #2)
by Charlie Higson

What is it about:
The Dead is the second book in Charlie Higson's jaw-dropping zombie horror series for teens.

Everyone over the age of fourteen has succumbed to a deadly zombie virus and now the kids must keep themselves alive. A terrible disease is striking everyone over the age of fourteen. Death walks the streets. Nowhere is safe.

Maxie, Blue and the rest of the Holloway crew aren't the only kids trying to escape the ferocious adults who prey on them. Jack and Ed are best friends, but their battle to stay alive tests their friendship to the limit as they go on the run with a mismatched group of other kids — nerds, fighters, misfits. And one adult, Greg, a butcher, who claims he's immune to the disease. They must work together if they want to make it in this terrifying new world. But when fresh disaster threatens to overwhelm London, they realize they won't all survive...

What did I think of it:
I read the first book in this series 3 years ago, but even though I really enjoyed it, never got to ordering the second book until recently.

This book is just as cool as the first.

It has lots of action, gory zombie fighting scenes and more.

One thing I learned from The Enemy was to never trust Higson in keeping my favorite characters alive. That again was true for The Dead. Higson doesn't pull any punches and throughout the book the bodycount kept rising. I can't say I minded: it did make this book an intense read.

All in all this is a great read and I hope it won't take me another 3 years to get my trotters on the next book in this series.

Why should you read it:
It's a really cool YA zombie read.

The Enemy - Book Review

The Enemy by Charlie Higson

What is it about:
They'll chase you. They'll rip you open. They'll feed on you...When the sickness came, every parent, policeman, politician - every adult - fell ill. The lucky ones died. The others are crazed, confused and hungry. Only children under fourteen remain, and they're fighting to survive. Now there are rumours of a safe place to hide. And so a gang of children begin their quest across London, where all through the city - down alleyways, in deserted houses, underground - the grown-ups lie in wait. But can they make it there - alive?

What did I think of it:
Although the inflicted in this book aren't true zombies as they're still alive and not undead they're close eough to zombies to make this a zombie book in my opinion. And it's a great read! There's plenty of action, thrills and zombie mayhem and I must confess that it's quite gory at times for a book that's aimed at young teens. Aside from the action there's a very decent storyline about how the kids interact with each other and how each kid has his/her own way to deal with what's happening, making some of them heroes and other jerks. Too bad we all know what happens to most heroes, but it does make for some intense scenes. The one thing that bugged me about this book is how the children refer to the infected adults as 'mothers' and 'fathers'. Seen as how the adults are in fact crazed monsters out for human flesh I don't think that any kid would still see them as something so safe as a parent and would chose such a nice name for them.

Why should you read it:
It's an action packed zombie story!