Future England. There’s this disease taking over people’s brains and making them into zombie-like creatures pleasantly called “The Hungries.” Then there’s this medical-military outpost, filled with a couple doctors, a handful of soldiers, a teacher, and 20 some-odd children.
Yes. Children.
I first stumbled upon this via one of the many book related emails I get. There was a blurb by Joss Whedon that caught my eye. And the author, M. R. Carey is the guy who wrote the Lucifer comics (You know, the one that’s an amazing spin off from The Sandman? What?! You don’t? Go read that too.). And (according to this email) I could read the first ten chapters right now.
So I did.
And I drooled and hungered for more just like those hungries ravaging the world.
This is a story about Melanie, one of the children in the outpost. Every day it’s the same thing: Wake up in her bare room. Climb into her chair, wait to be strapped in, and get wheeled down the hallway to the classroom. When the lesson is over, she gets wheeled back to her room, unstrapped, and then locked back into her cell. Just like her classmates.
They are here because these children are special. And Melanie is the most special of them all.
Without giving away too much, I devoured this book within a day. The chapters are short and are told from different points of view so the reader gets the “whole” story. Like a ball of yarn, the novel just unravels for the reader. You’ll hear it from other reviewers that there isn’t anything else like this book out there, and they are right. This is new. This is amazing.
If you like your horror more literary than Halloween, or if you think children are just damn right creepy and need more proof, pick up this book now. You will not be disappointed.
You can read the first chapter here.
Related Articles:
#FridayReads: Migration: New & Selected Poems by W. S. Merwin (Matt Haviland)
#FridayReads: ‘300′ by Frank Miller (Bill Bodkin)
=========================================================================================================
Kelly O’Dowd is the Book Editor (as well as one of the Copy Editors). She can be read on the weekly Singles Party column, as well as various book reviews and articles. She currently spends way too much money on books, but she assumes that’s what her English degree from Hartwick College entitles her to do. Her current obsession is vanilla coconut milk from Trader Joe’s. She lives on the internet at spoerk.blogspot.com, anotherstepaway.tumblr.com, goodreads.com/spoerk, librarything.com/spoerk, and on twitter at @kellysquared.
