The Fear (The Enemy #3) Review

The Fear (The Enemy #3)

- Charlie Higson

Publisher: Puffin

HE DOESN’T KNOW IT BUT DOG NUT IS ABOUT TO SET OFF A CHAIN OF EVENTS THAT WILL AFFECT EVERY KID IN THE CITY.
The sickness struck everyone over the age of fourteen.
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 . . .
They’re hungry. They’re bloodthirsty. And they aren’t giving up.
Dog Nut and the rest of his crew want to find their lost friends, and 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?

This is the third book in this phenomenal YA series. Honestly, if you like some action and heart stopping, unpredictability you can’t do better than this. Even better for those who like romance, there is more a hint in this book than in others as the teenagers left are growing up. The premise is simple – a year ago everyone over the age of 14 grew sick and either died or became mindless cannibals, feasting on the flesh of children. The children that survived have grouped together in various London landmarks and are struggling to build some sort of life for themselves.

The previous two books have been very focused on survival and holding onto what makes you human in order to carry on – the tough choices that are forced on you. This book (which actually starts five days before The Enemy and crosses over into the events described there, but from a different perspective) starts asking the bigger questions, like what sort of world do you want to live in. A number of different systems are explored from democracy to royalist, military to science. When the whole world has gone to hell and you have to start again, where do you start? Despite these deep questions, there is still plenty of exciting action as the sickos attack randomly and without warning. The fight scenes are very realistic and intense, made even more so by the relationship between the characters. You care about them so when they are hurt, injured or killed it leaves a lump in your throat.

There are some extremely creepy scenes – the Collector is one disturbing character who adds layers to what happens when the adult sicken with the disease. And St George’s actions will leave you chilled and worried for the kids will have to face soon. Overall, this book finishes about the same time as The Enemy, but leaves you with a much wider appreciation of the world of these teens have inherited. Again I caution you, that not all characters will reach the back page in on piece and this sense of danger, that anyone can be killed is one of the reasons I love this series so much!

Recommended for fans of Jonathan Maberry and Will Hill. 9 out of 10.

The Dead (The Enemy #2) Review

The Dead (The Enemy #2)

- Charlie Higson

Publisher: Puffin

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 as a fresh disaster threatens to overwhelm London, they realize they won't all survive...

Once again I am emotional drained and exhausted after living with Jack, Ed, Bam and the others over the last three days. After being chased by sickos wanting to eat us, scrounging for food and fleeing across London, I’m not sure I can physically write this review. But I will, as I have to tell you how brilliant this series is. Every character feels real – there are lots of insights into even the smallest of characters which allows you see how they think and what they worry about. You care about all of them – especially when you keep realising they are only 13 years old or younger. Which makes it even more heart-breaking, when not all of these characters are guaranteed to make it to the end. Kids die. They die horribly, in pain and for no reason. It makes you edge forward on your seat as events get out of control and knowing there is no reset button, no do-overs and no one to save them but themselves. The action scenes are exciting and thrilling, while the decisions these characters are faced with are heart-wrenching and far too big. Charlie Higson has a great insight into the mind of pre-teens and how different they can be – both from each other and adults.

Although, this is a sequel to The Enemy, this is actually set about a year before hand and tells the story of a different set of children – although some of them featured in The Enemy in a small way. The setting of a deserted London still feels creepy, especially when famous landmarks like the Oval and Imperial War Museum play an important role. Charlie Higson obviously love London and has done his homework as I could practically picture every step of the journey. The sickos or mothers and fathers as they were called in The Enemy are as frightening as ever – desperate to munch on young flesh and the idea that they are not actually dead is truly scary. There is a little more information on what is happening as the ‘Brain Trust’ talk about what is happening.

Two years ago I would have told you I didn’t read zombie books as they were too repetitive and low-brow. Now I fully embrace the genre as they have been some of the most involving books I have ever read – and certainly the YA zombie books I’ve read so far are great reads whatever your age.

Recommended for fans of Jonathan Maberry and Michael Grant. 9 out of 10

The Enemy Review

The Enemy (The Enemy 1)

- Charlie Higson

Publisher: UK - Puffin

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?

How to describe this book? A modern version of Lord of the Flies with zombies is probably most accurate but doesn’t cover the full exhilaration of the ride, the excitement, tense atmosphere and emotion of this book. In a London where everyone over the age of 15 was infected with a disease that either killed them or turned them into flesh eating, mindless crazy people, only kids remain. Hold up in Waitrose together and desperate running out of food and hope, a group of young teens look after even younger kids when they are given some hope by a visitor…

Pretty much from the start you are aware that this isn’t a safe world. There are many dangers especially from the adult – or the mothers and fathers as the kids call them. Death is brutal and common. The children see violence – bloody and frequent and no-one is safe. Main characters are not guaranteed to make to the back cover. And frequently don’t. There is a wide cast of characters – leaders, followers, thinkers, warriors and survivors which cover pretty much any point of view. Some you will love, some you grow to love and others you don’t understand at all.

As well as plenty of action and fight scenes, there are enough decisions and thoughts to give the book real depth as well as being a rollicking good read. The spooky scenes of a deserted Oxford Street and empty London are enough to send a shiver up any local’s spine, while the battles will take your breath away with intensity and raw emotion. You are drawn in and just can’t out the book down. These children are all too young to be making life and death, good and evil decisions but they have no choice. I was glued to their story with my eyes and my heart. I immediately ordered the second book in this series, The Dead, as soon as I finished and I can’t wait to see what Charlie Higson has in store for the rest of the series!

Recommended for fans of Jonathan Mayberry and Michael Grant. 9 out of 10