Peadar O'Guilin - The Invasion (The Grey Land Book 2) - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books Book Review

In a world where teenagers are trained for the most horrific 3 minutes of their lives, Nessa and Anto have both survived their Call, but fate has a cruel way of rewarding them. Nessa is branded a traitor as no one believes that someone like her could survive the experience. She's thrown in prison and eventually sent where all traitors are sent - back to the horrifying Greylands, but this time there's no way home. Anto is packed off out of the way to join the militia. Ireland is being invaded and the enemy are building their army from the very people defending it. However, Anto can't get Nessa off his mind, he knows in his heart that she's innocent and he'll go to any length to rescue her. The final chapter in this thrilling and fast-paced adventure with the power of true love at its very core.

I've been invaded by The Invasion of Peadar O'Guilin's long-awaited sequel to the Call. It is soon to be published on the 1st March 2018 by David Fickling Books (the home of great stories). In this book, we are reunited with the two main characters, Nessa and Anto. They survived the Call, but what's in store for them in The Invasion is more terrifying than you can ever imagine. The complexity of this book is brilliant. From the very start, it pulls the reader on a journey that is captivating. The story is beautiful and brutal at the same time which makes it both compelling and disturbing in equal measure. 

It's a fantastic blend of action horror written in its own unique style. Not using any of the classic tropes normally found in this category, it really makes this story stand out and addictive to read. The plot is dark and twisted just like the characters. In a world full of monsters, Sidhe's are disfigured, amalgamations of human flesh and animals/beasts. They are very cunning in character and appear to morph from the dark depths of the author's psyche into a very bizarre world. 

You will prowl into the strange and disturbing land of the Greylands which is very descriptive and well written. It will both captivate and thrill you in equal measures. The author has cleverly blended his fascination for mythology and Irish legend by instilling a very unsettling creepiness that follows you around through every twist and turn. The nation must survive but will they survive? That is most definitely the question.  

This is a fantastic sequel. In my opinion, it is even better than the first book which is something that I very rarely say or think. The author has spent time inventing and building a brilliant backdrop that is even more surreal than the last book. It certainly sucks you into a vortex of evil and chaos. The characters have been very well written, their personalities and emotions are depicted at just the right times through the story. Their different viewpoints come across very clearly and are very much in keeping with the storyline. The story is more compact, fast-paced and free-flowing whilst delivering just the right amount of character dialogue and back history to bring the reader up to speed on the previous story.

The author has taken no prisoners with this book. It's a bloodbath fuelled on high adrenalin action that is both unpredictable and deeply satisfying to read. I really loved this book. Thanks, Peadar - I'm looking forward to the next book, whatever it maybe.

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: M. A. Griffin - Lifers - Book Review

Fear haunts the streets of Manchester: a schoolgirl has disappeared. Preston is drawn to investigate, exploring the city in the hunt for his missing friend. Deep in the bowels of a secret scientific institute, he discovers a sinister machine. Captured and condemned to a cavernous space filled with problematic teens, Preston is determined to escape - but this is no ordinary jail. Friendships are forged and lives lost in a reckless battle for freedom, revenge - and revolution.

This is the second book written by Martin Griffin, a former Times/Chicken House children's fiction competition winner in 2012 with Sleepwell and Fly. His first book "The Poison Boy" was written under a pseudonym of Fletcher Moss, named after Fletcher Moss Botanical Garden, but this is known locally as Fletcher Moss. I think that this is a really cool thing to do. 

Lifers will be his first book written for a teenage audience. It takes you down the familiar streets of Manchester. As you wander along the famous city centre landmarks, you will be easily led to believe that things are going on as normal. However you'll be sadly mistaken, as behind the back streets there is definitely a different story being written portraying the darker and sinister side of Manchester. You will be gripped and engrossed the more that you read and explore it. 

The city skyline is dominated by creaking steel rigging. Something strange is brewing in the city at night. A different world of secrets and a mysterious building turns the lives of the main characters upside down, literally. A group of kids fight back against a twisted government plot, which involves the plan to contain problematic teens within an undercover and underground secret prison. The plot really makes the story very unpredictable; teenagers will really love and relate to the characters and the ongoing actions that unfurl along this epic read. 

It's a seriously well plotted thriller. It contains just the right amount of dialogue and detail to keep the reader on their toes. It gives a great insight into a fantastically atmospheric world which is both surreal and deeply absorbing. With a fantastic blend of technology and Sci-fi elements, it is well balanced against a believable reality and backdrop. A world full of adult corruption, a fight for justice (instilling a massive dollop of tension) which is all fuelled by non-stop action. This is a high octane, adrenalin- fuelled ride that you will not be able to put down. 

My favourite part of the story was inside the sinister machine. This produced a captivating and contemporary vision with children all battling for survival and desperately seeking to find a way out. It's a very gritty, super dark and easy to follow prison break out, which reads really well on paper. This is another cracking read from Chicken House which is due to be published early April 2016. 

Mr Ripley's Book Review: Rob Davis - The Motherless Oven - Published by SelfMadeHero

"The Weather Clock said knife o'clock, so I chained Dad up in the shed." 

I had such a great time again at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival in Kendal. One of the events that I attended was by Rob Davis 'The Motherless Oven' book launch. I heard him talk about his book in a relaxed and casual manner, but by the end of the event I still had no idea really what the story was about. However, this was perhaps partly due to me looking around the Council Chambers, playing with the microphone and also taking in the monochrome frenzy of images projected onto a screen. All of these probably played a large part in my distraction! After the event, I was very intrigued to plunge into the story and images, so clutching my character sketch prize I went home to read it with post haste.

Now I've read it twice and I love it even more. I still can't really tell you what the book is about, but what I can tell you is why I liked it. To me that is as important when I'm reviewing a book, so these are my thoughts . . . . . . 

The first thing that I loved was that it was 100% crazy - in fact it was raining knives (see illustration below). It's such a surreal fantasy that has been pulled from the hidden depths of Rob's imagination. It is a whirlpool of memoirs from his childhood with strong connections to his past and present. The narrative picks up on this and writes an alternate future that may require some reflection and perhaps a couple of reads, so that it can mature in your brain. 

We are living in a world of Scarper Lee where parents don't make children, children make parents. Scarper's father is a wind-powered brass construction whilst his mother is a bakelite hairdryer. 

These lines strike a chord with me; they indicate an unusual beauty through their words. The story has a twisted melancholic feel which is reflected in the black and white illustrations. 

It’s also a world without birthdays, only deathdays, and Scarper's deathday is fast approaching. With just three weeks left to live, Scarper is forced from his routine and strikes out into the unknown—where relationships are tested and authority challenged.

Graphically, this book is very special. Each illustration is very well executed and really takes you in to the world of the characters. It delivers a unique and enhancing strangeness that washes over the reader. Literally, it is puzzling, captivating, but also highly original. Once you have read the last page it will leave you asking: what has just happened here? Chaos ensues on every page, but if you look closer you may find some kind of order within a dream-like state. I can guarantee that it will have made you smile from ear to ear. 

Very cool teenagers will relate to this story in some places, whilst the older generation should feel it through their DNA. No heroes, no villains, but a world in a monochrome bubble full of teenage angst and a school-like rebellion that replicates some very real human interaction. This is a story full of metaphors and a play on words that beats it's own heart. 

I loved both the story and the visual experience right down to the unresolved ending. Hopefully, this should make a great start to another superb book.
Mr Ripley's recommended reading experience .....

Published by SelfMadeHero - October 2014, Check out more great things published by them here: http://www.selfmadehero.com/