![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
The Fallen by Charlie Higson
The Blurb On The Back:
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.
Set just after THE ENEMY and taking place simultaneously with THE SACRIFICE, Maxie, Blue and the rest of the Holloway crew arrive at the Natural History Museum just as Paul releases the Sickos in the basement. Despite helping Justin and his nerds survive the attack, the relationship between both groups remains uneasy until head scientist Einstein proposes a trip to a medical research warehouse near Heathrow to get more supplies for their work on a Sicko cure and Blue agrees to take a bunch of fighters to protect him and his nerdlets. Meanwhile the kids left at the Museum have their own problems because something is still hiding in the shadows – something dangerous - and it’s picking them off one-by-one …
The sixth in Charlie Higson’s ENEMY SERIES is another dark and twisted survival YA tale, filled with violent scenes as the characters continue their struggle to survive. I loved the Twisted Kids and the cause of the Sicko virus is gloriously explained. However, I missed Sam, the Kid and Shadowman and the way Higson jumps between timelines in books left me frustrated given that the story had previously felt as if it building to a central point. There’s also an increasing repetitiveness to the Sicko skirmishes while the wide cast of characters mean that some of the character deaths lack impact. I still enjoy this series and the jaw-dropping cliff hanger ending will ensure I buy the next book but I need the plot to start coming together in a definite direction.
Despite all the action scenes, I found the book a little slow and repetitive until the arrival of the Twisted Kids half-way through. I really enjoyed how Higson introduces them and makes their disabilities a source of strength. I also liked the fact that we finally find out what the Sicko virus is and where it came from and I enjoyed the scenes from Paul’s point of view – a tragic and pathetic character, his descent into Sicko madness is both chilling and moving.
However, the Sicko attacks are becoming repetitive and the huge cast of characters made it difficult to keep track of who is who (despite handy recapping), which meant that some of the character deaths didn’t move me as they should. The ending is a jaw-dropper though, with Higson slipping in two big bombshells that promise much in Book 7, which I shall definitely buy.
The Verdict:
The sixth in Charlie Higson’s ENEMY SERIES is another dark and twisted survival YA tale, filled with violent scenes as the characters continue their struggle to survive. I loved the Twisted Kids and the cause of the Sicko virus is gloriously explained. However, I missed Sam, the Kid and Shadowman and the way Higson jumps between timelines in books left me frustrated given that the story had previously felt as if it building to a central point. There’s also an increasing repetitiveness to the Sicko skirmishes while the wide cast of characters mean that some of the character deaths lack impact. I still enjoy this series and the jaw-dropping cliff hanger ending will ensure I buy the next book but I need the plot to start coming together in a definite direction.
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.
Set just after THE ENEMY and taking place simultaneously with THE SACRIFICE, Maxie, Blue and the rest of the Holloway crew arrive at the Natural History Museum just as Paul releases the Sickos in the basement. Despite helping Justin and his nerds survive the attack, the relationship between both groups remains uneasy until head scientist Einstein proposes a trip to a medical research warehouse near Heathrow to get more supplies for their work on a Sicko cure and Blue agrees to take a bunch of fighters to protect him and his nerdlets. Meanwhile the kids left at the Museum have their own problems because something is still hiding in the shadows – something dangerous - and it’s picking them off one-by-one …
The sixth in Charlie Higson’s ENEMY SERIES is another dark and twisted survival YA tale, filled with violent scenes as the characters continue their struggle to survive. I loved the Twisted Kids and the cause of the Sicko virus is gloriously explained. However, I missed Sam, the Kid and Shadowman and the way Higson jumps between timelines in books left me frustrated given that the story had previously felt as if it building to a central point. There’s also an increasing repetitiveness to the Sicko skirmishes while the wide cast of characters mean that some of the character deaths lack impact. I still enjoy this series and the jaw-dropping cliff hanger ending will ensure I buy the next book but I need the plot to start coming together in a definite direction.
Despite all the action scenes, I found the book a little slow and repetitive until the arrival of the Twisted Kids half-way through. I really enjoyed how Higson introduces them and makes their disabilities a source of strength. I also liked the fact that we finally find out what the Sicko virus is and where it came from and I enjoyed the scenes from Paul’s point of view – a tragic and pathetic character, his descent into Sicko madness is both chilling and moving.
However, the Sicko attacks are becoming repetitive and the huge cast of characters made it difficult to keep track of who is who (despite handy recapping), which meant that some of the character deaths didn’t move me as they should. The ending is a jaw-dropper though, with Higson slipping in two big bombshells that promise much in Book 7, which I shall definitely buy.
The Verdict:
The sixth in Charlie Higson’s ENEMY SERIES is another dark and twisted survival YA tale, filled with violent scenes as the characters continue their struggle to survive. I loved the Twisted Kids and the cause of the Sicko virus is gloriously explained. However, I missed Sam, the Kid and Shadowman and the way Higson jumps between timelines in books left me frustrated given that the story had previously felt as if it building to a central point. There’s also an increasing repetitiveness to the Sicko skirmishes while the wide cast of characters mean that some of the character deaths lack impact. I still enjoy this series and the jaw-dropping cliff hanger ending will ensure I buy the next book but I need the plot to start coming together in a definite direction.