quippe | Entries tagged with jeyn roberts

The Blurb On The Back:

After the earthquakes came the infectious rage, turning friends into deadly enemies.

For survivors Michael, Aries, Mason and Clementine the battle to stay alive is about to get even tougher. The new world is organising itself, with camps that promise protection for the uninfected. But the reality of the sites is far more sinister. Besides, nobody is safe from the rage within their own soul …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

The second in Jeyn Roberts YA post-apocalyptic trilogy is a meandering affair that, for me, suffered from a cast of bland characters who never came to life on the page. It lacked any real antagonist until the second half of the book so there was nothing for the group to react against, which left the plot to be driven by contrivance and some really daft decisions by the main characters instead. Ultimately, it didn’t hold my interest enough for me to want to read the conclusion.

Thanks to Amazon Vine for the free copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

4
ACROSS THE WORLD, EARTHQUAKES SHUDDER
3
SOMETHING IS RELEASED
2
TRUST NO ONE – NOT EVEN YOURSELF
1
THE KILLING GAME HAS BEGUN …

Moments after earthquakes rock the world, people start to change in the most terrifying of ways. Friends turn on friends, girlfriends on boyfriends, brothers on sisters. A murderous rage has been unleashes. Nobody can be trusted.

For those who survive the first wave of killing, the world is a different, deadlier place. Michael, Aries, Mason and Clementine must battle to stay alive against the odds. All they have is one another … but can they even be sure of that?

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Jeyn Roberts debut novel is a horror tale that’s essentially 28 DAYS LATER meets INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. There were plenty of things to enjoy about it, particularly the way she keeps the voices of her 4 main characters distinct and the violence is frightening without being disproportionate. However, by having the 4 main characters as narrators, I never really felt as if I connected with them or their individual journeys, which is exacerbated by the ‘road movie’ structure and in addition for a world where everyone is in danger, I never believed that the main characters were in peril. There are enough interesting elements to the story however for me to want to read on but this is basically a premise set up, so I’m hoping that the next book will have more meat to it.

DARK INSIDE was released in the UK on 2nd September 2011. Thanks to Macmillan Children’s Books for the ARC of this book.