Publication Date: 2nd July from Hodder and Staughton
Source: Review copy
There’s one truth on Australia: You fight or you die. Usually both.
Seventeen-year-old Chan’s ancestors left a dying Earth hundreds of years ago, in search of a new home. They never found one.
The only life that Chan’s ever known is one of violence, of fighting. Of trying to survive.
But there might be a way to escape. In order to find it, Chan must head way down into the darkness – a place of buried secrets, long-forgotten lies, and the abandoned bodies of the dead.
Way Down Dark was simply fantastic – a rip roaring kind of old school adventure set in Space, a perfect piece of storytelling aimed at the young adult audience that anyone of any age will absolutely adore. Forget The Hunger Games – you ain’t seen nothing yet…
So anyway we meet Chan, who is fending for herself after her Mother dies, living aboard Australia – where violence abounds, day to day living is tense and insecure and also where things are about to get a lot worse as one of the factions aboard begins a huge power play…
I sunk into this one without looking back – from the very first page James Smythe captures the imagination, sets the reading adrenalin pumping and things simply get better from there. I devoured it, completely immersed in this world as Chan fights for survival and tries to maintain at least a semblence of moral code. Discovering the ship’s secrets she is about to face even bigger challenges.
This is so terrifically multi layered – imaginatively speaking it is a corker, the world building is superb, the characters are all vivid, alive and gorgeously drawn and the crafting of the story is top notch. Really really great writing and a true touch of storytelling genius.
Best thing is this is a trilogy, and as a part one it sets the scene with pitch perfect rhythm, making your teeth ache in anticipation of book two. The end packs such a punch, the final line is so inordinately fist pumpingly good that I practically jumped in the air before coming back down and thinking “Oh darn. Now I have to wait”.
I feel pretty much the same about this one as I did reading Red Rising – the guys over at Hodderscape will understand that one and may read this line then find somewhere to hide…but this is me you are talking to – I’ll find them.
Overall a truly wonderful read – the kind of book that writing was meant for, ingenious, artistic and most of all a hell of a story. And as always for me, the story is the thing…
Brilliant.
Find out more here : http://james-smythe.com/
Follow the author on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/jpsmythe
Purchase Information: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Way-Down-Dark-Australia-Book/dp/1444796321/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1435731798&sr=1-1&keywords=9781444796322
Happy Reading Folks!
