Review: D.O.G.S

D.O.G.S by M.A. Bennett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Greer is trying to settle back into school after the horrific visit to Longcross. The appearance of a long lost play catapults her back into a world of mystery, forcing her back to Longcross to lay old ghosts to rest.

So this is the second in what is now apparently a trilogy. As such, not a lot actually happens. There's a secret play that's tied into the Order, a lot of arguing, a visit to Longcross to find part of the play that is mostly not at all about the actual play. However, this is still an exciting, interesting read and I read it in one go, wanting to know what was going to happen next. I loved that we couldn't quite tell which side the characters were on; of the two reveals at the end, one confused me adn one really impressed me. I'm looking forward to reading the third part, but going on history that's a couple of years away at least!


Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.



'So you're from the Isle of Dogs, right?'

'Yeah.'

'Why's it called that?'

'It was called Isle of Dogs cos it was s'posed to be where Elizabeth I's royal kennels were. So back then it was literally swarming with dogs.'

'Makes sense.'

'There's this pub called the Ferry House where my uncles used to drink,' she went on, 'and there was a crazy old guy who always used to sit at the bar and say that on frosty nights you could hear those Elizabethan dogs baying across the mudflats.'

I shivered. I was back at Longcross, hearing Henry's dogs barking through the dense fog after Nel's blood. If I was a real friend to Ty, could I really let her go to Longcross alone? Yes, I liked the twins, and no, they weren't Henry. But before I could make up my mind she hurried away, probably to catch up with Louis.

I could've stopped her. I could've called her back. But I said nothing, and my own silence made me feel a bit sick.

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Review: More Bloody Horowitz, by Anthony Horowitz

Anthony Horowitz is best known for his Alex Rider series, but he also has a wicked sense of humour and it's fully on display here. Right from the first story, The Man who Killed Darren Shan, to the 'Editor's note' at the end, these stories never stop surprising you. Even when you know there must be a twist coming, it's hard to see them ahead of time.

The book itself is beautifully printed in an old fashioned style and the cover is vivid and eye catching. This is sure to be a bestseller.


"Are you really a machine?" Cameron asked.

"I am. But you don't need to think of me that way, dear. I'd like to be your friend."

"What's your name?"

"Tamsin."

"Tamsin? Tamsin?" Cameron played with the name for a moment. "If you're really made of metal, I'm going to call you Tin Sam," he announced.

And that was the name that stuck.

Review: The Enemy, by Charlie Higson

The first in Charlie Higson's new series starts with a bang, catapulting you straight into a nightmare world.

A year ago something happened. Everyone over the age of fourteen caught a mysterious new illness. The lucky ones died. The rest? Well, they're still around, hunting down the surviving kids in a desperate search for food.

The children who are left have come together to form gangs to help protect each other. But the adults – mothers and fathers, the children call them – are growing smarter, and the children's safehouses are being overrun. Rumours of a safe haven couldn't come at a better time...


The first scene – an attack by adults on a supermarket where children have been staying – is the perfect opener. All the important information is slipped in perfectly naturally; adults are bad, they hunt children, it's been like this for about the year, the kids aren't as safe as they used to be. It also starts one of the plotlines, as a captured child fights desperately to get back to his friends.

It's hard to put this book down once you've picked it up. The pressure almost never lets up, our heroes scrambling from one problem to the next. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, but several of them die during the course of the story – no one is safe here, not the heroes, not the villains, not that new character who was just introduced or the one you've been reading about for two hundred pages.

Luckily the sequel is already out, but you'll have to wait a while for the third.

Ollie was walking alone by the lake. There were ducks on it, probably fish swimming down below. He felt neither happy nor sad. He was thoughtful. This all looked fantastic on the surface.

Franny had given him a small lettuce to try. It had tasted delicious, but when he'd pulled off one of the leaves he'd found a small slug on it.

There was always a slug on the lettuce.

This was too good to be true.

He had never trusted Jester, and he didn't trust David.

He wasn't going to let his guard down just yet.

Being careful had kept him alive this far.

There was no reason to stop being careful now.

Review: The Dead, Charlie Higson

The sequel to The Enemy is set a year before it, making it a prequel. Sort of.

Only a few weeks before the book begins, adults began falling prey to a strange new disease. Most of them died outright. The ones who are left are desperate for human flesh, and the only source left is children. Anyone over fourteen is dead or changed.

When the book begins the kids have been on their own for only a couple of weeks. Their new reality hasn't really sunk in yet. Most haven't realised how drastically the world has altered. It's not until a group holed up in a school dorm are attacked by the people who used to be their teachers that it really begins to sink in.

Abandoning the school, the group head for the countryside but are rapidly cut off and forced to retreat towards London. They're rescued by by a man driving a coach, the only uninfected adult they've seen in a long time. the roads of London are clogged with zombies, though, and it takes a long time before they find somewhere they can call home.


This book, if anything, is even more gory than the last. There are several loving descriptions of the zombies, including Greg and the one they nickname Pez. There's also a horrific sequence set in the Oval Cricket Ground. The protaganists aren't any safer in this one than they were in The Enemy, either, and it's an entirely new group this time around. There are fewer characters to keep track of this time, and most of the action comes from two specific characters, making it easier to keep track of who's doing what where for what reason.

The ending does provide two very clever links with The Enemy, though; one I saw coming and one I didn't, though I should have. From the way this one ends, I'm guessing the third will bring all our characters together.

The Dead is just as fast paced as The Enemy, events rolling together with few breaks. It's a hard book to put down, as just as one problem is almost solved another rears its' head. The final chase through London was almost unbearable. Once I'd reached the end and figured out who some of the people were, it was fascinating to see them now, weeks into the apocalypse. I also really loved the quiet nod to another recent series of all-the-adults-are-dead books, one that I'm guessing few people will notice.

One of the better books I've read this year.

Jack lifted out the sword. It was clean and gleaming, the edge still sharp. The curators at the museum had obviously looked after everything very well. He smiled. The blade was perfectly balanced in his hand, a good weight. He sliced a long curve through the air.

Perfect.

'Jack?'

He took the scabbard and belt from the dummy torso they were fixed to and fastened them round his waist. It was a good fit. The scabbard hung well.

'You coming, Jack?'

'Yeah. I'm ready.'