Earthfall by Mark Walden [Review]

Synopsis

Sam wakes to see strange vessels gathered in the skies around London. As he stares up, people stream past, walking silently towards the enormous ships which emit a persistent noise. Only Sam seems immune to the signal.

Months later, Sam is absolutely alone. In his underground bunker he has food and water for a couple of days. He has no choice but to venture above. Spotted by a flying drone, Sam escapes, but not before the drone slashes him with a barbed tendril.

That night, drenched in sweat, Sam realises without medical supplies the wound will kill him. This time above ground he is less lucky. Cornered again, Sam thinks he has reached the end – then the drone is shot down in a hail of machine gun fire.

In five minutes Sam learns two things: he is not alone; the drone injury should have killed him instantly – yet he is still alive. The battle for earth is about to begin.

Review

Earthfall by Mark Walden, was just the book I needed. I had a couple of books on the go (still do actually) and while I was enjoying them, they weren’t grabbing hold of my imagination and not letting go, in the way I was hoping. So the other day I picked up this one on a whim and started to read the first few pages.

Flippin’eck! Mark Waldon in Earthfall, his new book series doesn’t half drop you straight into the action!!! We meet London teenager, Sam Riley on the first page (though we don’t know his name at this point) and he’s right in the middle of a fight for his life with one of the alien invaders. The action in Earthfall, never really slows down from there.

Injured from the fight, Sam, needs to venture back on to the streets to search out some much-needed medication, despite his best efforts, Sam is soon spotted and he’s on the run again, only this time hampered by his injuries, and he might not make it away safely.

That is, until he meets Rachael, the first ‘free’ human he’s seen in eighteen months, and who is part of a small band of resistance fighters, mostly made up of teenagers, who may well be the only hope of retaliation left in the country, or even the world!

As well as the constant fight for survival, we learn a little about Sam’s past, the events leading up to the alien invasion and just why, Sam and his new friends appear to be the only ones not effected by the invaders mind control weapons.

I’ve not read any of the H.I.V.E books, Mark Waldon’s previous series, but I have to say, I’m impressed with his writing and the way he’s woven the action and the plot together. The twists and turns as the story reveals itself are just as exciting as any of his gripping action sequences.

My thanks to Ian, and the team at Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of Earthfall to review. They were also kind enough to send me a finished copy, which I have decided to hold a giveaway for. Look out for that post shortly!

Rating

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Buy: Earthfall by Mark Walden
My copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review purposes.