Surprises

I’d like to thank Nymeth for presenting me with an “I Love Your Blog” award it was a lovely surprise in my RSS feed this morning.

It goes without saying that I’d award it straight back atcha! But I’m not sure it it allowed

And, I’m pretty sure some of the following have already been given one of these from elsewhere - but I don’t care, you’re getting one again!

So, Clare at Blue Archipelago; Natasha at Maw Books Blog; Eva at A Striped Armchair; and last but not least, Katie at Kate’s Bookshelf. You can all collect your award! Katie is responsible for introducing me to both my favourite artist of the last 18 months (Missy Higgins) and my favourite books of the year (The Tomorrow Series by John Marsden) all three of whom hail from Australia, now some, might suggest if she is so good at it, I should hand over more of my entertainment choices to her, if she is so good at getting the selection right, that’s all well and good, they may well be right, that is apart from one tiny, minute, little issue. Some things just ain’t going to happen. **Shudders at the thought**

Another nice surprise, yesterday, came when I was sorting out the old TBR pile, and I discovered my stack of Marcus Sedgewick’s books I’ve been building up. I completely forgot about these when I was putting together my reading pool for R.I.P III and yet they are perfect for it, Sedgewick is brilliant at creating a atmospheric books, with a great sense of brooding/spookiness about them. I’m reading Witch Hill at the moment, expect a review to follow!

The Tomorrow Series ~ John Marsden

I’ve already blogged about a couple of books in this series (and the audio versions) on this site before, but I thought I might say a word or two about the series as a whole, seeing as they’d take up a sizable proportion of my ten books this year if I was to list them individually.

First a little bit of history of how I came to read them. Now these books were a HUGE thing in their home country of Australia, but they’re not as well known elsewhere, certainly not in the UK where I live and where I’ve never seen them in a bookshop. Fortunately for me however, I have an Australian friend, who despite a poor taste in cricket teams has exemplary literary tastes. Perusing her website once day I came across this review, and I’ll be honest I was as much intrigued by the books title, as I was hooked by her review, and so a quick mooch and a few days later. A new addiction had begun…

…So the main thing I wondered, looking at the crowd, was how today’s teenagers would react in the event of a war. Would they dig deep and find reserves of initiative, maturity, responsibility and even heroism that they were perhaps not aware of themselves? – John Marsden, Marsden on Marsden, Macmillan, 2000

A collection of seven novels by Australian author, John Marsden, “The Tomorrow Series,” follows a small group of teenagers, who after enjoying their last few days of freedom  camping in the bush, before returning to school. Out of contact with the rest of the world they’re unaware of the shocking events taking place around them. Returning home they find their country not only at war, but under occupation!

(The rest of this post, will contain spoilers.)

Ellie Linton:
Teenager, Ellie Linton, takes us through these events and the groups subsequent guerrilla attacks on the enemy’s garrison located in their home town of Wirrawee - and eventually as the books progress, beyond. Ellie’s narration actually forms part of the story as she has been asked by the group to document their efforts, and she does this with an honesty that occasionally gets her in to trouble with the group.

Possessing a stubborn steak, a mile wide, she rarely backs down from a fight, particularly those with old friend and the groups leader Homer Yannos some of this tension is from her confusion as to who Homer is to her, childhood friend? The brother she never had? Possible love interest? Ellie swings between them all at times. Her personal “journey” takes all seven books to play out, as more and more intent on survival she loses some of her caring side, becoming hardened and more violent, before eventually a group of “feral” kids allows her to re-find some of caring side.

“I found Ellie’s voice quite unexpectedly, as I drove back from the tip one Saturday afternoon. I was in an old Landrover, just 500 meters from home, and suddenly I could hear Ellie talking. ‘It’s only half an hour since someone, Robyn I think, suggested we write this down. And it’s only five minutes since I got chosen. But I can’t do it while they’re all crowded around me, yelling ideas and advice. Rack off guys! Leave me alone! Thats better. Now I’m down at the creek. I don’t know why they chose me to do this. I guess I’m meant to be good at English or something. Realising that if I didn’t get her voice on paper, I might lose it again forever, I pulled off to the side of the road, grabbed an old envelope that was blowing around in the back of the Landrover, and quickly wrote down the words. I drove on to my place, parked the Landie, and raced into the house knowing that I had a new book underway, and feeling very excited about it.” - John Marsden, Marsden on Marsden. Macmillan, 2000

Homer Yannos:
Long time friend of Ellie, and before the war, known mainly as a bit-of-a-lad who enjoyed messing about and avoiding responsibility wherever possible, he surprises the group by stepping up to take charge displaying a previously hidden maturity. This isn’t to say that the ‘old’ Homer has completely disappeared and he often lightens the mood with an appropriate (or more often, inappropriate!) joke.

Corrie Mackenzie:
Another long term friend of Ellie’s and girlfriend of Kevin. While we unfortunately don’t get to learn much about Corrie (as she is an early casualty) she continues to have a profound effect on the group throughout the books.

Lee:
Ellie’s eventual boyfriend. Lee, like Ellie - although more so - turns more to violence as the war continues, his tendency to keep himself to himself, causes problems both for himself and the group, this is exasperated when Ellie and Lee first split up and then when news reaches the group that everyones parents are okay, apart from Lee’s. Like Ellie, it is the “feral” kids that eventually help Lee find his lighter side again.

Fiona Maxwell:
The only character who’s character remains relatively unchanged throughout the series, a townie at heart, she knows next to nothing about camping and bush life, Fi is one of the bravest people in the books (certainly in Ellie’s opinion) as while they all have to step outside their “comfort zone” at time, for Fi, this is an almost constant state of affairs and one she never backs away from.

Kevin Holmes:
Corrie’s boyfriend, and probably the one most affected mentally by the war, suffering a debilitating breakdown at the worst possible time, this and his recovery is a source of continued tension for the group.

Robyn Mathers:
Cool headed and very religious, is often the groups moral compass, she is usually the one to ask, “Is what we are doing, right?”

Chris Lang:
Not part of the group from the start, Chris a bit of a loner before the war anyway, finds it difficult to truly settle in, a personality trait that eventually leads to a lonely and ultimately unnecessary demise.

Tomorrow, When the War Began.
[read my full review here]

Somewhere out there Ellie and her friends are hiding. They’re shocked; they’re frightened; they’re alone. Their world has changed, with the speed of a slamming door.

They’ve got no weapons – except courage. They’ve got no help – except themselves. They’ve got nothing – except friendship.

How strong can you be, when the world is full of people trying to kill you?

An absolutely stunning start to the series - from the very first page -Ellie, is a wonderful narrator (and I am assured both by other reviews I have read and Katie, that Marsden has a scary ability to get into the head of a teenage girl!).

I devoured the the book in book in a couple of sittings, and while John Marsden, doesn’t really leave the book on a cliffhanger as such, you will want to read the next one straight away to find out what happens next.

Rating:

The Dead of Night

Hell is still the safest place on earth.

When you’ve run out of choices, you’ve only got yourself.

As war rages, as the enemy closes in, as Ellie and her friends fight for their lives, they are left with nothing.

Nothing but courage, spirit and pride.

A wonderful sequel that continues to tell you about their continued attacks against the enemy invaders, this book also begins to explore the effects that war is having on the group. They also learn to their dismay the lengths some of their fellow countrymen will go to, to ensure their own personal survival.

Rating:

The Third Day, The Frost
[aka: A Killing Frost]

Live what you believe in… die fighting for it.

The third day comes a frost… a killing frost.

The enemy spreads across the land, cold and relentless. They invade. They destroy. They kill.

Only the heroism of Ellie and her friends can stop them.

When hot courage meets icy death, who will win through?

One of the most powerful books in the series, sees the group pull off their most audacious raid yet, attacking Cobbler’s Bay. Flushed with success, they decide to take a ‘holiday’, and it’s on the way to the Isthmus, a camping area a couple of them they have been to previously that they are finally captured.

It takes a New Zealand air raid and one of the group to find true courage in the face of the enemy, for them to escape.

This is another fantastically nuanced tale from Marsden, one of my favourites in the series.

Rating:

Darkness be my Friend

Nowhere to run; one place left to hide. You’re running from bullets through the streets of your own town. Your life’s on the line and no-one’s there to help.

What’s happened?

When did safety turn to fear, peace turn to war, happiness turn to panic? When did your normal day become a nightmare?

As the title suggests, this book concentrates more on the group and their emotions than the flash and bang explosions of the previous novels. - In war not every plan can succeed and actions both good and bad have a cost, both physically and psychologically, in this book, Ellie and her friends - like never before - have to find out if they’re strong enough to overcome these costs, and go on to fight some even more spectacular battles in the future.

This rather sober book will likely effect you more than any other in the series, from other reviews I’ve read this is most peoples least favourite book, and I think that’s a little unfair. I personally think it’s important to consider it as part of the story as a whole, rather than just a stand-alone book. That way, it adds power both to the other books in the series, and gains it back in spades from them as well.

Rating:

Burning for Revenge

The world is in flames…

You look behind – there’s nothing but smoke. Ahead of you the future has just burst into flames.

Your life is on fire. The world’s an inferno.

You’re burning… with passion and fear, with love and rage.

You’re burning for revenge.

More by luck than judgment, they manage to strike a decisive blow to the enemy, but not without cost. One of the group suffers a breakdown and the rest struggle to cope with it’s ramifications.

Apart from the first book, this is my favourite in the series, Marsden effortlessly weaves physical and emotion action, he keeps you turning page after page until late in to the night (at least in my case). More than ever before in this riveting tale you visualise the fear felt by the characters, while escaping constant pursuit from the enemy.

Rating:

The Night is for Hunting

Hunting and being hunted.

Sometimes life seems to offer nothing more than a chase to the death. The fight to survive has never been fiercer.

But as they wage war, Ellie and her friends still find time for other things: friendship… loyalty… even Christmas.

If only they can withstand another night.

For me anyway, this might be the weakest book out of the seven, but that’s like saying I thought Order of the Phoenix was the weakest Harry Potter book, it’s still a cracking tale and as much of a  non-stop page turner as the rest, but the action is restrained to short bursts this time round as the group evade capture and return to Hell while at the same time try to convince a group of recalcitrant feral kids that they are only out to help them.

Rating:

The Other Side of Dawn

“Daylight couldn’t be far away, and if they hadn’t found me by then, it wouldn’t take long once the sun came up. The drops of blood would be a dead give-away. ‘Dead’ in every sense of the word.”

With a roar like a train in a tunnel, the war enters its final days. Ellie has to be on that train. There’s no more sitting around, no more waiting. There’s only fast decisions, fast action, fast thinking.

And she’d better get it right. With all their being, Ellie and her friends want to stay alive. But there’s a war out there. And it has to be won. The end is here…

The last book in a series is always going to be a difficult one, you are never going to please everyone, but for me when I started this final book was for it to end “right” as much as I’d wish for a shiny-happy ending, this was and is war, and it’s just not like that. Fortunately, Marsden manages to maintain credibility with what has gone before, and produced a suitably satisfying conclusion.

Rating:

In conclusion, it has been a while since a series has held me in its thrall, quite as much as The Tomorrow Series has done, (I’m not going to include Harry Potter here, because I read that over six years or so) there is nothing quite like finding a new series and just “having” to tear though every book as quickly as you can I’ll certainly miss Ellie and her friends, but not for too long I suspect as a re-read at some point in the near future is an almost certainty!

Not to mention, the fact that Marsden has also penned another three books following Ellie though the aftermath of the War.

Incurable - John Marsden ~ Narrated by Mikaela Martin

“I held my line. I knew from the war, if not from shooting rabbits, that we were safe enough for the first moments. It is too impossible to hit a target like us from a helicopter that’s rocking and rolling and trying to find its target. But maybe this guy had new equipment or maybe he was a brilliant shot or maybe he was just plain lucky. Bullet holes tore through the ute like a huge metal punch was suddenly and roughly slamming a simultaneous line of them from our rear to our front.”

One of my greatest literary discoveries this year has been the “Tomorrow” series by John Marsden. Starting with Tomorrow, When the War Began, the series follows Ellie Linton and her friends as they struggle to keep themselves alive and survive the sudden invasion of their country and the resulting war.

I’ve spent many a rewarding hour, reading (and listening) my way though the seven books that compromise the series, essentially young adult books, the quality of the writing is such, that I’d heartily recommend them to any adult who wanted to read them.

Incurable is part of a second trilogy of books, The Ellie Chronicles, which charts Ellie’s struggles to return to normal life now the war is over. Now orphaned, Ellie has to juggle school, keeping the farm running, and looking after Gavin, one of the kids they found and looked after in the later books of the Tomorrow books, and her involvement with Liberation, a guerrilla group which raids the new foreign settlement.

The Ellie Chronicles, tend to lack some of the drive and rush of the original series, unavoidable really, considering that the war is over. Still there is plenty to enjoy, the end of the war wasn’t a neat line in the sand, and Ellie and her friends have plenty of repercussions to deal with.

I’ve listen to a few of the books on audio, and the previous narrator, Suzi Dougherty, for me, perfectly captured, Ellie’s voice, and the books were a delight to listen to, providing new insight to some the events I had previously read about.

Incurable, marks a change in narrator, with Mikaela Martin, taking the reigns and I have to say I approached this audiobook with some trepidation because of it. So as such, I might not be being completely fair, when I say I didn’t enjoy her version.

Her interpretation of Ellie, just wasn’t right for me, yes she’s only a teenager, but Martin’s soft little girl version seemed to lack some of the strength, capability and maturity Ellie had gained through her experiences, certainly little of Ellie’s fierceness was on show. Martin’s pace seemed off as well, not flat exactly, but every event seemed to happen at the same speed, whether it be the gang chatting in Ellie’s kitchen or haring off on a Liberation raid.

The story itself, I enjoyed and it’s worthy of its place in the series, but this time, the audio book not so much.

Buy, Incurable (Ellie Chronicles) at Amazon.

Book: Rating:
Audiobook: Rating:

Tomorrow, When the War Began {Audiobook - Unabridged} - John Marsden

Rating:
Narrator: Suzi Dougherty
Audio Length: 7 hours and 21 min. Unabridged.

Ellie and the other survivors face an impossible decision: They can flee for the mountains or surrender. Or they can fight.

When Ellie and six of her friends return home from a camping trip deep in the bush, they find things hideously wrong - their families gone, houses empty and abandoned, pets and stock dead.

Gradually they begin to comprehend that their country has been invaded and everyone in the town has been taken prisoner. (And my only very minor nit-pic with the story is, that they possibly reach this conclusion a little too quickly , with the few clues they are given, but then the pace of the story is just beginning to pick up at this point and too much WTF? wouldn’t be ideal either.)

As the horrible reality of the situation becomes evident they have to make a life-and-death decision: to run back into the bush and hide, to give themselves up to be with their families, or to stay and try to fight.

I reviewed the paperback version of this book a couple of weeks ago, and really enjoyed it, so decided to download it as this months Audible download.

Suzi Dougherty’s narration is excellent, and really draws you into the story, as a Brit I natuarally tended to inflict a British accent on the characters when reading the paperback, apart from the really obvious Aussie-ism’s it was really nice to hear it with an appropriate voice for all the characters!

Suzi Dougherty really seems to capture Ellie’s character, and combined with John Marsden’s fantastic writing you can really lose yourself and believe that it is Ellie telling you the story.

I can heartily recommend both the book and this audio version.

Click Here to Download Audiobook

Tomorrow, When the War Began - John Marsden

Rating:

Ellie and the other survivors face an impossible decision: They can flee for the mountains or surrender. Or they can fight.

When Ellie and six of her friends return home from a camping trip deep in the bush, they find things hideously wrong - their families gone, houses empty and abandoned, pets and stock dead.

Gradually they begin to comprehend that their country has been invaded and everyone in the town has been taken prisoner. (And my only very minor nit-pic with the story is, that they possibly reach this conclusion a little too quickly , with the few clues they are given, but then the pace of the story is just beginning to pick up at this point and too much WTF? wouldn’t be ideal either.)

As the horrible reality of the situation becomes evident they have to make a life-and-death decision: to run back into the bush and hide, to give themselves up to be with their families, or to stay and try to fight.

Well Katie can come out of hiding, I mooched this book purely on her own review at Kate’s Bookshelf and threatened her with much cyber-grumpyness if I didn’t enjoy it, well I did. And them some.

Marketed as a young adult title, this wonderful book deserves a much bigger audience than that, this is a great story and the fact that if has teenage protagonists shouldn’t limit it’s market.

Ellie, is a wonderful narrator (and I am assured both by other reviews I have read and Katie, that Marsden has a scary ability to get into the head of a teenage girl!) and, had I read the book last week, then she would almost certainly have joined Thursday Next and Maximum Ride on my list of favourite heroines.

I devoured the the book in book in a couple of sittings, and thankfully the second in the series is already on its way to me (thanks again to Katie! who suggested it would be a good idea) While John Marsden, doesn’t really leave the book on a cliffhanger as such, you will want to read the next one straght away to find out what happens next.