Medium – Book
About the Book – Scarlett McCain is an outlaw, making her own way in future Britain, a dystopian landscape full of dangerous creatures, eugenics and cannibalistic Zombie men. She is a bank robber who shoots first and asks questions later, stealing and killing as she goes through Britain. On one of her journeys, she meets Albert Browne, an apparently defenseless and stupid youth, who she rescues from a group of people who are chasing them (as well as some very interesting evolved beasts). She soon finds though, that Albert has his own dark and dangerous talents, and that despite her usually selfish motives, she feels the need to help the boy get to safety.
My Rating – 3.5/5
My Thoughts – This book came as part of a Book Box celebrating dystopian fiction. I have to admit that dystopia is not a usual choice for me – now that I am old enough to choose my own books to read I am much more in favour of books with a more historical or fantastical setting, rather than a book where everything has gone wrong! So this wasn’t a book I would usually have chosen – but I am glad to have read it. It had an interesting, engaging story line, imaginative settings and fascinating characters. I have to admit that it did not grip me the whole way through, and the last 50 or so pages I did not think were as good as the rest, but it was a solid, enjoyable read up to that point.
I really enjoyed the two main characters, with Scarlett being a fantastic female hero and Albert a really fun and interesting foil for her. The additional characters were well painted, except for the main antagonist, whose powers I don’t think were ever fully explored. The two supplementary ‘good’ characters, Joe and Ettie, were two of my favourites of the book, and I found myself rooting for them and hoping that they wouldn’t end up as casualties (and they will be in the next book). I know that the author is probably waiting for the next book, but I would have liked to know about Scarlet’s backstory a little more, so I am definitely going to read the next one when it is released.
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