Wonderful Political Dystopia

The Nature of Ash by Mandy Hager

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I am impressed! This was a real adrenalin rush of a read - devoured in a matter of days. Pretty serious stuff, and all the more powerful because it's set in my country, in places I have a passing familiarity with. The writing style is compelling and I found the characters convincing. I especially liked the inclusion of Mikey, the younger brother with Downs Syndrome, and the relationship he had with Ash. Whilst other readers have commented on the language - I would have to say - this is probably set 10-20 years in the future - who's to say how teenagers will talk? The storyline was heartbreaking, brutal and tense, but with a healthy dose of humanity and a dash of humour. The political intrigue was fascinating - and very complicated. All too easy to believe with the world in the state it is. The little hints to how the world had changed really brought this future world to life without it feeling like things were being forced down your throat, but introduced them naturally. Indeed, I am tempted now to go back and read the rest of Hager's "Blood of the Lamb" trilogy for she is clearly a skillful author.

My only complaints - or to be precise, observations - are the storyline is littered with swearwords - which definitely fit the premise but may not be to the tastes of some readers and the occasional sexual thoughts of Ash felt a little cliched - like the author was writing them in because it was how she thought an 18 year old boy must feel. Otherwise, she managed to get into the head of a late-teen boy very well indeed. I found Mikey's behaviour very convincing: she seems to have a very sound knowledge of Downs Syndrome.

Overall, an excellent and compelling read and I highly recommend it for ages 16+ - it should certainly spur a lot of discussion about our political future if we continue in the way that we are going (selling off our assets overseas, etc). I hope it does well in the NZ Children's Post Book Awards, in which it is one of hte nominees.



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Magician by trade, bastard by disposition

Eagle Rising
David Devearaux

Genre: Crime thriller
Audience: mature, probably more male
Rating: 4/5

You can call him "Jack", it's not his name, but if you knew his name, he'd have to kill you. Jack works for a secret branch of the government - a branch that deals with the supernatural thread. Jack is a magician. But this is not your typical paranormal urban fantasy. This is a crime thriller with a touch of magic. Jack's latest challenge is to infiltrate a neo-nazi society - a society that are about to delve into dark magics. To do this, first he must befriend some of the least likeable people you might ever meet. Jack is a hard man, somewhere deeply buried within him is a conscience, but he is not afraid to do what has to be done to achieve his goals - whether it be killing someone, or worse...

Not for the faint of heart, and not for those of you that like to sink your teeth into a nice paranormal romance. This book is as far from romance as you can go. It's bleak, it's grim and it will make you cringe and maybe even think about stopping reading. But you won't. Because for all that you will grow to hate him, just a little, Jack's story is just too darned engrossing.

And here's my review in brief of its predecessor:

Hunter's Moon
"Jack" is a magician, working for the government. He's also not the sort of person you'd want as a friend - and even less as an enemy. He may not be proud of his methods, but he's prepared to do what it requires to complete his mission. This book is like a dark cousin to Jim Butcher, Jack lacks in morals and subtlety and the whole set-up is just more brutal and dark. From disturbing sex-scenes to even more disturbing inquisition tactics, this is not a tale for you paranormal romance readers!