The Fearless - A Review
To all who are reading this,
To coincide with the U.S. release of this awesome YA book, I thought it was only appropriate to update this blog with the review of it! British author Emma Pass is back with a book that gave me shivers down my spine, creeped me out and had my emotions turning somersaults.
A standalone novel, The Fearless was originally published in 2014. It's hard to put my finger on the precise area of YA, that Ms Pass is writing in, because it crosses so many territories. From horror and zombie survival, to apocalyptic futures, thrillers and action, and also an undercurrent of light romance, there is something for everyone.
And all of that, is good stuff.
There may be spoilers.
Blurb
The night the Fearless swept through the country, they stole everything from me.
My parents. My home.
My childhood. My future.
They felt no compassion.
They showed no mercy.
I have one person left in the world.
I won't let them take my brother.
When I met Ms Pass at the Heroines of Teen Literature evening at Waterstones High Street in Lincoln, I had only ever previously read ACID (for the review click here). So when she described The Fearless I knew I had to have a copy. Lucky for me, I already had purchased it along with ACID. Ms Pass signed both copies of the book, we had a photograph taken and we chatted.
The cover has a real apocalyptic feel, with burning blood moon skies, dilapidated buildings and burnt out cars in the background. We can even see two figures walking through the chaos, but it's only until after reading the book that it registered who these characters were! Dominating the cover is a curly haired girl, in sturdy boots and battered clothes. She is ready though - balanced on her toes to spring into action.
A tagline on the top of the book reads: The deadliest enemy feels no fear. Something that is apparent through the book, when allegiances shift and we're uncertain who is really the villain of the piece.
The novel follows seventeen year old Brit, Cass Hollencroft. When Cass was ten, her world was changed. It shook her to the core and she has forever felt its after effects. She watched as masses of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder soldiers and ordinary civilians became genetically altered into creatures called Fearless.
To become Fearless, is to take away emotions, not just fear. It chemically alters the brain, and those people experience cravings that can only be controlled with regular doses of the drug which originally turned them. They undergo physical changes, such as discolouration of the eyes, and heightened sense of hearing and smell. Thy're fast and strong, with deep voices, and amazing healing processes.
Losing her father in the invasion was one thing. To lose her mother to depression was another.
Keeping a close watch on her little brother, Jori, along with her best friend Sol, Cass grows up with a new way of life on a small island, called Hope Island. During an exam to become one of the island's patrollers, Cass and Sol meet an injured boy, who has managed to breach Hope Island's defences. His name is Myo, and life is never the same again.
Now, Cass must use every survival skill she has learnt if she is to rescue Jori from the clutches of the Fearless.
Cass has seen the world change around her, and she has become hardened to enable her to live in harmony with the other islanders. Her training to become a Patroller has given her strength, brains and the ability to protect herself against others. What she cannot protect though, is her heart.
The romantic plot line is great because we don't just get one perspective from Cass. Instead, we have multiple view points with Sol, and Myo.
Sol is protective of Cass. Having known each other since they were kids, they survived the invasion, and have grown up alongside each other on the island, adapting to their new lives. This makes him believe (to a certain degree) that Cass should rightfully be with him - that they have a connection and are good together.
On the other hand, Scottish born Myo is secretive of his past life and experiences. A survivalist by nature, he never planned to form such a bond with Cass, but when he does, he is hit hard and fast by emotions.
The Fearless are not just in the UK. They are all over Europe, and it seems that they outnumber the human population. Other forces though are intent of regaining the world as it was. Known as the Magpies, they are a group of people mainly made up of military background who are trying to find a way to reverse the effects of the Fearless drug, and to stop the Fearless from creating more and more of the new species.
Yet, the world is different from what Cass, Sol and Myo remember. Buildings have been left to ruin, and transport is extremely rare. Vegetation and nature has let itself grow wild and untamed, with the bare bones of humans left in city streets. It's dark, atmospheric. Exactly what these types of books need to be.
Maps of the area are included, along with torn shredded newspaper accounts, and an email report from people from Pharmadexon Pharmaceuticals who discuss drugs, soldiers and PTSD. Those are big clues as to how the world became a shadow of its former self.
Once more, Ms Pass makes clever observations about modern life, genetics, the army, and the lengths that the human race will go to to survive. I had been completely sucked into the novel by its characters, and its scarily written prose. It takes a lot to scare me and the opening section 'INVASION' certainly did that, with its powerful opening and final lines:
Opening line of INVASION: 'When I was ten, the world ended.'
Final line of INVASION: 'My brother was born while Hope Island was still rising up out of the water in front of us and the docks and the mainland were still falling away behind.'
The only question I have is: when is the next book, Ms Pass?!
You can find Emma Pass on the Internet in the following places:
FacebookTwitterAmazonWebsiteBlog
Yours, with eternal ink,
Zoe
---
Currently reading: The Night Itself by Zoe Marriott
To coincide with the U.S. release of this awesome YA book, I thought it was only appropriate to update this blog with the review of it! British author Emma Pass is back with a book that gave me shivers down my spine, creeped me out and had my emotions turning somersaults.
A standalone novel, The Fearless was originally published in 2014. It's hard to put my finger on the precise area of YA, that Ms Pass is writing in, because it crosses so many territories. From horror and zombie survival, to apocalyptic futures, thrillers and action, and also an undercurrent of light romance, there is something for everyone.
And all of that, is good stuff.
There may be spoilers.
Blurb
The night the Fearless swept through the country, they stole everything from me.My parents. My home.
My childhood. My future.
They felt no compassion.
They showed no mercy.
I have one person left in the world.
I won't let them take my brother.
When I met Ms Pass at the Heroines of Teen Literature evening at Waterstones High Street in Lincoln, I had only ever previously read ACID (for the review click here). So when she described The Fearless I knew I had to have a copy. Lucky for me, I already had purchased it along with ACID. Ms Pass signed both copies of the book, we had a photograph taken and we chatted.
The cover has a real apocalyptic feel, with burning blood moon skies, dilapidated buildings and burnt out cars in the background. We can even see two figures walking through the chaos, but it's only until after reading the book that it registered who these characters were! Dominating the cover is a curly haired girl, in sturdy boots and battered clothes. She is ready though - balanced on her toes to spring into action.
A tagline on the top of the book reads: The deadliest enemy feels no fear. Something that is apparent through the book, when allegiances shift and we're uncertain who is really the villain of the piece.
The novel follows seventeen year old Brit, Cass Hollencroft. When Cass was ten, her world was changed. It shook her to the core and she has forever felt its after effects. She watched as masses of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder soldiers and ordinary civilians became genetically altered into creatures called Fearless.
To become Fearless, is to take away emotions, not just fear. It chemically alters the brain, and those people experience cravings that can only be controlled with regular doses of the drug which originally turned them. They undergo physical changes, such as discolouration of the eyes, and heightened sense of hearing and smell. Thy're fast and strong, with deep voices, and amazing healing processes.
Losing her father in the invasion was one thing. To lose her mother to depression was another.
Keeping a close watch on her little brother, Jori, along with her best friend Sol, Cass grows up with a new way of life on a small island, called Hope Island. During an exam to become one of the island's patrollers, Cass and Sol meet an injured boy, who has managed to breach Hope Island's defences. His name is Myo, and life is never the same again.
Now, Cass must use every survival skill she has learnt if she is to rescue Jori from the clutches of the Fearless.
Cass has seen the world change around her, and she has become hardened to enable her to live in harmony with the other islanders. Her training to become a Patroller has given her strength, brains and the ability to protect herself against others. What she cannot protect though, is her heart.
The romantic plot line is great because we don't just get one perspective from Cass. Instead, we have multiple view points with Sol, and Myo.
Sol is protective of Cass. Having known each other since they were kids, they survived the invasion, and have grown up alongside each other on the island, adapting to their new lives. This makes him believe (to a certain degree) that Cass should rightfully be with him - that they have a connection and are good together.
On the other hand, Scottish born Myo is secretive of his past life and experiences. A survivalist by nature, he never planned to form such a bond with Cass, but when he does, he is hit hard and fast by emotions.
The Fearless are not just in the UK. They are all over Europe, and it seems that they outnumber the human population. Other forces though are intent of regaining the world as it was. Known as the Magpies, they are a group of people mainly made up of military background who are trying to find a way to reverse the effects of the Fearless drug, and to stop the Fearless from creating more and more of the new species.
Yet, the world is different from what Cass, Sol and Myo remember. Buildings have been left to ruin, and transport is extremely rare. Vegetation and nature has let itself grow wild and untamed, with the bare bones of humans left in city streets. It's dark, atmospheric. Exactly what these types of books need to be.
Maps of the area are included, along with torn shredded newspaper accounts, and an email report from people from Pharmadexon Pharmaceuticals who discuss drugs, soldiers and PTSD. Those are big clues as to how the world became a shadow of its former self.
Once more, Ms Pass makes clever observations about modern life, genetics, the army, and the lengths that the human race will go to to survive. I had been completely sucked into the novel by its characters, and its scarily written prose. It takes a lot to scare me and the opening section 'INVASION' certainly did that, with its powerful opening and final lines:
Opening line of INVASION: 'When I was ten, the world ended.'
Final line of INVASION: 'My brother was born while Hope Island was still rising up out of the water in front of us and the docks and the mainland were still falling away behind.'
The only question I have is: when is the next book, Ms Pass?!
You can find Emma Pass on the Internet in the following places:
FacebookTwitterAmazonWebsiteBlog
Yours, with eternal ink,
Zoe
---
Currently reading: The Night Itself by Zoe Marriott
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