FloodWorld

FloodWorld #1

by Tom Huddleston

Kara and Joe spend their days navigating the perilous waterways of a sunken city, scratching out a living in the ruins. But when they come into possession of a mysterious map, they find themselves in a world of trouble. Suddenly everyone’s after them: gangsters, cops and ruthless Mariner pirates in their hi-tech submarines. The two children must find a way to fight back before Floodworld’s walls come tumbling down…

Floodworld is a gripping, action-packed story for 10+ readers.

Genres: Middle Grade, Dystopia, Childrens

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 2019

About the author

I'm Tom Huddleston, author of adventure stories like the FLOODWORLD trilogy (FLOODWORLD, DUSTROAD and STORMTIDE), plus several episodes in the WARHAMMER ADVENTURES and STAR WARS: ADVENTURES IN WILD SPACE series.

I also write about film and TV for publications including Time Out, the BFI and The Guardian, and I sing in a folk-rock band called The No Sorrows.

I was born in Kendal and raised in North Yorkshire, though I now live in London. I realise that I almost have the same name as Loki, but rest assured I'm not him: I'm slightly rounder and a lot less famous. However, I have managed to make him admit that it's his family who spell their name wrong, not mine.

If you have any questions at all about the FLOODWORLD trilogy, WARHAMMER ADVENTURES, STAR WARS: ADVENTURES IN WILD SPACE or anything else, please get in touch!

Reviews

[Mr Pink Ink · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a dystopian world, of a future that seems very possible, the world has drowned and only small portions of land remain. Most of London is now underwater and only a wall separates the sea from swallowing the city entirely - here, it's every man for himself...

Kara and Joe live in the slums and all they want to do is earn a little money for food and a little to put away so they can go to Canada someday, but they get dragged into a web of deceit and uncover a plot to destroy the city.

Fans of Star Wars may be familiar with Tom's work but, since I'm not a Star Wars fan myself, he is a new author for me and I thoroughly enjoyed this book; so looking forward to the sequel, Dustroad, coming soon.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fast-paced middle-grade action-adventure and I literally had to slow myself down from gobbling it up in one sitting.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Floodworld was my first experience of Tom Huddlestone and he certainly knows his way around crafting an imposing, enthralling, intricately detailed dystopian world. You're always off to a winner when you get a mini-map of the world provided, love that. The tone, mood and general aura of the writing married perfectly well with his futuristic London environment. Add that to his luxurious use of language and colourful, vivid detail and you're in for a thrilling ride. I think this book would be accessible for upper KS2 while plenty enough enthralling for older readers. The characters had depth, background and intrigued me, particularly the gutsy Kara and later Redeye and Cortez (I always like the bad guys). I'd have liked a bit more of Cortez to feature in the book.
The pace flows nicely and holds interest throughout, the dual timeline towards the end working well to build tension and the finale battle was riveting. I enjoyed this immensely!

Excited to read Dustworld!!

[Graine Milner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dystopian novel set in a futuristic London which is largely underwater. Our main characters, Kara and Joe, live in the shanties; Joe's a 'beef' - someone who dives for treasures. They're orphans, poor and longing for a way out - they can't think beyond their next meal - until Joe, surfacing from a dive, is almost killed by a Mariner on a jetski. The Mariner swerves to avoid Joe and dies; his last words "I'm sorry" accompany a strange drawing that he gives to Joe. And so Joe and Kara are propelled into an endless, endless, endless, often confusing, game of cat and mouse between the Mariners, who hate the land-dwelling 'mudfoots', the mysterious Redeye and current London leader Remmick. Kara is captured and escapes, captured and escapes, captured and escapes...It turns out that no-one with any power can be trusted - they're all as bad as each other. Plenty of action, but not much of a character arc - think junior James Bond, somewhat soggy.

[David Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story too wet your appetite

A gripping adventure about Kara and Joe, set in a flooded world of haves and have-nots. Plenty of drama, twists and full of well-rounded, entertaining characters. Like Kin Stanley Robinson's New York 2140, Tom Huddleston does a great job of portraying a fully-fledged socio-economic world for our heroes, but it never gets in the way of a dark, exciting tale. Looking forward to the sequel already.

[Daisy Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Floodworld is a fast-paced and exciting book that leaves you wanting to read more. The characters are vivid and you get to like them a lot. I think this book is very thought provoking about the impacts of global warming and the rich poor divide in society which was great. Overall I really enjoyed reading Floodworld and I would definitely recommend it to anyone over the age of 9!

[ALICE CORNELL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and thought-provoking

This adventure story may be set in the future, but I thought it said a lot about the world of today. It's the story of Kara and Joe, two children trying to survive in a flooded future version of London, after the seas have risen. It's entertaining and full of action, but it's also a great way to address the issue of climate change with kids.

Highly recommend.

[Georgie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thrilling futuristic adventure, set in a world almost destroyed by climate change. While I found Kara occasionally abrasive, I liked her kick ass, no nonsense attitude, and she’s nicely balanced out by the more optimistic (if naive) Joe, and later Nate. The world building here is excellent and I could easily imagine a half-drowned London. Looking forward to Book 2.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Huddleston has has created a near future world so believable that it feels with our grasp to change what happens next in ours . A great adventure that has captured the imagination of my reluctant reader nephew . I’ll be slinging copies of this book to many this Christmas

[Lindsey Bowden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been fascinated with the idea of a flooded world and underwater cities so this was right up my street. Tom Huddleston has done a wonderful job in creating a new world in this book. He writes with a fun flair, really giving you the picture of the Floodworld in your mind as you read. The pacing is good and the characters very well developed. All in all I recommend the book and hope to read a sequel one day!

[Matylda Saresta · Rating 2 out of 5]

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[Martin Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 10 year-old son loved this, and keeps asking when the next book in the series will be released. It’s a pretty good read for adults too - I enjoyed it.

[Jacks.Hendriegmail.Com · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this as I really liked his previous novel ‘The Waking World’. I wasn’t disappointed, and I’m looking forward to the sequel.

[camilla cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makes me wish I was a kid again! If you have a young relative I can highly advise this as a gift- such a thrilling adventure story. I loved the characters and never wanted it to end.

[Alastair Chisholm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cracking dystopian thriller in full blockbuster style! Floodworld is set in a world reeling from eco-disaster, society has splintered and everyone is clinging on to life (except for the blessed one-percenters, living in comfort behind flood walls …), and follows Kara and Joe as they try to survive feral gangs, corrupt police and terrorists who may or may not be freedom fighters … The book pulls no punches and has some fantastically exciting scenes, and most of the adults are morally ambiguous at best – you'll spend the whole book trying to figure out who really *are* the good guys. Great fun!

[Lio · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars!

[Scott Eastlick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully imagined story told with a style of prose akin to riding a bicycle downhill. A great read for its intended audience, with multiple bones being thrown towards older readers too. Highly recommended.

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thrilling dystopian adventure, full review here: https://bit.ly/2TjQOtz

[Rosie Greatorex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this! It's a climate-change dystopia for kids, but with an almost Blade Runner cityscape which adult readers are going to really get immersed in. For me it definitely worked on both those levels. I fell in love with the whole cast of characters, as well as getting swept up in the action.. and couldn’t help seeing this on the cinema screen as I was reading it, it's so visual. If you enjoy the scale and emotion of NK Jemisin this is one for you, for sure. It definitely reads younger than the Broken Earth trilogy - but still has those deep character relationships as well as the sense of scale and detail in the world.

[A Severs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminded me a little of Philip Reeve's stuff - especially Infernal Devices where some of the action is set in the water. I started this a while back and then didn't get on with reading it - once I picked it back up again the action really got going. However, I found there weren't enough ups to balance the downs - true to life (if that's possible in a apocalyptic future world) perhaps, but not as easy to read.

[Nicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

The scary thing about this book is that it could come true! It's set in a world where the sea has risen and much of London and the rest of the world has flooded. This of course brings out the worst in people (and sometimes the best too...)

[Amy (Golden Books Girl) · Rating 3 out of 5]

In his debut novel, Tom Huddleston introduces the dystopian world of Floodworld, and more specifically the characters Kara and Joe, who are forced to go on the run when a mysterious map falls into their possession. I really liked Kara and her strength as a character was definitely my favourite thing about the book, and I loved the side that her relationship with Joe brought out in her as well. I also found the idea of this world in itself an interesting one to explore. However, I found the specifics of the worldbuilding confusing and I didn`t feel all that invested in the plot as a result. Overall, this really just wasn`t for me but I do think it might appeal to people that enjoy dystopian narratives more than I do! 3/5

[Ksiazkoholiczkq · Rating 4 out of 5]

Podchodząc do tej książki praktycznie nic o niej nie wiedziałam. Niestety w książkowym świecie nie słyszałam o niej zbyt wiele, a naprawdę ta książka zasługuje na rozgłos! Opowiada ona historię przyszłości w której z powodów zanieczyszczeń środowiska świat zmienia się na miejsce ciężkie do życia. Miejsce akcji to morskie miasto- Wrakowisko na którym panuje głód, brud i ciężkie warunki do życia. Dwójka bohaterów- Kara i Joe zarabiają na życie wyławiając z zatopionej części miasta przedmioty cenne dla kolekcjonerów. Wydaje mi się, że ta książka może spodobać się fanom Szczypty magii, bo mimo tego, że opowiadają one dwie totalnie niepowiązane ze sobą historie, z jakiegoś powodu kojarzą mi się ze sobą.

[Catlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked it, it was both for teens and adults in a sense. I would say it would be suitable for children, however there was a lot of complex words and a lot of murder.

It was good at demonstrating how a democracy can fail, and how people try and turn to anger to fix things. The difference between the two areas in London describe the real world now, especially with the climate crisis they suffered.

The beginning was slightly boring however, around half way through it got very interesting and captivating.

Also, at many points throughout the book I felt as if I had no clue what was happening. Some parts were overly described, too complicated - so i couldn’t understand what was happening properly.

[Josie Jaffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the setting and the story of this book, but it seems to me that it falls in weird MG/YA hybrid place. The language and story are MG (very black and white: baddies are baddies without much complexity), but the subject matter felt much older at times (a lot of people die or are injured in quite graphic ways, and they roast a cat, which I hated).
That stuck-in-the-middle feeling persisted in the tone of the book - I was never quite sure if I was in a rollicking adventure story or a creepy dystopian horror. I didn’t like that feeling, but other readers may well enjoy it. It’s a perfectly competent novel, but in the end, there wasn’t quite enough fun or creep-factor to intrigue me.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

i'm a huge fan of dystopia but this one just felt too childish honestly. there was absolutely no character arc, we know almost nothing about all of them and i honestly expected much more because the idea had potential but if i'm being honest i mean the whole speech about the fact that there's good guys and bad guys in every society was super cliche and the way we left things didnt seem right with me like i would expect a cliffhanger at the end of the first book of a dystopian series but this one was just not strong enough to push me to get the next book

[Andrew Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book set in a dystopian London which is largely underwater. It’s got quite a lot to say about divides in society, the haves and the have nots, and their attitudes to each other and the current green agenda, but also packs a punchy fast paced story. Worthy of the hype, not often I say that.

[Emilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a lot of fun and one I could definitely see making an excellent movie one day.

[Mikhaila Tulloch · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Emma Francois · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick read. Easy to follow along. Short, simple chapters.

[lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled to read this so i decided to buy the audio book and ommggg it make it so much easier and really enjoyable!