Saturday, May 12, 2018

Blood in the Ashes / Chris Morphew

Blood in the Ashes
(Phoenix Files #2)
by Chris Morphew

subadult, science fiction

copyright 2015
read in May 2018

rated 7/10: well worth reading

This book is aimed at high school students who are willing to accept death and violence. Not that it's over the top. Just that it happens. Perhaps it's like a story set in WW2 Europe: the violence happens, it is what happens.

What happens is ... adventure. Non-stop, some sudden shifts, a plot which develops. With likeable characters and some you would want to like, but can't. And the standard range of characters who must be trusted though with reluctance.

I missed the first book but it only took a while to work out what was happening; that's good. It would be harder to read only the third book, the cast has expanded in this volume.

I was confused by this being "volume 2", with online reference to *six* books in the series. Not to worry, the books have been published (this edition) as two "books" per volume. So the series should finish in volume three.

The science is -- as far as I can tell -- based largely on some as-yet unexplained natural phenomenon, which edges the book into fantasy... Volume three may explain more.

The big brother sees all, controls all -- yet the heroes can work around it. It can be unbelievable but not enough to spoil the fun.

I dislike the cliffhanger ending, even without it I would want to read more. Nevertheless, an enjoyable book. Well worth reading, for young (not too young) and old.






Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
...        Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
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"I know so little that it astonishes me how many people know even less." … per Ginger Meggs

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