Book Title: The Enemy
Author: Charlie Higson
Series: The Enemy #1
Series: The Enemy #1
Date Started: January 20th 2014
Date Completed: January 25th 2014
Genres: Dystopian, Action, Adventure, Thriller, Horror
Rating: Three stars
Review:
I've heard a lot about The Enemy for quite a few years, but it never interested me too much until it had an influence on a story I was involved in. I therefore felt like I had to read it, and I was both impressed and disappointed. The book basically became a modern Lord of the Flies, and unfortunately, after a positive start, lost me around halfway. Having said that, I did enjoy it and am curious as to what happens next.
A disease has killed all the adults. The only children who survive are fighting a losing battle of survival; food is running low and more and more grown ups are roaming the streets, waiting to attack. But when a stranger arrives outside the make-shift fortress a group of kids have made, it seems there might be another chance at a new life. But they still have to travel into the heart of London and escape the dangers it presents.
I didn't get on with the writing particularly well, mainly because it's clearly aimed at a younger age group. I do find it a little strange with the amount of violence that it is targeted for younger ages, but I suppose it isn't as rough as it could be. I also found it quite childish that the kids called the zombies 'grown ups' when they clearly had a lot more maturity than that. But perhaps that's just be being pretentious.
Having said all of that, the story is quite character-driven so the writing didn't impact too much on the story.
The story was probably the biggest strength of the book. Higson had a really good attitude towards killing off characters effectively; deaths were quick and not dwelled on too long. This really echoed the atmosphere for the book and the reality of what really would happen.
However, I must say that the 'enemy' didn't scare me much, so I never really felt any threat throughout the story. This really impacted on the story, since the characters were all terrified of something I, as the reader, wasn't.
Although, in the end, the story did end very well. I look forward to what comes next.
There are a lot of characters in this book. A lot. So many, in fact, that half of them were able to be killed off and no one really notices. However, I just couldn't keep up with all the different people, what their stories were, whose side they were on etc. I also didn't get attached to anyone really, since there were just too many people to remember.
Maxie was pretty much the only character I felt for a little, since I really saw some character development through the story. I liked her relationships with everyone else in the story, as it showed different sides of her and how she really dealt with the situation she was in. On the other hand, I didn't like the fact that the girls were being referred to having power, but never really being treated like it - even by their friends. I think that will probably change in later books, but in The Enemy it did get on my nerves a little.
David was a good tyrant, and quite obviously bad from the beginning. I had a little trouble with how amazingly organised he was; I don't think even he would be able to deal with the apocalypse so well.
Finally, Sam and Callum. I, personally, didn't see the point in their stories, however I do understand that they probably have a big part in the later books. I just like having something to get into straight away, and then have things that build on top of that.
The pacing was okay; the beginning starts off very quickly and then dies down a bit. This continues through the whole book, with fast and then slow parts. I think that worked with the overall feel of the book, but didn't really show me an overall climax to the story.
I'm aware my review hasn't been completely positive, but I really did enjoy this book, and the cliffhanger has made me interested in what happens next. I recommend The Enemy to younger readers who feel like starting to get into the Young Adult genre. The writing was a little too simple for me, however the story was still engaging and interesting.
Image Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8540357-the-enemy
I've heard a lot about The Enemy for quite a few years, but it never interested me too much until it had an influence on a story I was involved in. I therefore felt like I had to read it, and I was both impressed and disappointed. The book basically became a modern Lord of the Flies, and unfortunately, after a positive start, lost me around halfway. Having said that, I did enjoy it and am curious as to what happens next.
A disease has killed all the adults. The only children who survive are fighting a losing battle of survival; food is running low and more and more grown ups are roaming the streets, waiting to attack. But when a stranger arrives outside the make-shift fortress a group of kids have made, it seems there might be another chance at a new life. But they still have to travel into the heart of London and escape the dangers it presents.
I didn't get on with the writing particularly well, mainly because it's clearly aimed at a younger age group. I do find it a little strange with the amount of violence that it is targeted for younger ages, but I suppose it isn't as rough as it could be. I also found it quite childish that the kids called the zombies 'grown ups' when they clearly had a lot more maturity than that. But perhaps that's just be being pretentious.
Having said all of that, the story is quite character-driven so the writing didn't impact too much on the story.
The story was probably the biggest strength of the book. Higson had a really good attitude towards killing off characters effectively; deaths were quick and not dwelled on too long. This really echoed the atmosphere for the book and the reality of what really would happen.
However, I must say that the 'enemy' didn't scare me much, so I never really felt any threat throughout the story. This really impacted on the story, since the characters were all terrified of something I, as the reader, wasn't.
Although, in the end, the story did end very well. I look forward to what comes next.
There are a lot of characters in this book. A lot. So many, in fact, that half of them were able to be killed off and no one really notices. However, I just couldn't keep up with all the different people, what their stories were, whose side they were on etc. I also didn't get attached to anyone really, since there were just too many people to remember.
Maxie was pretty much the only character I felt for a little, since I really saw some character development through the story. I liked her relationships with everyone else in the story, as it showed different sides of her and how she really dealt with the situation she was in. On the other hand, I didn't like the fact that the girls were being referred to having power, but never really being treated like it - even by their friends. I think that will probably change in later books, but in The Enemy it did get on my nerves a little.
David was a good tyrant, and quite obviously bad from the beginning. I had a little trouble with how amazingly organised he was; I don't think even he would be able to deal with the apocalypse so well.
Finally, Sam and Callum. I, personally, didn't see the point in their stories, however I do understand that they probably have a big part in the later books. I just like having something to get into straight away, and then have things that build on top of that.
The pacing was okay; the beginning starts off very quickly and then dies down a bit. This continues through the whole book, with fast and then slow parts. I think that worked with the overall feel of the book, but didn't really show me an overall climax to the story.
I'm aware my review hasn't been completely positive, but I really did enjoy this book, and the cliffhanger has made me interested in what happens next. I recommend The Enemy to younger readers who feel like starting to get into the Young Adult genre. The writing was a little too simple for me, however the story was still engaging and interesting.
Image Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8540357-the-enemy
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