Author: Chris Ward
Publisher: Createspace
Pub. Date: March 19, 2012
Acquired: From author, for honest review.
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Beneath the dark streets of London they played a dangerous game with trains. Now it is their only chance for survival…
Mega Britain in 2075 is a dangerous place. A man known as the Governor rules the country with an iron hand, but within the towering perimeter walls of London Greater Urban Area anarchy spreads unchecked through the streets.
In the abandoned London Underground station of St. Cannerwells, a group of misfits calling themselves the Tube Riders seek to forget the chaos by playing a dangerous game with trains. Marta is their leader, a girl haunted by her brother’s disappearance. Of the others, Paul lives only to protect his little brother Owen, while Simon is trying to hold on to his relationship with Jess, daughter of a government official. Guarding them all is Switch, a man with a flickering eye and a faster knife, who cares only about preserving the legacy of the Tube Riders. Together, they are family.
Everything changes the day they are attacked by a rival gang. While escaping, they witness an event that could bring war down on Mega Britain. Suddenly they are fleeing for their lives, pursued not only by their rivals, but by the brutal Department of Civil Affairs, government killing machines known as Huntsmen, and finally by the inhuman Governor himself.
Such an action-packed adventure from the very beginning, The Tube Riders had me on the edge of my seat from the very first chapter. This book is so incredibly orginal in its plot and it was so extremly pleasing to read something that has a powerful story and captivating characters. I would classify this book as a YA, dystopian but most enjoyable for all ages.
This story takes place in Great Briton, in the future, in a world that doesn’t exist in reality. But, fictionally, it’s terrifying and alluring all the same. Coming from someone who is DEFINITELY not a risk-taker, I couldn’t help but be drawn in to the idea of tube riding. I can see why these characters make tube riding their life.
The author has the “good guys” and the “bad guys” in this story. And then–to make matters even crazier–we’re smacked in the face with a whole other group of antagonists that is almost scarier than the first.
Our main protagonists have to embark on a journey for their lives. After seeing something that they shouldn’t have, everything is on the line.
The story kept me engaged, the characters kept me rooting for them. Chris Ward has made me a fan!
