The Secret Runners of New York by Matthew Reilly Underrated Gem

-

 


⭐⭐⭐⭐ Stars

From the Back Cover

' The windows on all the skyscrapers are smashed . . .
No power, no lights, no people . . .
It's a parallel New York of some kind. '

THE COMING END

When Skye Rogers and her twin brother Red move to Manhattan, rumours of a coming global apocalypse are building. But this does not stop the young elite of New York from partying without a care.

CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?

And then suddenly Skye is invited to join an exclusive gang known as the Secret Runners of New York.
But this is no ordinary clique - they have access to an underground portal that can transport them into the future. And what Skye discovers in the future is horrifying: the rumours about the coming apocalypse are true . . .

RUN! AS FAST AS YOU CAN!

As society crumbles and Skye and Red race to figure out how to use their knowledge to survive the impending annihilation, they soon discover that the chaotic end of the world is a fine time for revenge . . .


The Secret Runners of New York - Review

This book was in my TBR for a long time from the time it was released very unlike my normal approach to MR's books. 

This was my rebound book after the horror of Cobalt Blue and I was disappointed with myself for keeping athis book in the backburner TBR list for so long. 

This is a dystopian wonder and sometimes makes me wonder how Matthew would write a pureplay post-apocalyptic series, probably something like a Scarecrow or Jack west on steroids. We have seen some of this mettle in the Hover Car Racer and Troll Mountain. His control over the story in The Great Zoo also highlights this potential range. Till the time he decides to go down that road, I will be satisfied that he has written this book. 

This dystopian wonder has similarities to parts of the French revolution. 

Reilly has put the screws in the book with the upper crust of Manhattan, a sci-fi time portal that allows the protagonists and access information to a certain bloodline through generations to access a certain timeline in the future. 

The story is underrated amongst the rest of Reilly's books. 

The story is very well written and as a young adult adventure, the protagonists and the family ties which are the crux of the story. 

The book starts innocuously with the siblings Skye and Red enrolled into the snootiest school in Manhattan where all the upper crust families' children went to. Their classmates are virtually plucked out of the Cruel Intentions and all the similar growing of age movies like Wild Things, Mean Girls, etc. The have weird tastes, weird friendships almost cultish and even vulgar ways of displaying their tastes, likes and dislikes. The dislikes manifest themselves in extremely horrifying actions with intent to harm the target physically or mentally. Most of the students seem to have a few marbles out of space and time with certifiable streaks which keep manifesting in their actions. Their interactions and the heights to which they are willing to go, in the whole story takes the book to another level. 

The protagonist Skye joins the school for the rich and merciless and falls with some of the extreme hip people. The portal is a surprise and it hits our girl, with equally mixed messages in the news and a possible end of the world scenario. The story progresses into a spree in the future and every back and forth through the portal makes for some very difficult life decisions. 

The story goes beyond the portal and after the end of world with existence and rebuilding aiding the story. 

The after effects of the end of world is also very well written and after being a Reilly fan for over two decades, I am still amazed that this is one avenue that he has not explored enough. 

I have seen some of the streaks in Troll Mountain and would love to read more.   

Recommended for the adventure. 


⭐⭐⭐⭐ Stars

Recommended



Please do not forget to post your comments. I am an equal opportunity person so would love to hear your love or your hate for the review or book in any order. Please write what you did not like or whether the book was an absolute disaster for you and why.


You can also write to firstsutraindia@gmail.com


Goodreads Review here -

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5031123514

Amazon Review here -

https://www.amazon.in/gp/customer-reviews/R3FAPQAJNGKHNL


Or my Social Media Handle @BookishDramas in Twitter, Instagram & Facebook. Links are given below -


https://twitter.com/bookishdramas

https://www.instagram.com/bookishdramas/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088404892842




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

James Bond 007, Vol. 1 by Greg Pak

-
Image
  ⭐⭐⭐ ⭐  Stars Blurb The ODD JOB epic begins in a new ongoing James Bond comic series by superstars GREG PAK (Planet Hulk, Mech Cadet Yu), MARC LAMING (Star Wars, Wonder Woman) and STEPHEN MOONEY (Half Past Danger)! Agent 007 tracks a smuggler into Singapore to secure a dangerous case, contents unknown. But a Korean mystery man wants the case as well, for very different reasons. And if Bond and this new rival don't kill each other, the ruthless terrorist organization known as ORU will be more than happy to finish the job. James Bond 007, Vol. 1 by Greg Pak  More 3.5 than 4 but an entertaining graphic novel. This is a great Bond novel and very much like the Bond of old, cynical, sexy and borderline insane. The introduction of diversity acceptable cast comes in the form of M and Moneypenny both people of color. This story takes a new road with an Oddjob wannabe entering the action as a sleek action driven character who upstages Bond with his finesse. This glimpse takes the mind towar
Read more

Hell Moon (Xeno-Spectre Book 1) by Mary E. Lowd ARC from BookSirens

-
Image
⭐⭐⭐ ⭐  Stars Blurb A search and rescue mission on a deserted moon goes wrong when Janice and her crew mates are attacked in the dark abandoned city beneath the surface. Infected by a strange blue energy, Janice doesn't know how much time they have left, or what will happen when time runs out. The underground ruins crawl with mysterious, scarab-like figures, and even death isn't a certain escape, when the dead rise as ghostly forms. The only logical choice is to flee, but the lizard-like aliens paying for the mission insist on forging on. Their secretive agenda and the sordid history of the sentient spaceship who brought them there divide the crew, when they can't afford to be divided. Trapped on hell moon, Janice must fight to keep as much of her crew alive as possible while wrestling against impossible odds. The only one who has a clue about how all the pieces tie together is a little girl who survived the last hundred years asleep in her cryo-pod. On a world where the dea
Read more

Manga Classics: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - Review on NetGalley

-
Image
An auspicious start as this is the first book that I am reviewing on NetGalley after procrastinating for nearly a month. A 178 year old blockbuster Alexander Dumas classic full length novel converted to manga format seemed incredible and when I saw this available here in NetGalley, I just had to have a peek. Not just a peek, have had a full read and am thankful to NetGalley for making this book available for review.  The Count of Monte Cristo has been one of my favorite classics and I have had the privilege of reading it in many formats, the classic novel, short condensed edition, comics, illustrated editions, meant for adults, teens and schools. Even then I was not very confident that the book would come out well as a manga.  The book was quite a revelation with crisp artwork and well edited to include all major key points of the book.  An elaborate revenge drama, the story at many levels is a bit dated but nothing can jade the elaborate set pieces and the way the story pumps up with
Read more