Earthfall by Mark Walden

Series: Earthfall, Book One

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Format: ARC

Published: 7^th June 2012

Number of Pages: 288

Book: For Review*

Genre: Science-Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Horror, Action-Adventure, YA, YA-Child Crossover

Recommended Age: 11+

Contains: Violence, Death, Mild Swearing

No Alcohol, Drug References

Author's Blog: Mark Walden

They Are Coming

If you are caught, you will not return.

If you escape, they will hunt you down.

The past is dead.

You are the future.

If life on earth is to survive you must not be captured.

Get ready to run.

Everything depends on you.

Prepare for Earthfall

                                                                    Review

It started off as a signal.  Then they came and enslaved humanity. 

In the world of Sam Riley, there is danger everywhere: alien ships, Drones, mindless human slaves.  To make everything worse, supplies are running low and after an almost fatal run-in with a Drone, Sam has a seriously infected wound. 

All alone, Sam doesn't know why he's immune to the mind-enslaving signal or whether he's the last free-willed human left. 

Until he's rescued by a band of teen survivors just like him – also immune to the signal.  It's only then that he discovers the truth behind the invasion and how it started. 

And starts to fight back…

A book for fans of V and Falling Skies, Earthfall sucked me in from the word go.  I love all of the H.I.V.E. books so couldn't wait to get my hands on Earthfall!  It didn't disappoint!  There was alien action, mind control, a group of teen rebels and constant suspense and action; I just sped through the book, unable to put it down.  It may not have been the most complex book, but it was an addictive, suspenseful, utterly enjoyable read that I loved to pieces.  I think H.I.V.E. and alien-post-apocalyptic-world lovers will love this just as much as I did!

I loved all the characters because they were all unique and really real.  I loved Sam, who was brave and practical and very relatable (unlike Otto from H.I.V.E., who’s a freakin’ genius).  Sam was a natural leader, a boy just trying to survive in a broken world.  I really liked Rachel, ‘cause she was kickbutt, snarky and an ace with a gun!  Jay was brilliant too, with his snark and cheekiness and funniness – also, you just gotta love the Jay Plans! I really loved was the band of rebels, how they stuck together and how they teased each other.  The relationship between the scavengers (or "reclamation technicians") Kate and Adam really made me laugh!  I really liked Jack as well - he was funny.  Jackson and Starling were both brilliant and wonderfully padded out characters too - Jackson in particular I loved. 

The book started with our hero getting chased down by an alien Drone, which is soon joined by others, and from there the action and suspense just grew and grew!  I loved how initially we didn't know exactly how the invasion went down and how a flashback of Sam's revealed the start.  It wasn't the most original overall or the most complex plot, but Walden sure did throw in some curve balls! I officially cannot wait for Earthfall II to land!  As with all Walden's books, the writing was amazing.  I felt like I really got into Sam's head and could see it all.  Also, the action scenes were wonderfully written and adrenalin fuelled!  There was so much suspense - I was constantly on the edge of my seat!  My only qualm was that the names of the aliens kept changing - from "Drones" to "Hunters", "The Threat" to "Voidborn".  Speaking of the aliens, the world itself was terrifying!  Alien Drones, huge ships, alien-controlled-humans, known as Walkers, and their masters too, sucking up all food and weapons and medicines.  The zombie people creeped the heck outta me, as did the huge, absolutely terrifying Grendels.  Eek!  I loved how we slowly learnt more about the Threat and their reasons for coming to Earth. 

Y'know, if you ask me YA/MG literature is seriously lacking in TV-worthy alien-post-apocalyptic world books.  Which is a shame, 'cause I do love me some Fallen Skies and Luke to pieces and I know kids would love books just like this too. So thank god for Earthfall

With an alien invasion, brainwashed humans, a band of rebels and one boy in the middle of it all...  Earthfall was action packed, fast paced, addictive and suspenseful.  Ok, so this book was very, very Sci-fi, which isn't a genre I instantly go for.  But what I loved about this one was that even though it's Sci-fi and aliens, it also has loads of post-apocalyptic action and was a teeny bit dystopia-esque.  These genres combined with kick-butt characters, nonstop action and suspense and an underground rebellion made for an addictive, super fun book I couldn't put down!  It did have some similarities to other alien TV shows, but I absolutely loved the characters, writing and plot, and I just know that kids and teens will love it just as much!

How can you resist Sci-fi-dystopia-post-apocalyptic?!  Yay!

Star Rating:
4¼ Out of 5

Read this book if you liked:

H.I.V.E. by Mark Walden

Lorien Legacies Series by Pittacus Lore

The Joshua Files by M.G. Harris

Falling Skies TV Series

  

Challenges It's Taking Part In:

100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2012 (Hosted by Book Chick City)

British Books Challenge 2012 (Hosted by The Overflowing Library)

Happy Reading

Megan

* This book was received from Bloomsbury in exchange for an honest review