Description
'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.
RUN! AS FAST AS YOU CAN! As society crumbles, 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 perfect time for revenge...
Review
This is a totally different style of writing for Matthew Reilly. The Secret Runners of New York combines YA drama with Matthew’s trademark adrenaline fuelled action and, for the most part, it works.
Skye and her sixteen-year-old twin brother Red have just moved to New York after their mother left their disgraced father to marry into ‘real’ money. For around the first 60 pages we are introduced to the richest of the rich New York teens - and all of the dysfunction this can bring.
Skye doesn't want to make the same mistake that she made in Memphis by upsetting the cool, cruel, crowd, so this time she tries to fit in. Red always seamlessly adjusts, but this time eventually Skye is in too. But with all of that money comes a whole lot of ugliness…
I was nearly ready to give the book away at this point, but I’m glad that I didn't because the storyline suddenly turns when our twins are invited to join underground trips across New York through ancient tunnels, built by the Mayan people centuries earlier. More incredibly, this involves entering a time portal to twenty two years in the future - where New York is an almost uninhabited desolate city, slowly giving way to nature. Does this have anything to do with the massive gamma radiation cloud that everyone has been talking about?
The action that comes next is what Matthew Reilly does best. There is still a whole lot of nastiness going on amongst the characters, but mixed with the apocalyptic drama as the poor attack the rich, and an ending allowing for a sequel, I must say it was a pretty good read!
With some language and gore, this book is best suited to readers 15 and older.
Reviewed by Rob
