Shade's Children

November 2, 1998
Earth has been taken over by the terrible Overlords in this "amply imagined" science fiction/quest story, said PW. "The twists and turns of the action-filled plot are compelling." Ages 12-up. (Oct.) r

September 1, 1997
Plunge directly into a nightmare--a scrawny boy flees monstrous trackers in an urban wasteland. Gradually the reader learns that Earth has been taken over by the terrible Overlords, the laws of physical reality warped, all adults killed, the brains and body parts of children raw material for endless war games. Led by an all-too-human artificial intelligence known as Shade, a forlorn resistance battles on, with hope only because the misfit warriors have special talents that came with the Change. Throughout the struggle, hints that Shade's sympathies are not irrevocably human add additional suspense. Although the trappings here are science fiction, Nix tells essentially the same story as he did in Sabriel: a desperate quest by a talented few, aided by a potentially treacherous Other, to destroy the source of the power of an evil force that has poisoned the world. As in the author's previous book, the alternate world he creates is amply imagined and the twists and turns of the action-filled plot compelling, though the flat banality of the Overlords' evil is disappointing, as is the sketchy characterization of the four major protagonists. But while the book lacks some of the emotional depth of Nix's first work, it will draw (and keep) fans of the genre. Ages 12-up.

August 1, 1997
Gr 9 Up-One day, in the not-too-distant future, everyone over the age of 14 simply disappears. The remaining children are rounded up to live in dormitories. Once they reach their "Sad Birthday" they are sent to the "Meat Factory," where they are dismantled and used to make up the horrible half-human, half-mechanical creatures that fight the violent, ritualistic battles of the seven warlords who have taken over Earth. Some of the young people, however, develop psychic abilities that make escape from the dorms possible; they live underground, doing their best to avoid the creatures and certain death. An almost-sentient computer, Shade, uses teams of escapees to help him discover the secrets of the warlords so that he can return things to normal. When his best team completes a nearly impossible mission during which one of their own is captured, Shade refuses to authorize a rescue. It then becomes clear to the teens that he has no intention of letting things return to normal and that they are the last chance to save humanity from robotic servitude. Although this is a fast-paced, exciting, and often graphic story, it is pretty serious science fiction and its appeal will be limited to fans of the genre. Straight narrative chapters alternate with files from Shade's increasingly unbalanced memory, a device that works well in this context. A well-written and engaging book.-Carrie Schadle, New York Public Library

October 1, 1997
Gr. 7^-12. The author of the well-received fantasy "Sabriel" (1996) turns to science fiction in this dynamic page-turner. The story is set in a future when everyone older than 16 has vanished from earth, which is now ruled by seven mysterious Overlords, who raise children in Dorms until they reach age 16 and are stashed in the Meat Factory, where they are kept unconscious until their body parts are turned into hideous creatures used not only in brutal war games but also in tracking down and capturing any young people who escape the Dorms. The main character is escapee Gold-Eye, who joins a team working for Shade, the computer-generated persona of a former research scientist. This team of four ESP-gifted individuals is involved in making sorties in search of information and materiel to reverse the Change enacted by the Overlords. Characterizations, the loathsome constructs, the fast-paced action, and the intensity of the entire situation make for exciting reading, but on reflection, the scientific underpinnings of good sf just aren't there; there are too many loose ends, the setup is unsatisfactory, and the ending is too abrupt and weak; nevertheless, readers will relish the immediacy of the adventure. ((Reviewed October 1, 1997))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1997, American Library Association.)