I didn’t realise that this is the third book in a trilogy but, it was the only one available to get signed at the Bloody Scotland event. However, even though you don’t know the back story it is quite readable as a standalone. The story takes place seven years after an epidemic of ‘the sweats’ has hit the UK wiping out most of the population. Some of the survivors have set up a community in the Orkneys and are doing quite well with Stevie and Magnus in positions of authority running things. That is until some strangers arrive and children start to disappear along with the newcomers. Stevie and Magnus set off across country trying to trace where their charges and their kidnappers have gone running into some dangerous situations along the way. They find that numerous communities have sprung up across Britain some of which definitely do not welcome interlopers and sadly find some of their missing community have met a sad end. Our two heroes end up in a post apocalyptic London where packs of wild dogs rule the street and power crazed humans rule everything else! However, they manage to rescue at least some of the children with the help of a few folk who take their side and even manage to return to Orkney almost in one piece. I found this a fascinating tale with characters and events so well described by the author that you were able to picture what a country would be like if ever such events overtook a population. Sadly, as we know, these things have actually happened in some countries and we can only hope that, if we ever find ourselves in such a situation, we will also find some heroes to lead us!
Just as an extra comment I would like to say that I loved the format of this book in paperback. The pages were thinner than usual and made the book much easier to handle!
Words from Different Directions 