Shade's Children

by Garth Nix

The master of children's fantasy returns with a thrilling science fiction adventure. The clock is ticking for the children of the world, and the key to survival rests in the hands of Shade's Children. In a futuristic urban wasteland, evil Overlords have decreed that no child shall live a day past his fourteenth birthday. On that Sad Birthday, the child is the object of an obscene harvest resulting in the construction of a machinelike creature whose sole purpose is to kill. The mysterious Shade - once a man, but now more like the machines he fights - recruits the few children fortunate enough to escape. With luck, cunning, and skill, four of Shade's children come closer than any to discovering the source of the Overlords' power - and the key to their downfall. But the closer the children get, the more ruthless Shade seems to become!

• ISBN10: 0007232128
• ISBN13: 9780007232123
• Publish Date: 7 August 2006 (first published 23 August 1997)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 21 August 2008
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: HarperCollins Children's Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollinschildrensbooks.co.uk

Reviews

[nannah]

This was an enjoyable book! I wish I knew more about the Overlords and how they got there and everything about that, but it was still a good book to read.



Also, I got bothered that Gold-Eye's character seemed to fade as the story went on. He seemed less of a "character" and more of a vessel for plot. Shade, on the contrary, grew stronger as a character as the book progressed, which was really nice to read.



The concepts and everything were very fascinating, and I loved the little bits where the Overlords revealed a little bit of the opinions they had towards the children. I just wish I knew a little more about what happened--WHY everyone over 14 vanished.



But all in all, I really enjoyed this book. The atmosphere was well-crafted (and well maintained, besides. No ill-timed jokes or anything) and it was very compelling. I recommend it. :)