Way Down Dark: Australia Book 1 (The Australia Trilogy)

by James P Smythe

***SHORTLISTED FOR THE ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD***

Imagine a nightmare from which there is no escape. Seventeen-year-old Chan's ancestors left a dying Earth hundreds of years ago, in search of a new home. They never found one.

This is a hell where no one can hide. The only life that Chan's ever known is one of violence, of fighting. Of trying to survive.

This is a ship of death, of murderers and cults and gangs. But there might be a way to escape. In order to find it, Chan must head way down into the darkness - a place of buried secrets, long-forgotten lies, and the abandoned bodies of the dead.

This is Australia. Seventeen-year-old Chan, fiercely independent and self-sufficient, keeps her head down and lives quietly, careful not to draw attention to herself amidst the violence and disorder. Until the day she makes an extraordinary discovery - a way to return the Australia to Earth. But doing so would bring her to the attention of the fanatics and the murderers who control life aboard the ship, putting her and everyone she loves in terrible danger.

And a safe return to Earth is by no means certain.

• ISBN10: 144479633X
• ISBN13: 9781444796339
• Publish Date: 7 April 2016 (first published 19 February 2015)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
• Imprint: Hodder Paperback
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[Amber]

This review was originally posted on Books of Amber

I acquired a copy of Way Down Dark at a publisher party, and I thought I had better pick it up since Hodder were kind enough to give it to me. It's not a very big book, and not a whole lot happens, but it keeps you entertained throughout most of it, and then it ends on a giant The 100-esque cliffhanger and I need the next book NOW.

Way Down Dark is set on a spaceship called Australia and the people living on board are struggling to survive. Australia left Earth in search of a new planet to live on, and life on board is getting worse and worse. There used to be fish and animals, but now they only really have plants and insects. Still, better than nothing, right?

I'll be honest, the majority of Way Down Dark consists of Chan, the main character who I'll talk about in a minute, climbing up and down the different levels. It was frustrating, and kind of dull at some points until the action kicked in. The first quarter of the novel is basically "Chan climbed up to the 60th floor and then ran back down to the 41st and then went back to the 53rd". Other little bits and pieces did happen, but not enough to keep me interested considering I had just been introduced to Chan and the spaceship.

That said, once the action started happening, the novel really picked up. Like, really, REALLY picked up. There was blood and gore and fighting and a war going on and it was brutal. I loved it! I especially enjoyed Chan's rivalry with Rex, and I'm looking forward to seeing how that aspect continues to play out in the next two books in the trilogy.

Chan was your average YA dystopian protagonist. She's strong (physically and mentally), she can fight, but she is hesitant to wield those skills how the others do because she's a good person. She's not a stand-out, but she's not a bore either. I liked her well enough, and I totally respected her, especially as she had to kill her own mother on the first page. Yeah.

I have to say, I took an educated stab at the twist very early on. And by early on, I mean I knew what the twist was going to be by page twenty. I don't know whether to brag about my awesomeness, or tell you that this book is predictable, so I'll let you form your own opinion on that matter. But- BUT, the turn-out was pretty great and I'm really glad what happened happened. It made things very interesting, especially towards the end.

I would recommend Way Down Dark if you're looking for a gritty and fast-paced read. Don't expect it to blow your mind, but come along for the ride because I know that the next book is going to be hella interesting, given that ending.

[Kelly]

ABSOLUTELY. PHENOMENAL.
http://www.divabooknerd.com/2015/07/read-it-way-down-dark-by-james-smythe.html
Way Down Dark is the young adult dystopian of the year. Gritty storyline and a strong willed, determined, kick ass heroine that will have you on the edge of your seat. It's dirty, it's gritty and exactly what the dystopian genre needs. A tough, balls to the wall storyline that holds the reader hostage. And you'll love every. Freaking. Moment. It's action from cover to cover, leaving little time for you to catch your breath.

Australia is stationed in space, hovering above the earth in search of a new home. Previous generations have passed down the stories of the Earth being over populated, dying and a new home was needed to save mankind. It's inhabitants scrambled to build ships to send skyward, but one was never found. Chan was born upon Australia, a ship of murderers, hardened criminals and misfits of society. The next generation on board are split into groups, the Pale Women who live by their Testaments, the Bell's who are experimental genetically modified soldiers, dangerous as they are dim witted. Shopkeepers who recycle clothing and shoes from the dead and the Lows. Deadly gangs that roam the ship looking for their next victim. But now they've decided to expand. Families are being terrorised, children stolen, parents gutted like animals and thrown into the depths of the ship and Chan may only be one seventeen year old girl, but she's determined to fight back.

Chan is absolutely fierce. I adored her! She knows when to keep her head down and when to fight back. The families who live within the berths, she considers her people and when the Low's begin to sweep through with their own form of caste cleansing, Chan takes it upon herself to take them on. The Low's aren't your average young adult villains, they're brutal, terrifying and have no qualms about slashing you to ribbons just because they can. Their leader Rex is nothing short of a ferocious, homicidal and now out for blood.

It's fight or flight on board Australia, but eventually they will find you. There's no where to hide, even for Jonah. Jonah with his shock of red hair lives under the instruction the Pale Women, until he finds his world ripped apart by Rex. Together he and Chan form a tentative bond, wanting to rescue others from the clutches of the Low's and themselves. But Australia isn't what it seems. Years of fables told throughout the generations could never have prepared them for what those on board are about to discover. It's explosive.

James Smythe is an incredible author that has crafted an engaging, enthralling and brutal dystopian young adult novel that will leave you breathless. It's intelligent, dark and incredibly gritty. I loved it for it's brutality, it's honesty and it's determination to fight for the underdog.

[Rinn]

I received a copy of this book for free from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. Also posted on my blog, Rinn Reads.

In a sea of Young Adult dystopian novels, Way Down Dark felt like a breath of fresh air. Ironically, considering it is set entirely on a claustrophobic spaceship. I really don’t like it when books are branded as ‘The next Hunger Games’ or whatever the current trend is, as this has been called, and it really isn’t that similar.

Australia, the ship where Chan lives, has several different factions: the Lows, the Bells and the Pale Women. Not everyone is in a faction, the former two being particularly violent and the latter a religious sect. But as the story begins, the Lows are becoming more violent and slowly taking over more and more of the ship. And then Chan begins to fight back against them.

I actually liked the violence of this book. There are a lot of YA dystopian novels out there that talk about how violent society is, but it is never shown. In Way Down Dark, life is tough. The Lows are brutal and what they do is horrific, but through this Smythe demonstrates just how much of a dystopia Chan is living in. It was also good to finally have a YA protagonist who doesn’t feel guilt for killing and doing what she has to survive – Chan is tough, she is a product of the Australia, and what she does is, for the inhabitants of the ship, just a fact of life. Smythe does not skim over that, and the book is all the more shocking and effective for it. Additionally, Chan’s appearance was not mentioned once, apart from when she says she shaved her hair to avoid lice, as most people on the ship do. A YA protagonist who does not talk about her looks, how ‘plain’ she is? What a relief!

I had several questions about the world-building. Why is everyone on this ship? We don’t get much more detail than ‘the Earth was dying’, but I want to know more. What was actually happening? Global warming, nuclear war? Is everyone on the ship all that is left of humanity? Why are there no authority figures or any form of government? And most importantly, why was Chan’s mother so well-known amongst the ship’s inhabitants?

However, I really really enjoyed this book. It’s short, at only 288 pages, and there’s a lot crammed in. I’m just hoping that my questions will be answered in book two (although some were sort of answered towards the end, which then opened up more questions that I can’t discuss without spoilers!), which I will definitely be reading. How can I not, after that cliffhanger of an ending?