Shade’s Children by Garth Nix

Shade’s Children

by Garth Nix

On your 14th birthday, you’re dead meat…

Chilling SF adventure from international bestselling author Garth Nix.

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…

Reviewed by nannah on

4 of 5 stars

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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. :)

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  • 5 August, 2011: Reviewed