Meteorite Strike

Sarah and Robert are on their way to Australia from the Uk after their Mum died. Their wayward Dad turned up in the months before her death and promised to take care of them. However while on the plane there are news reports of a disaster, a meteorite has crashed in the Australian Desert stirring up a huge dust storm. However the meteor is more dangerous than that as an Electro Magnetic Pulse kills any electrical equipment, and throws the plane into a crash landing. Daniel, the kids father helps them escape from the plane and eventually they are picked up by a rescue party from an organisation called HIDRA. Here they discover that adults exposed to the air near the meteorite have been contaminated with a virus. Children are immune, however all the children exposed to this virus have developed certain psychic abilities. However things at HIDRA don't seem right, are they really trying to find a cure, or is there some more sinister reason they are there?

This is one of a number of books that are aimed at young readers that enjoy the superhero films like X-Men. We have reviewed a few ourselves including "Hunger" and "Monster Republic" in the last few weeks so how does Meteorite Strike compare?

Well this novel seems to be a balance between the two other books. "Hunger" is a large book with 600 pages and is quite involved taking more that just the superhuman element. "Monster Republic" though is a quick fast-paced and exhilirating story. Meteorite Strikes a good balance between these two. It's action doesn't move quick as quickly as "Monster Republic", but there aren't all the political and weighty decisions of "Hunger". All three of these books are well written and all well worth reading.

Meteorite Strike is a little different from the other 2 books because it dares to be slightly different. This story's main character is female, the other books also have strong female characters, but they are always secondary. Here though we have a strong female character, so hopefully this will bring female readers to a largely male dominated genre!

This story is clever and when you consider that AG Taylor is a debut novelist then it will make you sit up and take note. This book burns away slowly, revealing more and more, until we start the inevitable charge towards the final confrontation. There are twists and turns that keep the reader involved and strong characters help throughout the novel to keep you engaged. The powers on display aren't necessarily anything new in the land of comic books, but the character always defines how these are used and how effective they can be.

I really enjoyed this book, it didn't feel like a copy, although there were some familiar elements. The story may not quite sweep you along as much as "Monster Republic" and I would say this was slightly harder to read, but what it lacks in all out pace it makes up for with clever plot. This genre that the publishers have recently started to mine is becoming more interesting and I look forward to where Alien Storm (promised in November) will take us!