The Call written by Peadar O’Guilin
Cover by http://www.blacksheep-uk.com/
Published by David Fickling Books in hardback 2016
336 pages in paperback ( released June 2017)
terror, death and unearthly beauty
Summary from writer’s own website
‘Your people drove them out of their homes. Thousands of years later they turn up again – and they’re gonna wipe you out.’
THREE MINUTES…
On her birthday, Nessa finds out the terrible truth about her home in Ireland – the truth that will change her future forever.
TWO MINUTES…
That she and her friends must train for the most dangerous three minutes of their lives:
THE CALL.
ONE MINUTE…
That any day now, without warning, they will each wake in a terrifying land, alone and hunted, with a one in ten chance of returning alive.
And it is Nessa, more than anyone, who is going to need every ounce of the guts, wit, and sheer spirit she was born with, if she – and the nation – are to survive.
*****
Regarding Peadar Ó Guilín
(Padder Oh Gilleen)
If you have loved the old tales and legends of Ireland, let me give you a warning: do not expect Celtic twilight whimsy from this one. On the other hand, if you want an energetic mix of horror, violent mythology come to life and contemporary Irish teens, this is your man.
Why would you read The Call?
- smart as a whip kids
- courage without heroics
- weirdness in digger-loads
- friendships you can believe in
- action, action – and did I say, action?
- the pace of The Knife of Never Letting Go
- big ideas like American Gods
- inclusive cast without being patronising
From a writer’s perspective:
- straight in – no messing
- present tense creates urgency – but it isn’t in the frequently-used first person
- not locked inside one teen head ( difficult to pull off)
- narrator voice allows commentary, small doses of world-building
- moments of beauty and outright horror – splendidly unsettling
- grim humour and relationships make the reader care
- strong ending with a hint of a sequel – neatly done, especially when you read The Invasion
- dreadful choices, losses and outright treachery make it powerful
The sort of art by Jim Fitzpatrick which inspired Peadar Ó Guilín
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