The front cover drew me towards this book to start off with and then reading that it had been rated on a level with Stephen King's The Stand i knew it wold be a must read, but i did start with caution preparing to be disappointed.. Sometimes things just don't live up to the hype but if anything this book surpassed my expectations! It is definitely a book i could read again and still be as enthralled with the story and the characters as i have been reading it now. My only negative - Having to wait until next year for the next book to be released! The book is set in a post-apocalyptic America where only a few have survived the madness that spread across the country. Unlike other books in this theme this destruction of the human race has not been brought about by nuclear explosions,, aliens or experiments. These are voices that appear inside peoples heads, a voice that for most of the entire population drive them to kill and suicide at a successful and rapid rate until only a few have managed to survive. But not all voices are bad. A man who goes by the names Pilgrim or Boy Scout has been living with Voice inside his head, talking to him and working together to survive. It is Voice that tells Pilgrim to stop and by a glass of lemonade from a young girl, Lacey, who has survived cut off from the world living on a in the desert. Lacey and Pilgrim are destined to meet even though neither understand the importance their destinies bound together. From Lacey's Grammys farmhouse our two survivors travel across the country heading off in search of Lacey's sister and niece, trying to avoid the pockets of sadistic groups that are on the hunt for anyone left alive that still have a voice inside their head, and anyone they find that doesn't hear voices, they are rounding up for sport. Torture, rape murder. That is what the world has become for most. No-one knows where these voices came from, what they are or what they want. Good versus Evil but with shades of grey in-between. This is the first book in a 4 part series and book 1 leaves you desperate for more. Even if you are not a massive fan of this genre type i would still recommend giving this book a read, i think it will surprise you and suck you in from the very first chapters! I can't praise this book highly enough, it is definitely 1 of the best books i have read all year :-)

Defender is an imaginative post-apocalyptic thriller, guaranteed to set your pulse racing! The first of four parts, Defender introduces us to Pilgrim, a worldy-wise traveller and Lacey, a young girl who has been largely hidden away from the horrors of a world where the vast majority of people have been driven insane by the voices they suddenly start hearing in their heads. Following the death of her grandmother, Lacey decides she needs to leave the confines of her home to find her sister who she’s not heard from for several years and Pilgrim (who absolutely has to be played by Hugh Jackman when and not if, the movie is optioned) becomes her companion for the journey, after The Voice in his head convinces him to take her along. Turns out The Voice has a reason to bring them together, they just don’t realise it yet. Like many ‘journey stories’ you know that the real story is not what’s waiting at the other end but in what happens along the way. There are some great relationships in the book and the dry humour in the conversations between Pilgrim and The Voice helps alleviate some of the tension. With echoes of The Road and The Walking Dead, Todd introduces us to some really nasty characters and shows us how quickly society can descend into madness and anarchy when an unknown element is thrown into the mix. But it is also a story of hope and redemption, of friendship and survival. A reminder that there’s always a small ray of light, regardless how dire the circumstances! Whilst there’s plenty of horrific moments I’d say Defender is more of a psychological, post-apocalyptic thriller rather than traditional horror story, the story really gets inside your head in a way which makes you sleep with the lights on...especially when there’s a thunderstorm...not that I’d know...obviously. The only real problem with enjoying the first in a series is you have to wait forever for the next instalment! Hunted is due out in May 2018 and I can’t wait...but in the meantime you should all rush out to your nearest Waterstones and grab yourself a copy of Defender. You won't be disappointed.

It’s our world, but not as we know it. It’s been seven years since the voices made themselves known and the population of the world dwindled. Now those that are left fighting to survive. Pilgrim is a loner. He has survived, fought when he had to, done what needed to be done. However, meeting Lacey, a strong, surprising teenager, changes all that. He finds himself helping the girl to try to find her family and the two of them embark on an eventful, dramatic, action-packed road trip of sorts. Going into this book I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t know if it would be my kind of read, but let me tell you – IT IS BRILLIANT! Yes it’s dark, violent and bloody. Yes there’s gore, guns and grief. But there’s also friendship, loyalty, fantastic characters and writing that will keep you hooked from the outset. I was trying to explain to my friend what I was reading; The Walking Dead minus the zombies was where I began, but honestly this book is so much more than that. It’s clever, multi-layered and mysterious. I feel we’ve just touched the surface of this dystopian world and I can’t wait to read on and learn more. I mentioned the characters – they are what makes this book for me. Their interactions, banter and humour had me captivated. The progression of their relationships did likewise. I truly cared about our central characters and consequently felt I was embarking on their dangerous journey with them. There’s so much more I want to say, I *need* to talk to someone who has read this book! The fact that this is a debut novel blows my mind! I’m reeling myself in here though as I refuse to be the source of spoilers! I received a copy of this title from the publisher.

The authors comments at the end of Defender add some interesting footnotes to what was a very enjoyable post-apocalyptic story. She explains that "bicameral" man is essentially a human who has two chambers. To you and me that simply means an inner voice within your head and in the context of this novel it is this inner voice that has caused the societal disruption by imploring you to kill. Although to add to the intrigue an "inner voice" can also work for the good as Pilgrim aka scout boy, Lacey, and Alex discover as the story progresses. This inner voice is not as strange a concept as might first appear and most of us would surely admit to having conversations with our conscience. (or maybe it's just me going mad!) "The voices are whispers, murmurings, whatever you want to call them. They were inside us. They're what talked so many people into hurting themselves and others." The best post-apocalyptic stories (The Road by Cormac McCarthy being a great example) follow certain set patterns. As society has been destroyed then the human race, or what remains, take on the mantle of nomadic travellers and restlessly move from place to place in the hope of finding sustenance and companionship. Within this world devoid of all leadership and direction the evil that man is capable of is soon unveiled...."Fairness and justice had lost their place in the world. If they'd ever had a place in it to begin with."..... Pilgrim has agreed to transport his new companion Lacey to her family home in Vicksburg in search of her niece Addison. They are soon to be joined in their quest by a young lady called Alex. "Defender" is the story of this journey the hardships of the trip and their encounter with Charles Dumont the personification of everything evil. This is a novel that is filled with wonderful colourful characters that come alive under the penmanship of the author GX Todd. The pace is relentless with some excellent descriptive prose.."This time it held no beauty, there was not buttery sun to soften its rough, crumbling edges, no warm, orange brush-strokes to paint it in a kinder light...."He had seen his fair share of half-eaten corpses and was familiar with most of the organs of the human body, in all their states of putridity." A great debut novel and I look forward to reading "Hunted" the second in the series due for release in early 2018.