This is a near future Science Fiction novel that I found to have a good dollop of the dystopian about it. It has a little bit everything: plague, zombies, mutants, gangsters and good old societal breakdown. Doesn't sound exactly a laugh a minute does it? However, told by Harry and Charlie there is a wit to the narration that sucks you in to their rapidly dissolving world. From an explosion at a High School, through the world of illegal genetic modifications via gene warfare I could not help but compare the story to The Stand. I think this was mainly because of it's main setting of Las Vegas and I did keep expecting Randall Flagg to make a cameo appearance. In some ways this is a compliment to the author as The Stand is one of my all time favourite books and one that I re-read every couple of years. The characters are well drawn and relatably flawed people who I could not help but empathise with. From the trials of growing pains to trying to hold their lives together as the world falls apart they make bad decisions and good ones but you still want them to come out on top. Maybe this is because they both had childhoods marred by loss but maybe it is because they are inherently interesting people. Spread over several years we get to witness Harry and Charlie grow close, apart and close again against a backdrop of biological warfare which has decimated the world's population. Throw in some mafia-esque dirty dealing and you end up with a fast paced thrilling ride that I did find hard to put down. I RECEIVED A FREE COPY OF THIS BOOK FROM READERS FIRST IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

A story that spans several years as humanity declines and follows the lives of Harry Smirnov and Charlie Croker. Harry's mum was a journo who died when he was young, so his Aunt Kirsten Channing brought him up, moving to USA to start a new life of luxury. Charlie is from a dysfunctional family, her sister, Fawn, is someone who thinks only of herself, their brother, Ed, is dependent on Charlie to care for him, having been born with a disability (for which Charlie's sister, Fawn, gets an allowance to care for him). You see Fawn didn't care for him, Charlie did. Circumstances make life difficult for both Harry and Charlie and they drift apart, and the world experiences a deterioration in life quality. Both do the best they can to get by, while those with money or scary modifications rip the world apart Spanning a number of years, with the world deteriorating all the time, this story was almost predictive about the world to come. I really hope not, it makes for a scary future.

My thanks to the publishers for an advance copy via NetGalley l I feel this near-future dystopian novel is going to be a big hit with its target YA audience and also have appeal to those older readers that enjoy this genre. The concept of genetic modification and deadly, designer viruses is all too plausible. Given this fascinating premise I am surprised that Muchamore didn’t present this as a trilogy that would have allowed deeper exploration of its social and political issues as well and giving his characters more room for development. I did appreciate the slow start to the novel as it allowed time to get a sense of the world as it was and introduced Charlie and Harry. However, I did feel they seemed remarkably articulate and mature for a thirteen and fourteen year old. Yet as the narrative moved through time they seemed more in synch with their physical ages. I found I was more partial to Charlie, given the obstacles she overcame, than Harry, who went from a sweet, nerdy boy to a bit of an entitled brat for a while. I did care for them both and was concerned for their fates in such a volatile world. I had not encountered Muchamore’s work previously and appreciated his ability to create a believable near future (even if the hyper-inflation seemed extreme), characters I cared about, and well-paced action sequences. Also, an interesting take on ‘zombies’. I would love to see this as a television series. As a side note I found the cover art very striking.

What a rollercoaster of a novel! This is a young adult romance, a sci fi horror and a contemporary story all in one. I went from loving it to not sure, to making it to the end and concluding i’ve never quite read anything like this. That’s rare, I read a lot. We meet Charlie the main protagonist at the age of 13, she seems to find trouble wherever she goes, but we learn of her deep love for her disabled brother and realise she has a big heart and a lot of love to give. We find ourselves in prison, in recovery housing and during this time Charlie and Harry develop a deep friendship. Harry is older than charlie, he has a talent for photography and spotting a story. In a digital era, where journalism is changing fast this makes him popular and ultimately rich. The novel charts the ever changing relationship of Charlie and Harry with tenderness and tension as they together face a world full of genetically modified zombies and have to find a way to make it through. I don’t like zombie books, so don’t let that put you off, this is a originals tale which keeps your attention until the last page. I don’t want to say more for fear of spoiling it.

Actual rating :: 3.75/5 I expected nothing less than 'thrilling' and 'exhilarating' from such an acclaimed author who's books I grew up reading and enjoying and that is exactly what I got. Similar to CHERUB but not quite, similar to Henderson's Boys but not quite, Killer T is its own story in its unique plot and style, which in my opinion was written in a more mature and sophisticated way. Right from the get-go we are thrown into a chaotic scene of an explosion aimed at a student, and the calamity doesn't stop there. We follow both Harry and Charlie, witnessing key events and changes that happen in the world through their points of view, each change bigger and more worrying than the last. This book was full of twists and turns that I did and didn't see coming. There was one in particular near the end that completely took me by surprise I had to reread it twice to properly comprehend what I was reading. Just when you thought the story couldn't get any darker, it did. There were multiple time jumps throughout the book which were a little jarring at first, but I did end up slowly getting used to them. Although they did sometimes feel unnecessary, we were immediately filled in on what we had missed through website articles which I thought was a nice touch.Unfortunately, due to those time jumps, just as I felt like I was finally completely understanding the character, there would be a time jump and I would once again feel a disconnect to our protagonists. I did also think there were many missed opportunities with this book - so much more could have been explored, such as Charlie's older sister Fawn. Though she plays a significant role in the book, she was rarely present, and when we finally get a proper scene with her at the end it's abruptly cut short. I wish we'd have learnt more about her as it could have been an interesting touch to the story. Honestly, I found this book pretty difficult to review because there were definitely parts that I absolutely loved and couldn't get enough of, but there were also times I found myself quickly skimming the page for useful information, waiting for something more exciting to come up. Overall, this was not perfect, but is an unquestionably exciting read. It is definitely the type of book I'd pick up over the long stretch of the summer holidays.