Free e-book of The Magnificent 12

The Magnificent 12: The Call with Bonus Material by Michael Grant is currently free to preorder on UK Kindle.

It's released on 9 August. Order it here

Sometimes one hero isn't enough-sometimes you need a full dozen. First in a funny, action-packed fantasy series by the New York Times bestselling author of GONE

Mack McAvoy is not an unlikely hero. He is an impossible hero! He is only twelve years old, he has a list of phobias as long as your arm, and he's a bully magnet. That is, until Mack is visited by a golem. The golem looks exactly like Mack, and has been sent to fill in for him while the real Mack sets out to save the world from the evil Pale Queen. To do so, he must assemble an elite team of twelve powerful children from all around the world. The first foe they face is Risky. Risky is pure evil. She gets it from her mother – the Pale Queen – a force of evil to be reckoned with since before medieval times.

Packed with action and humour Magnificent Twelve – The Call ends with a delicious cliffhanger that will have readers craving more.

Read Gone, Hunger & Lies online until 22 October

Egmont (UK) have made the recently released entry in the Gone series by Michael Grant, Lies, plus the two earlier entries, Gone and Hunger available to read online in full until 22 October.

Just follow the links at their website.

Hunger by Michael Grant - online & free

Hunger by Michael Grant can currently be read online and in full at the Harper Teen website.

The first part of the series, Gone, can be read online at the Egmont UK website.

Trailer Thursday - Hunger

I enjoyed Michael Grant's Gone and eagerly await the sequel, Hunger, which is published in the UK on 4 January 2010.

The clock is ticking for Sam Temple and the kids of Perdido Beach but it's not the big one-five that they face now; it's starvation that threatens the FAYZ. In an abandoned mine shaft a faceless animal lurks, pulling the strings, toying with human and mutant alike. And he's hungry - hungry in the darkness. An uneasy calm has settled over Perdido Beach. But soon, fear explodes into desperation as starvation sets in and the mob look to place blame. For the 'normals' the buck must stop somewhere: with the 'freaks'. More and more kids are developing strange powers and, just as frighteningly, so are the animals in the FAYZ: talking coyotes, swimming bats and deadly worms with razor-sharp teeth are just the beginning. For Sam Temple the strain of leadership is beginning to show and he's got more than just dwindling rations and in-fighting to worry about - Caine is back with the psychotic whiphand, Drake, by his side. And in the background lies the greatest danger of all - and he too needs to be fed.

Watch the trailer below:

Gone by Michael Grant - online & free

I really enjoyed Gone and until the end of October, you can read the whole of Gone, by Michael Grant, online at the Egmont website.

Go here to start reading the book.

My review of Gone is here.

Also, download (pdf) the first three chapters of Hunger, the sequel to Gone, here.

Waiting on Wednesday - Hunger

Hunger, the sequel to Gone, by Michael Grant will be out in the UK on 4 January 2010 from Egmont Books Ltd.

The clock is ticking for Sam Temple and the kids of Perdido Beach but it's not the big one-five that they face now; it's starvation that threatens the FAYZ. In an abandoned mine shaft a faceless animal lurks, pulling the strings, toying with human and mutant alike. And he's hungry - hungry in the darkness. An uneasy calm has settled over Perdido Beach. But soon, fear explodes into desperation as starvation sets in and the mob look to place blame. For the 'normals' the buck must stop somewhere: with the 'freaks'. More and more kids are developing strange powers and, just as frighteningly, so are the animals in the FAYZ: talking coyotes, swimming bats and deadly worms with razor-sharp teeth are just the beginning. For Sam Temple the strain of leadership is beginning to show and he's got more than just dwindling rations and in-fighting to worry about - Caine is back with the psychotic whiphand, Drake, by his side. And in the background lies the greatest danger of all - and he too needs to be fed.

Review: Gone by Michael Grant

Gone by Michael Grant (Apr 2009, Egmont Books Ltd, ISBN: 1405242345)

First Lines: One minute the teacher was talking about the Civil War. And the next minute he was gone.

Review: Gone is the first part of a projected six part series; I didn't know this when I first started it. The second part, Hunger, is now available in the US and the UK edition will be out next April.

In the blink of an eye, everyone fifteen and older vanishes leaving the Californian coastal town of Perdido Beach in chaos, from babies losing their carers to cars losing their drivers. It soon becomes clear that Perdido Beach is cut off physically and electronically from the world they knew before. The area is nicknamed the FAYZ (Fallout Alley Youth Zone).

The eldest people left do the best they can to maintain a system with rudimentary healthcare, food provision and daycare. The natural leader is Sam Temple, who already prevented a bus crash a few years ago, but he shies away from the job and instead goes off with his friend Quinn and Astrid the Genius to search for her autistic four year old brother, Little Pete.

His reluctance leaves the way open for Caine and his followers to come down from the private school, Coates, and take charge. However their rule is based on power and intimidation and soon some very unpleasant things are happening, including murder. The scene is set for a showdown between good and evil and Caine plays dirty.

Each chapter heading shows how many hours are left until Sam turns 15. What will happen to him? Can he take out Caine before then and leave the FAYZ safe?

Gone is a thrilling read, the 570p fly by. The story moves between many characters and how they are coping with their new situation. There are some hints as to what caused the FAYZ but very little is explained about the how and why and in fact the people of Perdido Beach are not exactly normal themselves. Or at least not all of them. Some of the animals are rather strange as well...

The showdown at the end of the book is comparable to the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows but whereas we waited 7 books for that final confrontation, this is only the first book, so what happens next? Roll on next April...

Cover: The running figure screams "thriller" and is perhaps aimed more at male readers. It's certainly eye catching - it got my attention in the book shop.

The official Gone website is here.

14 is a good age...

Well according to these two books, fourteen is a good age to stay.

Firstly, in Gone by Michael Grant, everyone fifteen and over vanishes in an instant in the small Californian coastal town of Perdido Beach.

"The adults vanish without a trace, and those left must do all they can to survive.But everyone's idea of survival is different. Some look after themselves, some look after others, and some will do anything for power...Even kill."

Gone is the first part of a planned six book series and is available in the UK as well as the US.

Read more from Gone at the publisher's website.




Later in the year, 3 September in fact, Charlie Higson's The Enemy will be published in the UK and here the adults become zombies:

The Enemy is the first title in a chilling series of books which will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. It is set in an eerie, modern-day London after a mystery illness attacks everyone over the age of fourteen. Those afflicted either die or become so crazed by disease they are little more than wild animals. Gangs of kids are left to fend for themselves, dodging the zombie adults who remain.

Read the rest of the press release at the Young Bond Dossier.

The Enemy will be published by Disney-Hyperion in the US.