The Silver Child

In this strange, sometimes disturbing novel, six children leave the comforts of their separate homes for the hazards of living in Coldharbour - a rubbish-tip refuge inhabited by lawless child gangs some time in the future. What they are all up against is The Roar - an inchoate, floating centre of evil, intent on devouring everything in its wake. But Thomas, the somewhat unpleasing main character, must also conquer his own doubts and fears if the little group is going to survive. The first of a sequence of novels, this is a genuinely original piece of writing, strongly imagined and well written. Young readers with delicate stomachs - if such beings still exist - may find some of the grosser descriptions of physical mutilation too much to take, as one of the main characters slowly and painfully mutates into a different being and shape. Others may well enjoy this part best of all, and will look forward to the next instalments of this dark but arresting fantasy.