Survival Colony 9

July 7, 2014
Debut author Bellin weaves a bleak postapocalyptic tale of survival against overwhelming odds, centering around an amnesiac teenager who plays a pivotal role in his colony’s attempt to stay alive. Fifty years after civilization is destroyed by war, humanity’s remnants wander the Earth, scrounging to survive while staying one step ahead of the Skaldi, predatory aliens who destroy their victims from within by stealing their bodies. Querry Genn, son of Survival Colony 9’s leader, can’t remember anything prior to a Skaldi attack six months ago, leaving him outcast and confused. When the colony is ripped apart by tragedy and betrayal, Querry must step up to act as leader and take the fight to the Skaldi. Bellin’s worldbuilding may be a little too effective: his setting is a blasted ruin, his antagonists are nebulously evil, and his characters are desperate and depressed (readers may begin to feel the same). The climax relies on a poorly explained deus ex machina, and it’s hard to find hope for the beleaguered survivors as they trudge through society’s ruins. Ages 14–up. Agent: Liza Fleissig, Liza Royce Agency.

August 1, 2014
An amnesiac struggles to make sense of his place in a war-ravaged world where small bands of human survivors scramble to stay one step ahead of a menacing, body-snatching threat. In Bellin's debut, after human wars devastate the population, a new threat emerges. The mysterious Skaldi-no one knows what exactly they are or where they came from-possess and feed on people. Querry's the son of a "survival colony" leader, but an accident involving a Skaldi attack six months prior left him with complete amnesia. Despite his heritage, he's an outsider in Survival Colony Nine-but not so much so that he doesn't see the mutiny brewing, especially when its leadership turns erratic, ignoring caution and attempting to set up a relatively permanent encampment. Numerous plot twists-including one in particular that relies on a believability-stretching conspiracy-slowly cast loyalties into doubt and reveal the true urgency of Querry's need to remember what happened six months ago. Querry's memory loss allows for exposition to smoothly unfold. With each description, the Skaldi menace becomes more vivid and horrifying-especially because it's so hard for characters to tell if someone they know has become possessed. The ending doesn't explain everything, but it is action-packed and completes Querry's emotional arc. Readers won't want to face the terrifying Skaldi, but they'll enjoy reading about them. (Post-apocalyptic adventure. 13-18)

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2014

Gr 7 Up-Fourteen-year-old Querry Genn is a member of Survival Colony Nine, the last remaining human group on a war-ravaged Earth. The colony is nomadic. They must move at the slightest hint of danger or risk being attacked and consumed by the Skaldi, an alien creature that invades and mimics a human host until they eat the person from the inside out. No one lives through a Skaldi attack except for Querry, who miraculously survived-minus his memories. Now, the protagonist's father, a domineering man who has led the colony all over the desert, is desperate for his son to recover his past for the sake of the colony's survival. After Querry's father makes a decision that puts the colony at risk, the teen becomes embroiled in an uprising that could be humanity's undoing. At first glance, the novel's premise feels like a mix of Stephenie Meyer's The Host (Little, Brown, 2008) and Justin Cronin's The Passage (Ballantine, 2008). The Skaldi are terrifying creatures, but perhaps not as terrifying as the desolate landscape that Querry and the colony must traverse. There's never fresh water for drinking or bathing and the only water that remains is greasy and acrid. Sentimental possessions are few and meager. Personal hygiene is nonexistent. There's only survival. Aside from pacing issues and some plot contrivances, Survival Colony 9 will appeal to sci-fi fans who will anxiously await the planned sequel.-Kimberly Garnick Giarratano, Rockaway Township Public Library, NJ

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2014
Grades 9-12 Querry's world is one of dust and heat and very little else. Half a century ago a conflict nearly destroyed the planet, and now Querry and the 50-some members of Survival Colony 9 forage their way through wasted lands, hunted by grotesque monsters that assume the forms of the humans they consume. Discipline and privation are their way of life. But 14-year-old Querry, the son of the colony's commander, is unusual: An attack six months ago robbed him of his memory, and the only things he knows about himself are some lingering feelings and any clues he can get out of his father. As he struggles to remember his past, his father relentlessly drills him on defensive procedure, and, meanwhile, unrest brews among the colonists. Though it sometimes struggles to maintain suspense thanks to its deliberate pacing and Querry's garrulous first-person narrative, debut author Bellin's novel is strongest in what it does not reveal. Tantalizing mysteries abound among the human and inhuman inhabitants of the bleak landscape, and the postapocalyptic plot is satisfyingly full of twists.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)