The Last Thirteen: Book 1: 13 (James Phelan, Scholastic)

It begins with a nightmare: teenage Sam dreams of a shadowy figure that, with the click of his fingers, brings instant death. Rattled, he brushes it off as another night terror following his best friend’s death 13 months earlier. But the next day, Sam’s worst fears are realised. He runs from unknown assailants and is whisked off to a school for the unusually gifted—where he discovers his life is a lie and that, as the first of the last 13, he is destined to save the world. The race is on in James Phelan’s latest high-concept action-thriller series, also from the publishers of ‘Conspiracy 365’. Positioned similarly in the junior fiction market, its serialised storyline arcs over 13 instalments, with the last book due out in December 2014. Billed as ‘Inception meets The Da Vinci Code’ for younger readers, it feels somewhat derivative but translates well for the audience, with its more sophisticated concepts balanced by an accessible writing style. It’ll be interesting to see where it goes over the coming year, but 13 might prove to be a lucky number. With its broadly appealing mix of cliff-hanging action, paranoia-inducing twists and an online campaign with monthly giveaways, readers should be hooked into the countdown to its final do-or-die battle.

Meredith Lewin is a Sydney-based freelance reviewer and proofreader who has worked for a children’s publisher

Category: Reviews