It’s been a year since twelve-year-old Mika’s twin sister Ellie vanished. He and his parents were told she drowned in the flooded depths of the lower cities, but Mika refuses to believe it – he knows she’s still alive. He feels it.
This is what has led Mika to start to wonder if anything they’ve been told is true.
He lives in London, in the future. Since before he was born, people have been told of The Plague – the horrifying event that caused all the animals to become vicious, bloodthirsty attackers and made all the remaining humans seek shelter behind The Wall.
The Wall is a fifty-foot tall, solid concrete wall topped with high-voltage razor wire and guarded by a battalion of borgs. It’s kept the animals out, and the people safe.
Yet being crammed into a small area, the population has become unhealthy – except for the few who have profited and moved into the Golden Turrets, fancy apartments built on top of the older, downtrodden ones.
Everything is now in question. Why would they lie to Mika about his sister? Where is she?
In his determination to find her, Mika enters himself into a massive virtual reality game that they’re encouraged the twelve to thirteen year olds to participate in. He’s sure that there are answers out there… he wants the truth.
The Roar has an action-oriented opening that quickly introduces us to the likable, talented, smart Ellie – and confirms she is indeed alive. I immediately liked her with her animal-friendly personality and daring escape attempt. I was surprised how kick-arse it was from the get-go – it was cool!
Then it rarely returns to Ellie and we focus primarily on Mika. Emma Clayton has created a world that is detailed and dour. It’s full of characters that jump off the page, an original sci-fi tale with a new futuristic image. The Roar was quite gripping – it was hard to stop reading!
And as the interesting, involving, suspicious, high-stakes game is set in motion, the suspense level definitely increases. There are mysterious intentions and revelations to keep me involved galore! I really liked how the final twist was not wholly expected.
The Roar is a different kind of sci-fi – it’s a bit long-winded sometimes, but effective and always interesting. I was constantly intrigued.
I will definitely look forward to finding out what will happen in The Whisper, which is the sequel!
And you can find out my thoughts on Friday when that review posts – along with a historical fiction TGIF double review! Make sure to come back! :)
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