Blade: Playing Dead [Paperback]

Tim Bowler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 27, 2010 | Series: Blade (Book 1)

Nobody knows the city like Blade. He lives on his own, by his wits?you have to when you?re on the run from your past. Blade is practically invisible, until one day when he gets jumped by a gang and finds himself being pursued by a bunch of thugs. Even worse, he?s unintentionally picked up a couple of followers: sixteen-year-old Becky and her daughter, Jaz. Before he knows it, Blade is leading the two girls on a chase through the streets of London, and he?ll need to find a way to outsmart the people after them in order to make it out alive.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—From the beginning of this novel, fear and suspense are palpable as 14-year-old Blade is chased and savagely beaten by a gang of ruthless teenage girls. He is a gritty, British street kid constantly on the run for his life, but readers don't find out why until the end. He has amazingly keen instincts and startling skill with a switchblade, and he knows how to seem invisible, to go unnoticed and stay alive. Blade watches silently from the shadows to learn whether homeowners are in or not, and then uses unoccupied houses as snugs, safe havens where he sleeps, eats, and reads. Books are Blade's one solace, and his love of books softens the character of this streetwise thief. This is a solid choice for reluctant readers who are willing to accept the British slang, which is easy enough to interpret in context. "Quite a few nebs here too but they're all muffins" translates to, there's lots of people out in the neighborhood, but they're harmless. Bowler's use of short, clipped sentences creates a breathless tone that keeps readers on edge and turning pages at breakneck speed as Blade eludes murderers, drug users, and thugs.—Patricia N. McClune, Conestoga Valley High School, Lancaster, PA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Combining the first two of a projected eight-volume UK series called Blade, this headlong thriller introduces a feral street teen in an unspecified urban setting who manages to find himself pursued not only by police (“porkers”) but by both a girl gang and murderous thugs from his mysterious but evidently violent past. Addressing an observer he dubs “Big Eyes” in staccato, present-tense prose laced with an invented slang (“BLADE. That’s what they used to call me. And I liked it. Bit of style, bit of clash. But remember—it’s a secret. Don’t be a claphead and spew it. If I find you’ve blotched on me . . .”), the narrator alludes tantalizingly to past misdeeds and absent characters as he sweeps up a frightened gang member and a small child in his attempted flight. This first installment ends so violently that, if it weren’t for the certainty of upcoming volumes, readers would be sure that Bowler had killed off his main character. Reluctant readers in particular will be pleased by the fast pace and the action’s immediacy. Grades 5-8. --John Peters --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Speak; 1 Reprint edition (May 27, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142416002
• ISBN-13: 978-0142416006
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #734,118 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting British Import, March 22, 2010

By 

High school teacher (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blade: Playing Dead (Hardcover)

Wow! The suspense is palpable right from the get go as fourteen-year-old Blade is chased and savagely beaten by a gang of ruthless teenage girls. The author uses short, clipped sentences to create a breathless tone that keeps readers on edge and turning pages at breakneck speed. Blade is a gritty British street kid on the run from murderers, drug users and thugs. He's a survivor with amazingly keen instincts and startling skill with a switchblade. He knows how to seem invisible, to go unnoticed and stay alive. Blade watches silently from the shadows to learn whether homeowners are in or not, and then uses unoccupied homes as snugs, safe havens where he sleeps, eats and reads. Books are Blade's one solace, and his love of books softens the character of this streetwise thief. This book is a solid choice for reluctant teen readers who are willing to accept the British slang. "Quite a few nebs here too but they're all muffins" translates to, there's lots of people out in the neighborhood, but they're harmless. It's easy enough to interpret and adds flavor to an overall exciting story.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Just another story, September 15, 2009

By 

Karla (NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blade: Playing Dead (Hardcover)

I went into this book expecting a thriller, but ended up getting an average story. There was action, but you couldn't connect with Blade enough to feel strongly that you wanted him to live, and it's written so blatantly you don't feel upset, even though Blade does.

There are a lot of blank spaces and unanswered questions. Blade alludes to a violent past, but we are left completely in the dark. I think if there had been more information about his past we could empathize with him more. It's difficult to feel for someone when you don't really know why you should.

The ending was pretty bad. Maybe it was just me, it was probably 1:30am, but it came together much to well, and way to fast. There's no conclusion, it's just "danger, danger, danger, end." I assume that this is because it's a series, but as only the first and fourth books are available here on Amazon, it's not much of a series is it?

If the next books became available I would probably read them, if only to see if they get better, but this one was... thin. Like a thin soup. Like he had a template for a book and wrote it from that. Everything is done right, but it doesn't seem right.

Well, I hope that was even slightly helpful. :)

Kaitlyn