Bloodtide [Paperback]

Melvin Burgess (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2007 | Series: Blood...

PART I

London is in ruins, a once highly advanced city now a gated wasteland. Within its walls, a bloody war rages between two clans. Hope is sparse, but the people believe the gods have risen from the dead.

Odin himself has come to play a part in the lives of two twins, a brother and sister from the Volson clan. Siggy and Signy must come to grips with their destiny as London's future teeters on the edge of a knife....

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Melvin Burgess has produced a body of work that is both

challenging and thrilling, including the seminal teen drug and love

novels Smack and Doing It. His books have been adapted

for film, stage, and television.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse (May 22, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416936157
• ISBN-13: 978-1416936152
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #416,238 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, May 9, 2008

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bloodtide (Paperback)

The city of London is slowly crumbling, with two prominent sides tearing the city apart. There are the half-men who are too grotesque, too unworthy of living the normal life they once had, all because of the way they were transformed against their will. Then there are the humans, the ones who would rather dominate the world around them than save the city from total chaos.

Among these humans are two clans, the Conors and the Volsons. Both have the thirst for power and both are willing to do anything to take over London, then England, and then all of Europe. The leaders are agreeing to combine both clans, with a marriage between Signy, the daughter from the Volson clan, and King Conor.

A betrayal from the Conor clan leads to Signy, who was inspired to do anything for power by her father, the leader of the Volson clan, and Siggy, her twin brother who was skeptical of the entire idea to begin with, on a crazed road to vengeance.

It is up to Signy and Siggy to recapture what was once theirs and hopefully restore London back to what it used to be, and what it used to stand for.

BLOODTIDE takes readers on a futuristic journey that they will never forget. With its raw material and controversial plot, the story is a page-turner that will leave everyone on the edge of their seat. Melvin Burgess continues the story of restoring a city that is completely damaged in the second novel, BLOODSONG.

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

4.0 out of 5 stars Grim, grim, grim., June 3, 2011

By 

J. Shurin "carnivore" (London) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bloodtide (Paperback)

From Doing It to Junk to Sara's Face, Melvin Burgess has written some of the darkest fiction ever published for a teen audience. Bloodtide (2003) is no exception, and, with the except of Lady, it might be his single grimmest work.

Based loosely on an old Icelandic saga, Mr. Burgess paints a ruined London that's home to warring gangs and half-animal warriors. The book opens with the marriage of teenage Signy to the leader of a rival gang. Treachery, torture and horror all ensue (with some surreal and extremely-un-YA sex as well). The book's strength in its unrelentingly depressing atmosphere. Nothing is good or simple in this world, and that which begins innocent is rapidly corrupted and brought to ruin. There are a few moments of hope, but even they are quickly dispelled. Never has the apocalypse seemed less appealing - this isn't a tinsel-tale of superheroism, rather a saga of realpolitik and sacrifice.

The book's main problem is the uncharacteristically unsubtle inclusion of overtly mythological elements. Odin himself stalks the streets at several points in the story. It doesn't seem to add anything - sometimes the influences are best left behind the curtain.

Possibly too dark for the intended audience (or not? crazy kids!), Bloodtide is still a compellingly brutal book. Don't expect a happy ending (or beginning, or middle) and you'll be well-prepared for this stylish (and relentless) novel.