In a blink of an eye all the adults and the youths over 15 vanished from the tiny Californian town of Perdido Beach, leaving behind a desolate post-apocalyptic setting rife with very strange mutations... and stranded children forced to fend for themselves and cope with terrifying challenges. And that is
Gone, recapped.
SPOILERS from now on, scattered pretty much all over the place, like landmines.
As HUNGER opens, three months have elapsed since the monumental Thanksgiving showdown with the sinister Coates Academy. But, for the 332 kids of Perdido Beach, things have only gotten worse. In the struggle for day-to-day survival, starvation is tapping on the door. Perdido Beach's inexperienced (and teenaged) administrative heads are at wit's end, and the stress is even getting to School Bus Sam, the town's looked upon hero and savior. It's not only that the children now lack the motivation to work, but potential foods waiting to be harvested, like the horrifying cabbage field, turn out to be very capable of biting back. Then there are these: Wolves who speak. Bats who swim. Worms with teeth and territorial aspirations. Freaky mutations abound.
After months of silence, there's a stirring in the Coates Academy. Caine, the Academy's power-bent telekinetic leader (and Sam's fraternal twin brother), has finally recovered enough to begin scheming again. But Caine's dreams are now haunted by the gaiaphage, that dark presence lurking in the mine shaft. Equally alarming, something new and scary is up with Little Pete, Astrid's severely autistic 5-year-old brother. Little Pete just may be the most powerful mutant around, so it's always disconcerting when he demonstrates his abilities. Suddenly, he's bringing imaginary monsters to life.
Comparisons to LORD OF THE FLIES and the X-Men are, I think, pretty spot on. HUNGER continues the dissolution of civilized veneer in the FAYZ (Fallout Alley Youth Zone) and the ongoing compromising of the characters' morals and ethics. New characters surface with suddenly developed mutant powers, including a forest ranger's daughter who can sneak into people's dreams, a boy who can sink, and a girl who can't seem to die. Grant writes in several crackling action sequences, although, this time, not enough of them to suit me. To further shine up that X-Men parallel, certain of Perdido Beach's non-powered residents begin to feel more and more threatened by (and also jealous of) the mutants. And so bring on the paranoia and the persecution - and can those screams of "Die, mutie!" be far behind? It's interesting to me, though, that of all the mutants in these books, only one person perceives herself a superhero (that would be the happy-go-lucky speedster Brianna, one of my favorite characters and a.k.a. the Breeze).
The main thrusts of the book are Perdido Beach's desperate struggle to keep on keepin' on and the gaiaphage's insiduous influence manifesting itself thru the children. HUNGER, the second in a projected six-book series, shows no sign of letting up, no diminishing at all of pace and energy and plot advancement. Everything that I liked about GONE is here. Michael Grant continues his tear-the-roof-off brand of storytelling, adding more flourishes to his world-building and staying with the good character development. New plot points are introduced, and I'm very curious now to see where Brittney's storyline will go, this book leaving her in a very messed up sitch. Also, we get more background on the part the nuclear facility played in the massive disappearances and the emergence of the FAYZ.
The heart and conscience of the series is still Sam, a huge chunk of the story told thru his perspective. But the burden of keeping the town going is visibly wearing down School Bus Sam. In HUNGER we see him full of doubts and finally quite eager to divest himself of his responsibilities. And so, when it matters most, can he come thru for the children he safeguards?
But while Sam is the featured protagonist, it's still an ensemble cast, and a terrific one. Grant's characters feel complex and believable, believable even given these extraordinary circumstances. Astrid the Genius makes a very likeable heroine, and I wish she'd had a more prominent role (for most of the book, she's pretty much relegated to worrying about Little Pete). Whether or not you like the enterprising Albert, he's an interesting cat and the most forward-looking inhabitant of Perdido Beach, and it's cool watching him trying to scope out the big picture and even re-establish a monetary system. Even the so-called bad guys, Caine and Diana, aren't etched in straight out villainy (the arm-tentacled Drake, though, is irredeemably heinous, never mind that Stephen King seems to favor him). Bullies have become prohibitive good guys, even if Orc is motivated by the reward of beer for his good deeds - and Computer Jack is so wishy-washy that he can't figure out which side he's on. Anyway, things happen. The stakes escalate. There's a desperate, knuckle-gnawing confrontation with the fiendish thing in the mine shaft. By the end, character dynamics will have changed, the status quo shooken up. Not everyone makes it.
This being only the second installment, there are many questions still left looming. We're still waiting to learn just where the rest of the people went. Is Earth waiting beyond the bubble? Or was Perdido Beach translocated to another dimension? What happens to the kids who vanish on their 15th birthday? How important is Little Pete? Michael Grant keeps the pedal to the metal, and I, for one, am pretty psyched and totally hooked into this series. The third volume, which will be titled LIES, cannot come any sooner.
Okay, one gripe: I just don't dig the acronym, the FAYZ. It smacks of Michael Grant trying to be too cute. Other than that - awesomeness!
