London Eye (Toxic City Book One) [Hardcover]

Tim Lebbon (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 2, 2012 | Series: Toxic City (Book 1)

ABC Studios is producing Evolve, a television drama series based on the Toxic City trilogy, with Alex Proyas (Dark City) directing/co-executive producing and Jaime Paglia (Eureka) scripting/co-executive producing.

The Hunger Games meets the X-Men in an exciting postapocalyptic debut.

Two years after London is struck by a devastating terrorist attack, it is cut off from the world, protected by a military force known as Choppers. The rest of Britain believes that the city is now a toxic, uninhabited wasteland.

But Jack and his friends—some of whom lost family on what has become known as Doomsday—know that the reality is very different. At great risk, they have been gathering evidence about what is really happening in London—and it is incredible.

Because the handful of London's survivors are changing. Developing strange, fantastic powers. Evolving.

Upon discovering that his mother is still alive inside London, Jack, his sister, and their three friends sneak into a city in ruins. Vast swathes have been bombed flat. Choppers cruise the streets, looking for survivors to experiment upon. The toxic city is filled with wonders and dangers that will challenge Jack and his friends... and perhaps kill them. But Jack knows that the truth must be revealed to the outside world or every survivor will die.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Ever since the terrorist attack on London two years earlier, life has been anything but normal for 17-year-old Jack and his younger sister, who live on the outskirts of the city. With their parents presumed dead, Jack has had to grow up fast and learn how to care for Emily. His friends, Lucy-Anne, Sparky, and Jenna, also experienced loss in some form. The government insists that the city is a wasteland, full of mutant monsters, and that access in and out is strictly denied. The friends don't believe the government's lies, so when an older woman, Rosemary, comes looking for them, claiming to be from inside London, they feel compelled to follow her back in to see for themselves the reality of the situation. What they experience is far more terrifying and bizarre than they had imagined. Some inhabitants did survive and they developed special powers and skills. Always on the run, the survivors are hunted by the vicious Choppers, who conduct brutal experiments on them when captured. Jack and his friends must first stay alive and then figure out how to tell the truth to the rest of the world. This is the first title in what promises to be a gripping series depicting a near-future England in the throes of a postapocalyptic disaster. Lebbon tells a grim tale, made a bit lighter by the well-developed friendship among the teens and the devoted relationship between Jack and his sister.-Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn, NYα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Review

"This is the first title in what promises to be a gripping series depicting a near-future England in the throes of a postapocalyptic disaster. Lebbon tells a grim tale, made a bit lighter by the well-developed friendship among the teens and the devoted relationship between Jack and his sister." --School Library Journal

"Lebbon has an artful way with words. He pens descriptions and moments that one must pause to consider and absorb. The style works really well with this dystopia, as readers really come to inhabit Lebbon's destroyed, scary world. A great read." --RT Book Reviews, Four Stars

"[A] fast-paced post-terrorist rush...Little by little readers get a glimpse into this terrifying reality...London Eye is sure to surprise and awe readers." --Night Owl Reviews

"Tim Lebbon is one of the most imaginative and most talented writers working today. He builds worlds you'll live and breathe...worlds you'll believe." --Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Father Gaetano's Puppet Catechism

Praise for Tim Lebbon:

"Tim Lebbon displays the sort of cool irony and uncanny mood-making that drive the best Twilight Zone stories." --New York Times Book Review

"Lebbon is a master of fantasy and horror, and his visions make for disturbing and compelling reading." --Douglas Clegg

"Lebbon's work is infused with the contemporary realism of Stephen King and the lyricism of Ray Bradbury." --Fangoria

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Pyr (October 2, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 161614680X
• ISBN-13: 978-1616146801
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.8 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #697,912 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay dystopian novel with good concept but not too good character development October 6, 2012

By Kristina

Format:Hardcover

Review Courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

Unlike most post apocalyptic stories where the entire world is affected, in LONDON EYE, the first book in Tim Lebbon's Toxic City series,only London was attacked. The story moves fast and many of the action scenes are wonderfully intense and scary especially the few that happen in dark enclosed places. What I really enjoyed was the profoundly creepy news blurbs at the beginning of the chapters consisting of the radio broadcasts immediately following the terrorist attack. These blurbs only start appearing before the chapters when Jack and his friends approach London. This helps increase the desolation and eeriness of the present day London Jack encounters when he enters the city.

While the depiction of a devastated London was very well described, I was left with a few questions about just how the survivors started evolving `strange, fantastic powers. I also had to suspend disbelief over the rapid development of these powers a mere two years after the attack, and why no one in the book questioned the sudden appearance of these burgeoning abilities.

Questions about how this evolution happened aside, I did love the `X-Men' like powers they develop such as rapid healing and foresight. I also enjoyed seeing the ways people evolved and the exploration of life in London post-attack, but was left wanting more in character development. Some of the relationships between this group of supposedly close friends seem to be pretty superficial. At times they really care for each other but at other times they almost forget they exist.

LONDON EYE reveals a unique dystopian world filling a decrepit London with rapid human evolution. I enjoyed the premise though I was left with more questions than I wanted and found the character development to be uneven. I look forward to seeing my questions cleared up in the next book in the Toxic City series which should be published in 2013.

3.0 out of 5 stars good but annoying March 10, 2013

By eav

Format:Hardcover

London Eye is easy to read and engaging. However, I did not like the abrupt, cliff hanging ending. I know there will be a sequel, but this book is too short to ask the reader to buy the next book to get the ending they should have gotten with this one.

2.0 out of 5 stars Review from Esther's Ever After March 5, 2013

By Brenna

Format:Hardcover

The Hunger Games meets X-Men? Some crazy attack on London that has left the city absolutely devastated and isolated from the rest of the world? People with superhuman powers and abilities? This is EXACTLY the kind of premise I love to hear about. Plenty of action and excitement should be an unstoppable book.

But unfortunately, London Eye simply failed to deliver those anticipations of mine. I had a difficult time really connecting with the book, and if I can't do that then I'm bound to dislike it.

Reasons to Read:

1. There is PLENTY of action:

This was awesome - I liked that danger really was lurking around every corner and that the further the story moved along, the more likely it was that more danger would take place as the group drew closer to London. It's a messy and crazy world, and the action at least kept the story moving along for me.

2. Diversity with characters:

These definitely aren't your cookie-cutter YA characters, and I applaud Tim Lebbon for being creative with his characters and making them real and flawed. They were edgier than I expected, and far more honest than most. Plus, I like seeing more male perspectives in YA. And I thought it was brilliant to include Emily as Jack's younger sister, and giving them a very strong sibling relationship with each other.

Regardless, the story ultimate felt lacking to me. As diverse as the characters were, I couldn't stand most of them. I had the hardest time relating to Jack and just didn't find the redeeming characters I was looking for from him. And Lucy-Ann was another character I didn't take to - I wonder if perhaps it's because I didn't buy into her relationship with Jack. We're introduced to them at a time when they're both having a hard time with their relationship but because they were so new to me, I couldn't fully appreciate how difficult this struggle was for them. I couldn't fathom why these kids were so trusting with strangers, considering they had been on their own for so long.

But mostly, I felt like I was thrown into a world with characters I didn't know anything about. I wanted to like them, I wanted to know more about what was going on in this time and place, but I didn't get that. It felt glossed over and rushed, and without strong world building and character development I just couldn't connect with the story at all.

Review copy received from publisher for review; no other compensation was received.