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Hardcover
Published March 25, 2014
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About the author
Chris Wooding
81 books2,204 followersChris Wooding grew up in a small town in Leicestershire, where not much of anything happened. So he started to write novels. He was sixteen when he completed his first. He had an agent by eighteen. By nineteen he had signed his first book deal. When he left university he began to write full-time, and he has been doing it professionally all his adult life.
Now thirty-nine, Chris has written over twenty books, which have been translated into twenty languages, won various awards and been published around the world. He writes for film and television, and has several projects in development.
Chris has travelled extensively round the world, having backpacked all over Europe and North America, Scandinavia, South East Asia, Japan and South Africa. He also lived in Madrid for a time. When he wasn’t travelling on his own, he spent his twenties touring with bands and seeing the UK and Europe from the back of a van.
He also learned not so long ago that his family tree can be traced back to John Milton, author of Paradise Lost, which has no bearing on him whatsoever but it’s kind of interesting anyway.
Chris lives in London.
Now thirty-nine, Chris has written over twenty books, which have been translated into twenty languages, won various awards and been published around the world. He writes for film and television, and has several projects in development.
Chris has travelled extensively round the world, having backpacked all over Europe and North America, Scandinavia, South East Asia, Japan and South Africa. He also lived in Madrid for a time. When he wasn’t travelling on his own, he spent his twenties touring with bands and seeing the UK and Europe from the back of a van.
He also learned not so long ago that his family tree can be traced back to John Milton, author of Paradise Lost, which has no bearing on him whatsoever but it’s kind of interesting anyway.
Chris lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 4, 2024
This was so great. I love how we don't keep characters entirely. This is what I'm talking about when I say character development!! 384
June 21, 2024
This book was fast paced, intriguing, and reminded me of the Gone series by Michael Grant. Personally would not mark this as horror. Definitely an imaginative read, takes a very fictional scientific approach to a zombie apocalypse. Five stars due to originality, relatable characters, suspense, and thick plot.
September 15, 2025
An Experiment Gone Wrong
At a prestigious boarding school, a boy is bitten by what appears to be a simple beetle—until a teacher discovers it's partially mechanical. Chaos quickly unfolds as other students are bitten and begin undergoing disturbing mechanical transformations.
Despite the intriguing setup, I never became truly invested in the story. It felt overly familiar: an experiment gone wrong, people trapped in a confined space, slowly turning into monsters. None of the characters stood out—they all felt flat and interchangeable.
The writing itself was competent and flowed well, but the narrative left much to be desired. The ending was especially disappointing. A few survivors escape by air, but there's no explanation of how they plan to confront the same threat spreading beyond the school. It all felt unresolved, as if the story’s tension and stakes amounted to nothing.
At a prestigious boarding school, a boy is bitten by what appears to be a simple beetle—until a teacher discovers it's partially mechanical. Chaos quickly unfolds as other students are bitten and begin undergoing disturbing mechanical transformations.
Despite the intriguing setup, I never became truly invested in the story. It felt overly familiar: an experiment gone wrong, people trapped in a confined space, slowly turning into monsters. None of the characters stood out—they all felt flat and interchangeable.
The writing itself was competent and flowed well, but the narrative left much to be desired. The ending was especially disappointing. A few survivors escape by air, but there's no explanation of how they plan to confront the same threat spreading beyond the school. It all felt unresolved, as if the story’s tension and stakes amounted to nothing.
January 14, 2026
3.75/5. The ending knocked it down from a 4. Great writing, and I really enjoyed the inner monologues from different perspectives of different characters. Heavy Stranger Things (seasons 1-2) vibes in the early bits of the book and honestly at the end too, but not the good part of Stranger Things… more like season 5.
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March 29, 2025I read this like 11 years ago haha but was looking at it on my shelf and it still inspires thoughts of “dang, I really liked that book.” I should definitely reread sometime so I can give it a definite rating.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews