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Islanders
One journey can change everything — for you and everyone else.
Ben Brewer has lived all his life on the Island. But things are getting unbearable. There’s hardly any food and there’s nothing to do. Plus, the adults are so scared they won’t let anyone leave.
Thirteen years ago, the Mainland was torn apart by war and contaminated by biological weapons. Ben’s parents were leaders of the Resistance. They moved all their friends and comrades to the safety of the Island. But then his dad went back to fight, never to return.
Ben was born a few months later. He has never met his dad.
When a message arrives saying that his dad is still alive, Ben decides to go to the Mainland. He needs to know the truth about the War. If his dad is still alive, why did he never come back?
With him go Bad n’ Worse, the toughest two kids on the island; Silver, the smartest girl; plus her brother Coby, Ben’s best friend. When they get to the Mainland they find a world gone mad, a chaos of weird genetic mutations, and a life of slavery for those who didn’t escape.
Ben discovers that one man yields total Jack Sullivan, his dad’s oldest and bitterest enemy. If Ben is ever going to uncover the truth about the War and find his dad, he’ll have to risk everything and put himself at the mercy of Sullivan. And that’s just the start of it...
Ben Brewer has lived all his life on the Island. But things are getting unbearable. There’s hardly any food and there’s nothing to do. Plus, the adults are so scared they won’t let anyone leave.
Thirteen years ago, the Mainland was torn apart by war and contaminated by biological weapons. Ben’s parents were leaders of the Resistance. They moved all their friends and comrades to the safety of the Island. But then his dad went back to fight, never to return.
Ben was born a few months later. He has never met his dad.
When a message arrives saying that his dad is still alive, Ben decides to go to the Mainland. He needs to know the truth about the War. If his dad is still alive, why did he never come back?
With him go Bad n’ Worse, the toughest two kids on the island; Silver, the smartest girl; plus her brother Coby, Ben’s best friend. When they get to the Mainland they find a world gone mad, a chaos of weird genetic mutations, and a life of slavery for those who didn’t escape.
Ben discovers that one man yields total Jack Sullivan, his dad’s oldest and bitterest enemy. If Ben is ever going to uncover the truth about the War and find his dad, he’ll have to risk everything and put himself at the mercy of Sullivan. And that’s just the start of it...
- GenresDystopia
ebook
First published November 9, 2012
42 people want to read
About the author
John Barlow
53 books49 followersJohn Barlow's prize-winning fiction and non-fiction has been published by HarperCollins/William Morrow, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 4th Estate and various others in the UK, US, Australia, Russia, Italy, Germany, Spain and Poland.
His current project is the Joe Romano crime thriller series. The first novel, RIGHT TO KILL, is out in the UK with HQ/HarperCollins on June 24th, 2021.
***
John was born in West Yorkshire, England, in 1967. He worked as a musician before studying English Literature at Cambridge University and language acquisition at Hull University. After teaching English for several years, he moved to Spain to write full-time, and has been there ever since. He is married to Susana, with whom he has two sons. They currently live in the Galician city of A Coruña.
Apart from writing fiction, he also works as a ghost writer and journalist. He has written for the Washington Post, Slate.com, Penthouse, Departures Magazine and The Big Issue, and he is currently a feature writer for the award-winning food magazine Spain Gourmetour.
***
John's first published work, a novella, won the Paris Review's Discovery (Plimpton) Prize in 2002. He went on to publish a collection of novellas, EATING MAMMALS, the novel INTOXICATED, set in the late nineteenth century, and EVERYTHING BUT THE SQUEAL, a food-travelogue about Spain. He then published the off-beat noir novel WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO JERRY PICCO?, and three novels in the LS9 series, featuring amateur sleuth John Ray.
John has also worked with the conceptual artists goldin+enneby on their ACÉPHALE project, which has so far taken him to Nassau, Bergamo, Oslo and London, and into the company of Bahamian off-shore bankers, defamation layers, prize-winning artists, and Martina Navratilova. His writing for the project has been published variously in English, Italian, Spanish, Swedish and Portuguese, and has featured at numerous art shows/galleries in the UK, the US, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Sweden, Norway and Italy. The novel HEADLESS, based on the project, was release in 2013.
His current project is the Joe Romano crime thriller series. The first novel, RIGHT TO KILL, is out in the UK with HQ/HarperCollins on June 24th, 2021.
***
John was born in West Yorkshire, England, in 1967. He worked as a musician before studying English Literature at Cambridge University and language acquisition at Hull University. After teaching English for several years, he moved to Spain to write full-time, and has been there ever since. He is married to Susana, with whom he has two sons. They currently live in the Galician city of A Coruña.
Apart from writing fiction, he also works as a ghost writer and journalist. He has written for the Washington Post, Slate.com, Penthouse, Departures Magazine and The Big Issue, and he is currently a feature writer for the award-winning food magazine Spain Gourmetour.
***
John's first published work, a novella, won the Paris Review's Discovery (Plimpton) Prize in 2002. He went on to publish a collection of novellas, EATING MAMMALS, the novel INTOXICATED, set in the late nineteenth century, and EVERYTHING BUT THE SQUEAL, a food-travelogue about Spain. He then published the off-beat noir novel WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO JERRY PICCO?, and three novels in the LS9 series, featuring amateur sleuth John Ray.
John has also worked with the conceptual artists goldin+enneby on their ACÉPHALE project, which has so far taken him to Nassau, Bergamo, Oslo and London, and into the company of Bahamian off-shore bankers, defamation layers, prize-winning artists, and Martina Navratilova. His writing for the project has been published variously in English, Italian, Spanish, Swedish and Portuguese, and has featured at numerous art shows/galleries in the UK, the US, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Sweden, Norway and Italy. The novel HEADLESS, based on the project, was release in 2013.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 17, 2012
This novel reminded me of a modern day Lord of the Flies. Not with the plot, just with the concept of the children being the main characters. I’m sure there are many novels like this, but I feel like this could replace that book in school curriculums.
It does have lessons that you can take away from it, such as you need teamwork to succeed, and also to never give up.
This novel is a sort of spin on a post-apocalyptic. There was a major war on the mainland including biological warfare. Some of the survivors were able to escape to an island unknown to the ruler of the mainland.
When a boat washes up on shore of the island carrying a messenger from the mainland telling Ben Brewer that his father is still alive, he and a gang of children set off to uncover the true story of what happened.
Will they be able to find Ben’s dad? Or will they get killed along the way?
You just have to read it and find out!
5/5 Stars. I spent all day reading this book and didn’t get bored once! It is full of adventure and get crazy at the end!
It does have lessons that you can take away from it, such as you need teamwork to succeed, and also to never give up.
This novel is a sort of spin on a post-apocalyptic. There was a major war on the mainland including biological warfare. Some of the survivors were able to escape to an island unknown to the ruler of the mainland.
When a boat washes up on shore of the island carrying a messenger from the mainland telling Ben Brewer that his father is still alive, he and a gang of children set off to uncover the true story of what happened.
Will they be able to find Ben’s dad? Or will they get killed along the way?
You just have to read it and find out!
5/5 Stars. I spent all day reading this book and didn’t get bored once! It is full of adventure and get crazy at the end!
August 27, 2013
Islanders is a Young Adult dystopian novel with a strong environmental angle.
Genetic engineering has created mutations to the environment, animals, humans and has changed the weather. When changes begin, two sects emerge in a war; those who find an alternate place to live without the genetic mutations- the Survivors along with their children that were born there-the Islanders and those left behind on the mainland.
When Ben Brewer-an Islander receives a mysterious message from his supposedly dead father on the mainland-the adventure begins. Strong characters and an interesting plot make this book hard to put down. I loved the strong environmental angle.
Genetic engineering has created mutations to the environment, animals, humans and has changed the weather. When changes begin, two sects emerge in a war; those who find an alternate place to live without the genetic mutations- the Survivors along with their children that were born there-the Islanders and those left behind on the mainland.
When Ben Brewer-an Islander receives a mysterious message from his supposedly dead father on the mainland-the adventure begins. Strong characters and an interesting plot make this book hard to put down. I loved the strong environmental angle.
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February 2, 2013I wasn't able to finish this book NOT because it's a bad book, but because I thought this was a YA book. It reads more like a middle grade book instead, which really isn't my thing.
December 13, 2013
2.5 stars
September 9, 2013
Although the writing is not the best, I enjoyed this book. It was a very quick read and engaging. I thought the plot line was unique for a dystopian book and I liked the characters a lot.
August 30, 2013
This is a great book on survival skills. I truly love this book and it's intense plot. It was scary to think of what would happen in each page but I couldn't put the book down.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews