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Skyjack
Four years after The Fall, women are almost extinct — and the few who remain are hidden away as prized Assets inside fortified enclaves.
Maddy is one of them: watched, protected, and utterly trapped.
The Fort has survived because no outsider has found it.
Until today.
When a red parachute spirals out of the sky, Maddy is the first to understand the danger. The unconscious boy they drag inside is malnourished, terrified… and marked with a word that chills the fort to its core:
SKYJACK.
The Skyjack Raiders are the most feared group in the new world — ruthless, organised, airborne. If this boy escaped them, they will come looking. If he didn’t… they’re coming anyway.
As Maddy is forced to communicate with the deaf, defiant stranger, she uncovers truths that threaten the fort’s fragile balance: about the world beyond the walls, about the leaders she depends on, and about herself.
Isolation kept them alive. Now it might kill them.
SKYJACK is a gripping dystopian thriller filled with raw tension, emotional depth, and a fierce heroine forced to confront the line between freedom and survival.
Maddy is one of them: watched, protected, and utterly trapped.
The Fort has survived because no outsider has found it.
Until today.
When a red parachute spirals out of the sky, Maddy is the first to understand the danger. The unconscious boy they drag inside is malnourished, terrified… and marked with a word that chills the fort to its core:
SKYJACK.
The Skyjack Raiders are the most feared group in the new world — ruthless, organised, airborne. If this boy escaped them, they will come looking. If he didn’t… they’re coming anyway.
As Maddy is forced to communicate with the deaf, defiant stranger, she uncovers truths that threaten the fort’s fragile balance: about the world beyond the walls, about the leaders she depends on, and about herself.
Isolation kept them alive. Now it might kill them.
SKYJACK is a gripping dystopian thriller filled with raw tension, emotional depth, and a fierce heroine forced to confront the line between freedom and survival.
80 pages, ebook
Published March 17, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 13, 2026
Great story, I was impressed by it and look forward to more from the author in the future.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Skyjack is a gripping thriller set in a dystopian future where women and girls are few (and seen primarily as assets to be owned and protected) due to a mysterious disease having killed most of them during The Fall. Maddy and her community face a daily battle to survive in this bleak world, faced with the threat of mysterious invaders from outside. This page turner of a novella evokes a vivid and terrifying future but is also a story of a young woman's struggle to assert her place in her world. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Skyjack and would love to read more about the world Lizzie Fry has created.
Review of advance copy
Stories springing from possible or even probable scenarios are always my favourites. Even if at first glance they appear unlikely, where there is kernel of truth (emotional, historical, scientific, etc) they become plausible, and ‘work’ for me.
The sad fact is that the older I get, the more I see that humans don’t change and that civilization is just a veneer. Just as now we have all realised that the threat of viruses and biological catastrophes are increasingly likely as the planet tries to shake off its human parasites.
As for Skyjack; it wasn’t until I read the acknowledgments at the end, did I realise that this novella was part of a series designed to expand the story world created by the screenwriter, Tom Kerevan. I now have to seek out the other novellas in the group. (I believe Lizzie Fry has written at least one other, which I’m looking forward to reading).
The idea of women and girls as commodities? In the light of history, and current ongoing scandals, it is more than depressingly possible, it is a reality. In the context of a post apocalyptic world, horribly plausible. Not only are women tools for male sexual gratification, they are necessary for the survival of the species. The very near future setting, somehow makes Skyjack more disturbing.
There is no padding here, which although I appreciate that, it did mean that the book was over sooner than I would have liked. She uses her words effectively to conjure up a sense of place and atmosphere, and you have the sense that there is enough material here to expand into several full length novels.
I highly recommend this novella.
The sad fact is that the older I get, the more I see that humans don’t change and that civilization is just a veneer. Just as now we have all realised that the threat of viruses and biological catastrophes are increasingly likely as the planet tries to shake off its human parasites.
As for Skyjack; it wasn’t until I read the acknowledgments at the end, did I realise that this novella was part of a series designed to expand the story world created by the screenwriter, Tom Kerevan. I now have to seek out the other novellas in the group. (I believe Lizzie Fry has written at least one other, which I’m looking forward to reading).
The idea of women and girls as commodities? In the light of history, and current ongoing scandals, it is more than depressingly possible, it is a reality. In the context of a post apocalyptic world, horribly plausible. Not only are women tools for male sexual gratification, they are necessary for the survival of the species. The very near future setting, somehow makes Skyjack more disturbing.
There is no padding here, which although I appreciate that, it did mean that the book was over sooner than I would have liked. She uses her words effectively to conjure up a sense of place and atmosphere, and you have the sense that there is enough material here to expand into several full length novels.
I highly recommend this novella.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Not a Dystopian Fan? Read This Anyway
I'll be upfront: I am not a fan of dystopian fiction. So if someone like me is recommending this book, that should tell you something. Anything Lizzie Fry puts out into the world is worth your time, and Skyjack is proof of that.
Set in a bleak, vividly realised future Devon, this gripping novella follows Madeline, a teenager forced to grow up fast in a world where a mysterious pandemic, The Fall, has killed most of the female population, leaving women and girls as a rare currency: owned, protected, and confined. It's a terrifying premise executed with real skill.
If you loved The Handmaid's Tale or the film Children of Men, this novella was written for you.
It carries that same suffocating dread, that same desperate humanity fighting to breathe through an impossible world. Everything changes in a heartbeat when a mysterious skyjacker lands on Maddy's turf, bringing with him the threat of war and annihilation, and forcing her to assert her place in a world that would rather define it for her.
It is an absolute page-turner. The action is relentless, the plot twists are well-earned, and the characters pull you through to the last page.
What Fry has built here, the world, the tension, the stakes, leaves you hungry for more.
Highly, highly recommended. Even for those of us who thought dystopia wasn't for us.
I'll be upfront: I am not a fan of dystopian fiction. So if someone like me is recommending this book, that should tell you something. Anything Lizzie Fry puts out into the world is worth your time, and Skyjack is proof of that.
Set in a bleak, vividly realised future Devon, this gripping novella follows Madeline, a teenager forced to grow up fast in a world where a mysterious pandemic, The Fall, has killed most of the female population, leaving women and girls as a rare currency: owned, protected, and confined. It's a terrifying premise executed with real skill.
If you loved The Handmaid's Tale or the film Children of Men, this novella was written for you.
It carries that same suffocating dread, that same desperate humanity fighting to breathe through an impossible world. Everything changes in a heartbeat when a mysterious skyjacker lands on Maddy's turf, bringing with him the threat of war and annihilation, and forcing her to assert her place in a world that would rather define it for her.
It is an absolute page-turner. The action is relentless, the plot twists are well-earned, and the characters pull you through to the last page.
What Fry has built here, the world, the tension, the stakes, leaves you hungry for more.
Highly, highly recommended. Even for those of us who thought dystopia wasn't for us.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Skyjack is a tense fast paced thriller set in a bleak dystopian future where most women and girls have died from and event called ‘The Fall’. Set in the aftermath of a Civil War and the collapse of society we meet Maddy, a young woman secured in a Fort located within Lynmouth (Devon). Nicknamed ‘princess’ by the soldiers who protect her, Maddy is the daughter of the man who leads them. Their safety is compromised when a young man parachutes into the courtyard of their compound.
Lizzie Fry builds a bleak and believable world, from the lack of supplies to exotic creatures escaped from zoos and roaming the countryside. Her characters walk a fragile line of survival or death or worse if you’re female; being used as an “asset” for trade or experimentation. But even though this future is grim we are left with a sense of hope.
This is a well-paced, action packed story with thought provoking themes, great characters and a reality that feels like it could be around the next corner. I was reminded of the movie ‘Children of Men’ based on the P. D. James novel or the BBC drama ‘Survivors’. It captured my imagination and I would highly recommend it.
Lizzie Fry builds a bleak and believable world, from the lack of supplies to exotic creatures escaped from zoos and roaming the countryside. Her characters walk a fragile line of survival or death or worse if you’re female; being used as an “asset” for trade or experimentation. But even though this future is grim we are left with a sense of hope.
This is a well-paced, action packed story with thought provoking themes, great characters and a reality that feels like it could be around the next corner. I was reminded of the movie ‘Children of Men’ based on the P. D. James novel or the BBC drama ‘Survivors’. It captured my imagination and I would highly recommend it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Women are treated like assets and are protected from the outside world. Maddy is one of them her father is the one in charge so she has her own bodyguard and is watched constantly she feels trapped.
The Fort they all live in has survived because no outsider has ever found it.
But when something falls from the sky is their safety about to be threatened? A unconscious boy is dragged inside but who is he? Could he be a member of the feared Skyjack Raiders? All will be revealed when the fort is attacked. Will they all survive? I really enjoyed this novella and couldn't put it down.
The Fort they all live in has survived because no outsider has ever found it.
But when something falls from the sky is their safety about to be threatened? A unconscious boy is dragged inside but who is he? Could he be a member of the feared Skyjack Raiders? All will be revealed when the fort is attacked. Will they all survive? I really enjoyed this novella and couldn't put it down.
Review of advance copy
I loved this novella, based in Devon! What a page turner! Action packed with engaging plots and characters. I loved the premise of a pandemic virtually wiping out the female population across the UK. Teenager, Madeline has to grow up fast and take the lead when a mysterious skyjacker lands on her turf bringing the threat of war and annihilation. There are good twists, turns and reveals. Great stuff!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 19, 2026
A dystopian novella that'll satisfy after-the-fall readers looking for a new twist. Women are dying everywhere and without them, well, no more new humans will be born. That makes women a commodity to be loved, protected or, perhaps, traded and sold at great profit. In this case, it all depends on who is literally guarding the fort, and author Lizzie Fry makes it all come alive with non-stop action.
Skyjack cries out for a sequel.
Skyjack cries out for a sequel.
Review of advance copy received from Author
This is a great dystopian novella - I don’t usually go in for dystopian but this had me gripped from the start. I loved the world the author created where women are a currency, and so subject to horribly confined lives. All this changes in a heartbeat with the arrival of a strange young man. Highly recommended!
March 17, 2026
I love Skyjack, Lizzie Fry's latest novel. It's a post-apocalyptic thriller with strong themes. I love dystopian fiction, and this novel made me think about what it would be like to live as one of the very few women left in the world, prized and hidden away. It's a great read with a strong female lead. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes Suzanne Collins Hunger Games series.
March 17, 2026
post apocalytic thriller
I really enjoyed Skyjack from Lizzie Fry. It’s got a strong female lead fighting for her place in a dystopian world that’s got only a few women left alive. I loved it and would recommend it to Suzanne Collins Hunger Games fans.
I really enjoyed Skyjack from Lizzie Fry. It’s got a strong female lead fighting for her place in a dystopian world that’s got only a few women left alive. I loved it and would recommend it to Suzanne Collins Hunger Games fans.
June 19, 2026
I know dystopian fiction has been murdered by reality's attempt to catch up, but I still love it, and Lizzie Fry (who, full disclosure, I did used to know a bit back in the 90s) does a really good job of showing us a fun scenario where everything Andrew Tate says about women as commodities appears to have come true thanks to a deadly virus of some kind.
It's set in near-future/alternative present Lynmouth, which as a Devonian hits me right in my very soul. There's nothing like trying to work out exactly which hotel they've created their sanctuary in while walking your dog down the cliff past the railway on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
Maddy's story of what happens when their safe space is invaded by bounty hunters makes a truly gripping opening to what promises to be a nailbiting rollercoaster ride of a series and I can't wait to read the rest of it.
Hang on, I don't have to, part two is already out, hold my beer...
It's set in near-future/alternative present Lynmouth, which as a Devonian hits me right in my very soul. There's nothing like trying to work out exactly which hotel they've created their sanctuary in while walking your dog down the cliff past the railway on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
Maddy's story of what happens when their safe space is invaded by bounty hunters makes a truly gripping opening to what promises to be a nailbiting rollercoaster ride of a series and I can't wait to read the rest of it.
Hang on, I don't have to, part two is already out, hold my beer...
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews