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For the first six months, Peter's life in Phoenix was pretty normal. Hanging out with his friends, frustrating his parents, sleeping through school. Then he found out the world was ending. The Shackleton Co-operative is planning to exterminate the rest of humanity - and they're going to use "Tabitha" to do it. But who is Tabitha? What's really going on inside the Shackleton Building? And why does Peter's dad's name keep turning up in the search for answers? As Peter and his friends struggle to contact the outside world, they're going to find out just how far Shackleton is willing to go to make sure the secrets of Phoenix stay hidden. And the clock is still ticking. There are 88 days until the end of the world.

309 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2009

66 people are currently reading
697 people want to read

About the author

Chris Morphew

36 books151 followers
Chris Morphew is an author, teacher, and school chaplain living in Sydney, Australia.

He has written twelve books for the best-selling Zac Power series, as well as his own six-book young adult series, The Phoenix Files. He’s also co-written The Gateway, an eight-book series for primary school kids about a hotel for aliens, alongside Rowan McAuley and David Harding.

His latest books are Best News Ever, a 100-day guide to the Gospel of Mark, and The Big Questions, a series of short books answer tough questions about life and faith.

Chris enjoys Mario Kart, obscure board games, and superhero movies, and has been told he looks like Chris Hemsworth from the back.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
Profile Image for Emilija.
1,913 reviews31 followers
April 10, 2018
This was a pretty good instalment in the Phoenix Files series. It was full of action, the plot progression was pretty solid and characterisation was alright.
I do find it a bit unbelievable that these kids (I can’t remember how old they are) are actually managing to do what they’re doing, but that’s the plot line of loads of YA spy type novels. I also really didn’t like Peter, whose perspective this novel is written in. Most of the time he was just being jealous of Jordan and Luke and it could be quite frustrating reading at times.
Profile Image for Anne Hamilton.
Author 57 books184 followers
November 17, 2015
A moonlit stroll into the secret hide-out of a pack of mass murderers? Who wouldn’t want in on that?

This remark of Peter to Reeve sums up Contact quite nicely. The first book in this series is told from Luke’s point of view. This second book is told from Peter’s point of view. His character is much more raw, edgy, aggressive than Luke’s.

The six books in the Phoenix Files form one narrative. In effect, it’s one long story. None of them are complete in themselves. They countdown the 100 days until the release of ‘Tabitha’. Book 1 – Arrival – covers Day 100 to Day 88. It is told as a first person narrative from Luke’s point of view. Book 2 covers from Day 87 to Day 70.

Again, a real page-turner. Characters are very believable and the contrast between Luke and Peter is very well-done. The storyline starts to turn from pre-dystopian thriller to mystery: there are many riddles to be solved in this book and few of them are by the end. Peter is spooked when he realises that Crazy Bill had known exactly where he’d crash off his bike on a bush road because he lands on a box deliberately left hidden there. Crazy Bill had left him obscure clues as to where to find the key to the box but not the box itself.

Inside the box is a horrific video of what ‘Tabitha’ does to the human body. While Peter, Luke and Jordan are watching it, Cat sneaks up behind them and mistakenly concludes they are the ones responsible for ‘Tabitha’.

Peter has strong denial systems: in the first book, he refused to believe in ‘Tabitha’, now he refuses to believe his father might be involved in its implementation. Peter’s actions throughout are strongly motivated by his obsession with Jordan.

Jordan’s headaches are increasing and her preternatural knowledge of the imminent future is growing. Luke’s mother meantime has become romantically entangled with Dr Montag, one of the founders of Phoenix. Luke is desperate to contact his father and finally discovers there is a secret room with external communications. He risks everything to get there, aided by Peter and Jordan as well as the sympathetic security guard, Reeve. Only Crazy Bill’s escape and the distraction that causes enables the intrepid trio to get a partial message out.

They are caught by Shackleton, the visionary leader of Phoenix, a man determined to ‘cleanse the outside world of the human plague’. A calm kindly exterior hides a ruthless warped mind: he puts agonising and disabling suppressors on Luke, Jordan, Peter (and Peter’s father) and kills the security guard who helped them.
Profile Image for Elizabeth Newton.
Author 4 books20 followers
November 11, 2015
"The Phoenix Files" series is so fascinating. When I think back to the stuff that happened in this book, the level of action stays pretty samey throughout. It gets more exciting at the end obviously but the focus is on the mystery and lots of dialogue, not so much the action. BUT for some reason, I can't stop reading! The way Morphew carries the story must be genius because I found it very very easy to just keep turning those pages. The cliffhangers and suspense is so subtle and underplayed, yet it has such a dramatic effect. I love the fact that Morphew has chosen to tell this second installment of the story from a different character's perspective. We have the three kids, Luke, Peter and Jordan. The first book, 'Arrival' was narrated by Luke, and 'Contact' is narrated by Peter. I'm guessing/hoping that the third book will be narrated by Jordan... and I wonder what it will be after that. Seeing into Peter's head this time was a joy and very interesting, not to mention entertaining. I would like to think my own writing is developing because I'm reading this series and I'm looking forward to continuing!
Profile Image for Erik.
27 reviews3 followers
September 8, 2014
All the books in this series are constant action. Never boring. There's not a lot of character development, so I didn't really get sucked in emotionally, but I never wanted to put the books down because I just had to know what happened next.
Profile Image for Katie Kerns.
61 reviews5 followers
March 16, 2013
Mind blowing page turner! I can't wait to read the rest of this intense mystery series! This is a must read and offers a different perspective from book one.
Profile Image for Emma .
12 reviews1 follower
September 22, 2013
I finished this book and wanted the next book. If you read this series you will want the next book every time! In this book Luke, Jordan and Peter get caught and get trackers in their backs.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Glenn.
1,764 reviews8 followers
September 13, 2016
A great second story - several good twists and turns and unexpected outcomes...
Profile Image for Selin.
101 reviews
July 15, 2011
turkish review (but i read it in turkish. im working 4 a publishing comopany in turkey...)

• Yorumu Hazırlayan
Selin Genc

• Kitabın İsmi
Phoenix Files - Contact

• Kitabın, yayınevi, yayınlandığı yıl, sayfa sayısı
Hardie Grant Egmont
2010
309 sayfa

• Hedef Kitle ve yaş grubu
Genc yetiskinler

• Kitabın detaylı bir özeti:

…(serinin birinci kitabindan sonra gelisen olaylar)Dunyanin sonuna 88 gun kalmistir. Mudur Pryor; Luke, Jordan ve Peter’in kafasini daginik tutmak icin onlara cok gereksiz gorevler verir. Ancak, farkinda olmadan onlara yardimci olmaktadir, cunku onlari ofisine cagirir ve Peter ofisinde bulunan bir dolaptan telefon zili duyar. Simdi yeni planlari telefonu ele gecirmektir. Luke ve Jordan Pryor’un dikkatini dagitirken Peter gizlice ofisine girer, ancak bu ofise girmek hic kolay degildir. Kapi metaldendir ve sadece Pryor’da bulunan bir anahtar-kart ile acilir. Peter buna ragmen girmeyi basarir, cunku Pryor dikkatsiz davranmistir. Telefonu ele gecirir, ancak buyuk hayal kirikligina ugrarlar, cunku telefon disariyi arayamiyordur. Sadece listedeki belli kisileri. Bunlar Dr. Montag, Bay Shackelton ve Ketterley gibi onemli kisilerdir, ve hepsi TABITHA’yi bilen kisilerdir. Ancak listede bu onemli sekiz kisi disinda bir kisinin daha ismi gorunmektedir; Peter’in babasi, Bay Weir.
Peter babasini sorgular, babasi da ucluyu Shackelton ana binasina goturmeyi onerir. Boylece herseyin ‘normal’ oldugun gorebilirler. Binada onlara yardimci olacak turden hicbirsey goremezler. Ancak Pryor’un ofis kapisina benzer benzer bir kapiyla daha karsilasirlar. Bu kapilar ile ilgili esrarengiz bir giz vardir. Bay Weir onlara bir tur verirken, Bay Shackelton ile karsilasirlar. Ucluyu burada gormek onu hic mutlu etmemistir. Bu nedenle Luke, Jordan ve Peter tipis tipis eve giderler; ancak Bay Weir’in basi derttedir.
Peter; Deli Bill tarafindan bir mesaj alir. Mesajda sakli bir sekilde ‘RUZDAR GULUNUN ARKASINDA’ yazmaktadir. Oeter, odasindaki ruzgar gulu tablosunun arkasinda bir e-mail kopyasi ve onalti farkli resim bulur. E-mailde TABITHA’nin ne kadar basarili oplacagi yaziyordur. Resimlerde ise farkli hayvanlarin once-sonra fotograflari vardir. Once fotografinda bir maymun, beyaz bir tavsan, bir kopek vb. hayvanlarin normal gorunum resimleri vardir. Sonra resimlerinde ise bu hayvanlara TABITHA uygulandiktan sonra ne oldugu ile ilgili resimler vardir. Her hayvanin ic organlari gorunuyordur. Sanki derilerini bir parazit yemistir. Ve eger durdurmazlarsa, dunyanin geri kalani da boyle olacaktir.
Pryor telefonun yoklugunu fark edince Luke ve Peter’i sorgular. Peter Pryor’un ses tonunda bir sey fark eder; korku. Jordan o gun okula gelmemistir, Pryor da bundan yararlanarak Jordan’in ellerinde oldugunu ve herseyi itiraf ettigini soyler. Ancak Luke ve Peter bunun bir yalan oldugunu sezinler. Aptal numarasi yaparlar, ve okuldan sonra Jordan’i evinde sag salim bulurlar. Jordan o gun annesiyle bebek icin hastaneye gitmistir ve bu sayede Dr. Montag bakmazken anahtar-karti calmistir. Hastahanede de bir metal kapi bulmustur ve girmistir, ancak icini bos bulmustur. Uclu artik Calvin tarafinda ‘supheli’ olarak etiketlendiginden hemsire koridorlarda gezinen Jordan’i ihbar etmistir, ancak hicbirseyi kanitlayamazlar.
Jordan ‘gormeye’ baslar. Gelecekten bazi goruntuler gorebilir. Guvenlik gorevlisi Reeve ile konusmak isterler. Onu ararken bir burgercide otururlar. Jordan birden bir masaya bakarken dalar. Sanki Peter ve Luke’in gormedigi birsey goruyordur. O gun Reeve’i bulamazlar, ancak bir sonraki gun Reeve’i bulurlar; hemde bir onceki gun Jordan’in baktigi masada otururken. Reeve onlarla konusmaz. Ancak uclu tek tarafli olarak ona bir soru sorarlar; Demir kapilar hakkinda ne biliyordur? Sonunda Reeve onemli bir cevap vermeyi basarir. Ketterley’nin evinde –yine demir bir kapi ardinda- bir ofis vardir ve bu ofiste o kapilarla ilgili bilgi bulunmaktadir.
Reeve Peter’in bisikletine bir mesaj birakinca, Ketterley’nin ofisine girmek zannettiklerinden kolay olur. Guvenlik sisteminin yenilenmesi icin alarmlar 20 dakika kapatilacaklardir. Uclu, eve girer ve ofisi Dr. Montag’in anahtar-kartiyla acarlar. Peter laptoptaki tum dosyalari USB’ye indirir. Ketterley ve Calvin yerdeki gizli kapidan iceri girince ancak kacabilirler. USB’de kapilarla ilgili cok onemli bir bilgi bulurlar; hepsi yer altindan birbirine baglidir, hepsinin kesisme noktasi Shackelton binasinin altindadir. Hersey bununla da kalmaz; gizli bir ‘en ust kat’ vardir –Shackelton Binasinda- ve orada disari ile iletisim icin bir oda bulunmaktadir!
Reeve’e TABITHA ile ilgili herseyi anlatirlar. Reeve yardimci olmayi kabul eder. Reeve metal kapilarin tunellerinin alarmlarini devre disi birakir, boylece uclu Pryor’un ofisinden Shackelton binasinin altina ulasir. Birden Deli Bill ve arkasinda bircok kisi odaya girer. Uclu saklanir; ancak gorurlerki Deli Bill vurulmustur. Sonra, asansorle binanin evn ust katina cikarlar ve orada disari ile iletisim odasini bulurlar. Luke babasini arar ve TABITHA hakkinda konusmaya baslar, ancak konusmasi Bay Shackelton tarafindanyarida kesilir. Herkesin basi derttedir. Reeve TABITHA sistemiyle oldurulur. Luke’un babasi bulunacak ve oldurulecektir. Ucluyu de oldureceklerdir ancak Dr. Montag buna izin veremez. Phoenix’teki herbir kisinin yasamasi onemlidir. Vucutlarina bir chip yerlestirilir –boylece herzaman nerede olduklari bilinecektir- ve Bay Shackelton onlara bir sart kosar; sessiz kalacaklardir, yoksa Reeve’den daha fazla onem verdikleri kisilerin cani tehlikede olacaktir...
Geriye sadece 70 gun kalmistir.(3. Kitapta devam etmek uzere)



• Kitabın kurgusu hakkında bilgi:
Kitap uc anakarakterlerin biri olan Peter’in agizindan, 1. Tekil sahis tarafindan anlatilmaktadir. Birinci kitapta Luke’un agizindan anlatildigi icin basta akil karistirici olabiliyor.
Dunyanin sonunun geldigini ogrenen uc gencin bunu 100 gun icinde durdurmaya calismalari ve belli sirlari ortaya cikarmaya calismalari konu alinmistir.

• Yazar (Anlatıcı kişi) okurla nasıl bir ilişki kuruyor?
Oldukca samii bir dil kullandigini dusunuyorum. Gerektiginde basit bir argo dil kullaniyor. Olaylar bir gencin agizindan anlatildigi icin, hedef kitleyle yakin bir iliski kurmakta.

• Kitapta spesifik bir kültüre ait, kültürümüze uyarlamakta zorluk çekeceğimiz ağırlıkta öğeler bulunuyor mu?(Alkol, uyuşturucu, cinsellik..vs. gibi unsurlar varsa özellikle belirtir misiniz?)
Globallesme nedeniyle kulturumuze uymayacak oyeler goremedim.
Onemli karakterlerden biri, Deli Bill, bir alkolik, ama bu olumsuz bir ornek olusturmuyor, cunku Deli Bill bir evsiz ve ozenilecek bir karakter degil.

• Kitabın sizde bıraktığı duyguyu, izlenimi anlatır mısınız?
Her ne kadar birinci kitap kadar heyecanla okumamis olsamda, yine elimden dusuremedigim bir kitapti. Birinci kitapta, Phonix Files – Arrival, hersey normal gorunurken bircok sirrin ortaya cikmasi cok heyecan vericiydi, ancak ikinci kitapta her ne kadar supriz olsa da birinci kitaptaki etkiyi vermiyor.

• Bu kitap hangi yaş aralığına hitap etmektedir? O yaş grubundaysa kendi çocuklarınız veya tanıdığınız çocuklar için gönül rahatlığıyla alır mıydınız?
Bu kitap orta okul ogrencilerine hitap etmektedir. O yas gurubundaki arkadaslarima rahatlikla alabilirim. Ayrica okumayi sevmeyen arkadaslarima bile eglenceli bir seri oldugunu dusunuyorum.



• Kitabın yazarı hakkında kısa bir bilgi:
1985 Sydney doğumlu Chris Morphew ilkokul öğretmenliği yapmış, sonra da çocuk ve genç yetişkin kitapları yazmaya başlamıştır. Bilim kurgu hayranıdır. Cocuklar icin cok sevilen baska bir serisi de ‘Zack Power’dir.

• Kitabın bir seriye ait olup olmadığı, öyleyse serinin diğer kitapları hakkında kısa bir bilgi verir misiniz?
Contact beş kitaplık ‘Phoenix Files’ serisinin ikinci kitabıdır. Ilk kitabin adi ‘Arrival’dir. Öbür kitaplar sırasıyla Mutation, Underground ve Fallout. Diğer kitaplarda geri kalan 70 gündeki maceraları yer almakta.


• Kitapla ilgili film projesi bulunmakta mıdır?
Hayir.

• Kitapla ilgili internet yoluyla edinilecek yorumların kısa bir özetini aktarır mısınız?
Bazi kisiler Luke yerine Peter’in agizindan anlatilmasindan hoslanmisken, bazilari akil karistirici bulmus. 1. Kitaptan cok daha heyecanli oldugu yazilmis. Puanlama ortalamasi 4/5. Tam puan veren cok kisi var. Hic 3 yildizin altina dusmemis.

Kişisel Değerlendirme Notu:
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Profile Image for Conner Sperling.
11 reviews3 followers
April 13, 2022
I gave the book, The Phoenix Files: Contact, four stars. This book was tremendously better than the first book in the series. There was even less action in this book than the first one. However, I liked it even more. There was so much suspense throughout the entire book. I think the amount of suspense compensated for the lack of action in the book. There was also lots of mystery. Some of the questions I had were answered in this book. Some weren't, which makes me want to keep reading the series. I thought the book did well with keeping me hooked on the series. Certain words in the dialogue of the book were italicized. They were italicized to put emphasis on the word. I found this very helpful and interesting because I understood the conversations better. I felt like I was in the book and could really understand what was being said. I felt like I could feel the edge that different characters had when they were talking to each other. Throughout the book, I was always trying to guess what would happen next. Every time I thought I knew exactly what was going to happen, I was wrong. This was one of my favorite parts about the book. It’s no fun if I know what is going to happen. The final aspect of the book that I liked was the ending. I felt like the book itself came to a close. However, the plot for the whole series was still left open. There was a cliffhanger at the end that made me want to keep reading the series.

The Phoenix Files: Contact had tons of good. However, I don’t think it was good enough to deserve five stars. The only action in the book was at the end. I really enjoyed the end of the book. If the book would have had that kind of action throughout, it may have been a five-star book. With all of the mystery and suspense combined with a lot of action, it could have been much better. I also thought that there were too many mysteries or questions left unanswered. I wish more of those questions would have been answered before the end of the book. However, leaving those questions unanswered does make me want to keep reading the rest of the series. Overall, I thought it was a really good book. However, it doesn’t deserve five stars because of the lack of action throughout.
Profile Image for CJ Wilkinson.
246 reviews5 followers
April 16, 2020
Wow. This story is pretty dark and dismal for being a series for more of the younger folks.

"Contact" is a great continuation of the first book in "The Phoenix Files" series.

Luke, Peter and Jordan are trying to save the world, and unfortunately, without saying too much for spoiler reasons, they haven't been able to do a very spot on job, just yet.

Unfortunately some deaths occur and some definite hardships.

I am excited to keep reading, as I am sure (ok hoping!) for an absolutely wonderful ending to all of this. However since there are like 4 more books in the series, I know we're going to have quite a bumpy ride!

Definitely a great series thus far!

- CJ
Profile Image for Jack McEwing.
9 reviews1 follower
March 1, 2017
Really fun and sarcastic, yet still mysterious. Overall a very good read. Would recommend this to anyone, really. Has an interesting plot, and is unique. Some strange Aussie language, but whatever. I would definitely read the first Phoenix Files first, Arrival. I can't wait for the rest of the series!
Profile Image for Hakanshaa.
95 reviews1 follower
September 29, 2022
Great book! Everything is starting to come together, and I really enjoyed the suspense and the thrill of the action. Peter gets a little annoying in this book, but I've absolutely fallen in love with Jordan Burke (AKA the most hardcore girl ever), so that sort of makes it up.
Amazing series! Would absolutely recommend it!
Profile Image for K.
1,072 reviews6 followers
September 19, 2017
The second installment in this series was better than the first. The author seemed a lot more comfortable with his characters than in the first book. The story was fast paced and so suspenseful. It might be written for kids, but definitely enjoyable for adults.
10 reviews
October 22, 2017
I found this book very interesting although not as gripping as the first. It was good in the way it linked from the first book, brought in new information and gave you some more clues. The finish of the book still left me wanting more.
19 reviews2 followers
August 19, 2020
Fantastic! I loved Peters perspective! The plot progressed wonderfully to ! Not gonna lie though Luke and Jordan kinda annoy me! Hopefully it will get better after reading Jordan's perspective. Great second book!
Profile Image for SUnflower.
66 reviews
February 20, 2026
WHAT?!
I am pretty sure that Jordan 🩷 had powers, and I hope Peter 🧡 will too.
Not Luke 💙. I don't like Luke 💙 very much. Or at all.
BUT THE ENDING IS SO AMAZING 🤩!
AND I HAVE TO WAIT TO READ THE NEXT BOOK 📚!
IT'S KILLING ME!

🌻
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Sunni.
81 reviews1 follower
May 6, 2018
I love how there is more going on then meets the eye!!
Profile Image for Stacey Williams.
202 reviews2 followers
May 17, 2018
Loving this series so far! Adventure, mystery, and suspense. A good clean book for young and not so young. :)
Profile Image for Pam.
74 reviews3 followers
July 15, 2018
A little slow-moving for my taste, but it put my son to sleep effectively each night. #win
Profile Image for Madalan.
92 reviews2 followers
July 28, 2018
The second book!!! I really really enjoyed this book and I would definitely recommend the series
Profile Image for Karen.
24 reviews
June 26, 2019
The plot thickens...
Luke, Jordan and Peter discover more about Tabitha, falling foul of the town's leaders in the process.
I am enjoying this series, ready to start the next one.
Profile Image for Katie Tatton.
222 reviews7 followers
April 7, 2020
The change of narrator was a little jarring, and I didn't get to know the narrator quite as well as I would have hoped, but the story moves along well.
13 reviews1 follower
August 19, 2020
WOW! This series is just getting better! Things in Phoenix are getting worse! Definitely still a page turner! I absolutely loved Peter's perspective!!
Profile Image for ✨lee✨.
412 reviews22 followers
April 4, 2025
how the actual hell is this middle grade? that last 20% was worse than stephen king.
Profile Image for Leigh Jonassen.
28 reviews
January 26, 2026
4.5
- great cliffhangers to keep you hooked throughout the book, that builds towards the end
- loved the references to Utopia!
- 10/10 suspense and foreboding
- just finished it and sobbed 🫶
29 reviews
March 5, 2024
Everything in this book was great except for Peter being a fuckwit
5 reviews
March 17, 2020
I loved this book. It would have made more sense if I had read the first book, but I still thought it was pretty cool. Gruesome at times, and the level of action didn't vary too much, but it was still exciting.
It would have been a lot better if I had read the first book, but overall it was pretty cool.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews

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