The Plot
The
Enemy by Charlie Higson is a young adult, dystopian fiction novel about four
days in the life of a group of children surviving in post-apocalyptic London.
Approximately 18 months prior to the novel a disease had spread through
the UK, infecting and killing nearly all the over-14 year-olds. Or...turning
them into zombies. All children below 14 still live. But, the
parents, grand-parents or older siblings that once loved them now look towards
the country’s youth for their next meal.
The plot
begins with Arran and his team of Waitrose youths who experience yet another
tough day of scavenging which turns into disastrously fighting the ‘grown-ups.’
On their way home they are greeted by their rival Morrison’s group.
The groups decide to unite and together they attempt to find a new home,
with the help of newcomer, Jester, who fills them with the hope and ambition of
a new prosperous and secure lifestyle (away from the danger of the ‘grown ups’).
He leads them to, perhaps, the most famous and prestigious house in the
world (let alone in London) where royalty once lived, and where, he says, a
prosperous community of youths is situated. Surely this will guarantee
them safety...
Good points
Now, I love
all things zombie. The Walking Dead, 28 Days Later, and World War Z are
all fiction gold, in my mind. Therefore, in order to receive my ‘good
fiction’ acknowledgments, zombie stories always need something original, since
the subject has been done so many times. And The Enemy did exactly
that. The zombies are slightly more intelligent than the usual lot and
can learn, they are a little faster and they have a mob culture going on which
is quite interesting. Despite the subject matter there are snippets of
brilliant humour integrated throughout the novel which really did make me laugh
on many an occasion – something that I think one always needs to lighten up a
novel in which the world has come to an end! Additionally, the novel is
set in present-day London, which makes a change, and there are many references
to pop culture which engages the reader and makes them feel a little less
isolated from the plotline and the characters. I also appreciated the
ages that Higson chose for his characters. They are all 15 years-old or
younger – compared to the usual 16 to 18 year-olds in young adult fiction –
which means that frustrating, dramatic lovesickness amongst the characters is
kept to a minimum. I also found it fascinating to see how the characters
coped with the disaster. The reader often forgets that the majority
characters are barely teenagers in this novel as they have all had to grow up
very quickly in order to deal with the ‘disaster’ and be strong models for the
younger ones. This makes it all the more powerful when some characters
occasionally have some emotional moments where the responsibility becomes too
much and they just want to be kids again.
Bad points
My only
complaint would be that the main female character, Maxie, is a little annoying
in places. She occasionally acts slightly over the top and her priorities
are a bit all over the place; she often forgets that, in this situation,
survival is key. Secondly, the novel is written in the third person from
many characters point of view throughout. And, it is occasionally
difficult to remember who’s in whose group. This might put some
people off; however, this wasn’t a major problem, for me, as Higson structured
it all rather well.
Summary
The Enemy
was an enjoyable novel with well-written characters and with a refreshing twist
on the famous zombie genre.
Rating = 4
Additional
points
- The Enemy is also a series (planned for seven novels) and the second, third, fourth and fifth have also been published.
- Please make it into a movie!
