We have had all kinds of writing for young adults with supernatural or paranormal themes. Vampire romances are currently the most popular, but other ideas keep surfacing. Hammond has created a team of young people with psychic abilities and placed them in a perfect setting to appeal to young adults accustomed to film violence and horror.
This book opens with one of the most gory scenes I have ever read in books for YAs. The whole train wreck and highwayman raid are absolutely revolting, and therefore guaranteed to please. Imagine, all the thieves and highwaymen set loose on the modern world, and there is nothing humanity can do to stop them. Enter CRYPT, the youth paranormal team. Jud, their top agent, is sent to investigate but even he is helpless to stop to carnage. But with the assistance of Bex, he works out how the attacks began and forms a plan to restore the peace, well maybe.
This is real writing to attract and hold the young adult reader. The action is relentless, and blood, guts and gore flow from every page. There is no dumbing down, no cleaning up, in fact just the opposite. Hammond is writing for an audience he knows well, and he tells a story that will keep them involved. This is a book for those who find reading ‘boring’. Those who would rather watch a film than challenge their own imaginations by building pictures from a printed page.
Hammond also appeals to the strong sense of justice found in young adults. The criminals in this book are not those who maim and slaughter, but rather those who disturbed their rest. And the team manage to bring these real criminals to justice.
This is not a book for the faint-hearted, but it will be right for so many reluctant readers. I just hope they never make a movie from the series.
