The Enemy (Higson novel)

The Enemy
Author Charlie Higson
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Series The Enemy
Genre Horror, Young Adult, Thriller, Adventure
Publisher Puffin Books (UK), Disney Hyperion (US)
Publication date
September 2, 2009 (UK), 2010 (US)
Media type Print (Hardcover)
Pages 440
ISBN 978-0-14-138464-1
OCLC 373478708
Followed by The Dead

The Enemy is a post-apocalyptic young adult horror novel written by Charlie Higson. The book takes place in London, after a worldwide sickness has infected adults turning them into something akin to voracious, cannibalistic zombies. Puffin Books released The Enemy in the UK on 3 September 2009, Disney Hyperion in the US on 11 May 2010.[1]

The Enemy is the first book in a planned series of seven.[2] Puffin Books released the second novel in the series, titled The Dead, on 16 September 2010; the third novel, titled The Fear, on 15 September 2011; the fourth novel, The Sacrifice, on the 20 September 2012; the fifth novel, The Fallen, on 12 September 2013; the sixth novel, The Hunted, on 4 September 2014;[3] and the final book, The End, was released in 2015.[4] Disney Hyperion released Higson's short story companion book in the series, titled Geeks vs. Zombies, on June 5, 2012;[5] it portrays an exclusive scene from The Fear, set on World Book Day.[6]

Summary

Original, British publication

In London, a year after a pandemic has turned adults into zombie-like creatures, the surviving children have formed a number of groups to better combat the threat. A group in a Waitrose supermarket led by Arran and his second-in-command, Maxie, grows increasingly frustrated as children are kidnapped and killed by infected adults, who are becoming smarter. A scavenger party, composed of Arran, Achilleus, Ollie, Freak, and Deke, becomes trapped by infected adults while exploring a building. During the ensuing fight, Deke is killed, and a zombie bites Arran. The bite sickens him, and the group barely escapes.

Later that night, a boy in a patchwork coat named Jester invites the group to Buckingham Palace, which he claims is safe. The majority of the group likes the idea and leaves through Camden to the palace, along with another group of kids from a nearby Morrisons supermarket. A loner named Callum stays behind on his own, afraid to leave the confines of his base. Meanwhile, Small Sam, whom the adults had kidnapped earlier, awakens in a base at Arsenal Stadium. He escapes to Waitrose, and Callum explains that the other children left for Buckingham Palace.

Sam is unable to catch up with the other kids, and adults chase him into the London Underground; he gets as far as Kings Cross when an older, apparently uninfected man named Nick saves him. Nick has been living in the tunnels inside a train with his wife, Rachel. The couple aids Sam but are revealed to be cannibals. Sam is chained up with three other children whom the couple has found. With the help of a young boy known only as "The Kid", Sam escapes. Nick chases them but, once outside, quickly rots from the infection and dies. Sam and The Kid eventually make it to safety at the Tower of London, where another group of kids has taken shelter.

As the Waitrose-Morrison's group travels to Buckingham Palace, they are attacked by a pack of adults, led by a father wearing a St George's Cross shirt. The children win the fight, but Arran's bite wound causes him to go berserk. Sophie, a girl from another group, mistakes him for an adult and shoots him with an arrow. Maxie comes to Arran's aid, but he dies in her arms. The Waitrose-Morrison's group teams up with Sophie's group, and after a few more skirmishes, they find Buckingham Palace.

The group of kids meets David King, the leader of the Buckingham Palace group. He seems to have things well worked out but turns out to be hiding the truth of his plans. He pressures the Waitrose-Morrison's group into going to Hyde Park, opposite the palace, to peacefully talk with a group of kids, called the "squatters", about joining the group at Buckingham Palace. However, after the squatters' leader, Just John, refuses, a fight breaks out. After a tough fight in which Freak dies, the Waitrose-Morrison's group captures John and takes him back to the palace.

John and David come to an agreement: Achilleus and Just John fight to the death over the territorial ownership of the park. Achilleus wins and spares Just John's life.

Callum becomes overly upset at his loneliness, despite having stashed goods which he had hidden from the other kids, and he becomes even more upset when he remembers having had to kill his own mother after the epidemic. He loses all hope as adults led by Saint George break into the store and kill him.

Maxie and Ollie find that they do not trust David because of how he acts and his obsession with taking over London. Maxie expresses her concerns to the rest of the group, and they escape from David and Jester. A girl named Brooke leads them to the Natural History Museum, where there is another group of kids.

Meanwhile, Saint George continues to grow smarter and to lead his army of adults through London, searching out more kids. He craves more power and destruction, and wants to kill and eat every last child he can find.

U.S. publication

Disney Hyperion, the series' American publisher, wanted to target the books at a slightly older audience. Consequently, the cutoff age for infection was raised from 14 to 16, and some of the characters were aged up accordingly. Additionally, some of the cultural references and terminology unique to the United Kingdom were changed to ones that American readers were more likely to understand.[7]

Characters

Waitrose group

Morrisons group

Buckingham Palace group

Squatters

Adults

Other characters

References

  1. "First look at The Enemy". The Young Bond Dossier. Retrieved April 6, 2009.
  2. "Is Young Bond Series 2 still a possibility?". Young Bond Dossier. September 24, 2010.
  3. Higson, Charlie (September 4, 2014). The Hunted (Paperback ed.). ISBN 9780141336107.
  4. "A Master Class in Dealing With the Undead". Mostly-Books. September 15, 2011.
  5. Higson, Charlie (June 5, 2012). Geeks vs. Zombies. Disney Hyperion. p. 34. ISBN 9780141344249.
  6. "Book Description: Geeks v. Zombies". Amazon.com. 2012.
  7. "Interview: May 2010". Teenreads.com. May 2010.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, May 06, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.