Comes the night by Isobelle Carmody

In the near future, Will Helloran is living with his poet father in Canberra which is now under a protective dome due to extreme weather events. Many places in the world are now under climate-controlled domes, requiring close monitoring of the infrastructure to maintain their integrity. Domes are also vulnerable to attack requiring a vigilant border security. Fear of attack is something the government is increasingly using to justify taking more and more control of people’s lives with constant surveillance, mandatory government bulletins and 're-visioned' history. Will’s mother works alongside the Minister for Border Security and travels between the Sydney dome and Canberra. She tends to be overprotective, monitoring his life and pressuring him to make the move to Sydney to pursue government approved academic study.  Monitoring with cutting edge technology sits uncomfortably with Will’s smart best friend, Ender’s personal boundaries. She and her twin are enhanced XD serum children and while her sister Magda is brilliant, she has problematic behaviours and the family live with the threat that Magda may be 'quenched' if she becomes unmanageable.

Will was very close to his Uncle Adam who invented a game called the Wilful Hunt, laying clues to be solved before finding Adam at the end location. He gave Will a sophisticated kite called Lookfar which can be remotely controlled through Will’s body movements. Adam is now dead, his death apparently natural and Will, nearly 17, is starting to have a recurring nightmare involving the end of a Wilful Hunt where Adam warns him of danger and a black dog gores him awake. As Will starts to spend more time in the dreamscape he follows Adam’s last hunt clues, like learning the rules of an online game; he also learns how this other dimension is spilling over into the real world and those with evil intent are threatening everything he values. He needs the trust and help of his friends and the haptic enhancement of Lookfar to survive.

The dystopian worldbuilding is convincingly done and worryingly possible. The main characters are quite complex as Will struggles to accept the death of his uncle, his growing feelings for Ender and his relationship with his very different parents. Ender rails against increasing government control while others blindly accept it, she loves her twin but has to live with the family’s daily struggle to protect her. The dreamwalker fantasy elements are vivid and explore how future technology might be able to harness our unconscious minds.

Many will have loved Isobelle Carmody’s fantasy series Obernewtyn and this stand alone is a welcome addition to her many publications. There are opportunities for discussion about climate change, technological advancements, government surveillance and propaganda but mostly this is a well-crafted, entertaining novel to be enjoyed by a wide range of readers. Teacher's notes are available.

Themes: Dystopia, Fantasy, Dreaming, Climate change, Future technology.

Sue Speck