The Call by Peadar O'Guilin
David Fickling Books, 2016. ISBN 9781910989203
(Age: 16+) Centuries after humans drove the Sidhe (fairies) from
Ireland into the dark world of the Grey Land, society struggles to
survive as the supernatural creatures inflict a horrifying revenge.
Every child is suddenly seized without warning at some stage of
their adolescence. They are transported in a single moment to the
hideously terrifying world of the Sidhe where they are hunted and
most often captured and tortured to death for the amusement of their
tormentors.
All are returned to Ireland, however approximately nine out of ten
are killed and the survivors bear terrible wounds and disfigurements
from their ordeal. The corpses are mutilated and deformed by fairies
as an example to those who have not yet been 'called', as a warning
of the unspeakable pain and suffering which they will be subjected
to when caught.
Unable to escape their land, the dwindling Irish population faces
societal collapse and survival dominates every aspect of life. From
the age of ten, children attend special colleges where they are
subjected to gruelling physical exercise to develop strength and
stamina whilst engaging in high level self defence techniques. Their
entire education centres upon being as prepared as they possibly can
when they are called, finding themselves naked and alone in an alien
world where they will be sadistically hunted.
Having survived polio, central character Nessa has a walking
disability. She knows that surviving her call is made monumentally
difficult by being unable to flee as swiftly as most. Despite this,
she feels that she must survive and devotes her life to
accomplishing every aspect of her training as well as she can. If
the prospect of indescribable violence and pain in a nether world is
not enough, Nessa and her peers suffer vicious bullying from fellow
students who seek to dominate in a real world where normal teen
relationships and hormones remain. With students trained to survive
by killing before being killed, fights in the survival college can
maim and to be called when injured invites almost certain death.
Strong female characters exist in this story and they are shown to
be self-reliant and capable of defending themselves. Threats and
acts of violence perpetrated by male characters upon females makes
for uncomfortable reading however.
The linear progression of Nessa's experience is interspersed with
chapters describing what happens to other students from the school's
various year levels when they are called to the Grey Land.
The author describes this tale as grim which is a significant
understatement. Some scenes are nightmarish but what disturbed me
most was the degrading, unending pain and misery endured by humans
who were enslaved and grossly disfigured to provide service to
captors. Descriptions of clothing made from human parts was
sickening. Whilst many teenagers enjoy horror themes, aspects of
this novel could be described as extreme.
Suggested minimum 16 years.
Rob Welsh