Burning Midnight
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4.0 • 3 Ratings
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
For fans of The Maze Runner and The 5th Wave, this debut YA novel from Hugo Award-winner Will McIntosh pits four teens against an evil billionaire in the race of a lifetime.
Sully is a sphere dealer at a flea market. It doesn't pay much - Alex Holliday's stores have muscled out most of the independent sellers - but it helps him and his mum make the rent. No one knows where the brilliant-coloured spheres came from. One day they were just there, hidden all over the earth like huge gemstones. Burn a pair and they make you a little better: an inch taller, skilled at maths, better-looking. The rarer the sphere, the greater the improvement - and the more expensive the sphere.
When Sully meets Hunter, a girl with a natural talent for finding spheres, the two start searching together. What they find will change more than just their lives . . . Because the entire world fights over spheres, but no one knows why they're here or what their powers are . . . until now.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The spheres are mysterious artifacts that appeared one day; often hidden just out of plain sight, they are coveted for their ability to convey various effects Copper for ambidexterity, Cranberry for better looks, Cream for athleticism, and so forth. While the more common spheres are relatively cheap, rarer finds can fetch massive sums, turning sphere-hunting and speculation into a lucrative business. Sully is one such reseller, trying to make ends meet at a flea market. When he teams up with Hunter, a resourceful girl with a knack for finding spheres, it seems like they might get lucky. However, their discovery of a never-before-seen Gold opens up new questions about the nature of the spheres and attracts the attention of a ruthless billionaire. In an impressive YA debut, adult SF author McIntosh (Defenders) spins an action-packed adventure that makes a statement about the relative value of commodities and self-improvements that can be bought, not earned. An engaging cast and thought-provoking premise help fuel this thriller, though the slightly off-the-rails ending doesn't quite live up to the story's other strengths. Ages 12 up.
