A strangely sedate opening eighty pages — by Matthew Reilly standards, anyway, as he explores the cutthroat world of New York’s richest teenage socialites — soon disintegrates into the pedal to the metal chaos fans expect; only this time, there’s time travel, and the end of the world as its backdrop.
Skye Rogers is our hero: 16-years-old, recently moved to New York City to attend an elite school for the astronomically wealthy. Reilly spends a lot of time detailing her world and her struggle to find a place in it; looming debutante balls; burgeoning romantic relationships; high school cliques, fractured friendships. It doesn’t matter how rich you are; all kids go through the same shit. But add a layer of insane affluence, it’s all a bit more savage. Especially when you take into account the number of students who’ve gone “missing” recently.
Against this “new school” drama is the fact the world is predicted to end in less than a year. Yep, the apocalypse is coming; not that you’d notice. The majority of people assume it’s a false prophecy. So the world keeps on keeping on, everyone focused on themselves. Skye, too; until she’s welcomed into an exclusive club, self-designated the “Secret Runners of New York.” These kids have access to an underground portal that can transport them into the future — which suggests the looming doomsday is more than prophecy. It’s an unalterable fact. Or is it?
From the beginning of its second act, The Secret Runners of New York explodes into classic Matthew Reilly territory, the brake pedal long forgotten as he thrusts Skye into several impossible scenarios, and the book becomes a gleeful, exuberant sci-fi thriller romp. The action scenes are handled with Reilly’s customary verve — though The Secret Runners of New York doesn’t have the insane set-pieces of his Scarecrow and Jack West blockbusters — but the book lumbers through its bursts of exposition. Reilly’s style of storytelling has always worked best with a cast of military types and adventurers; entering the mindset of a teenager is a totally different beast. Some of the characterisations come off as stereotypical, which is less noticeable in an action-blockbuster romp, where the action zips along at great velocity, but such unambiguousness doesn’t work so effectively in what is supposed to be a more character-focused drama. For my money, if you want to introduce a younger reader to Reilly’s work, Hover Car Racer remains the must-read.
ISBN: 9781760559076
Format: Paperback
Pub Date: 26/03/2019
Imprint: Macmillan Australia
Pages: 352
Price: $16.99
Simon McDonald 