“It’s difference they’re scared of — anyone with dark skin, a different religion, a strange language.”
And so we’ve reached the end of Mark Smith’s brilliant Winter trilogy. Part survival thriller, part post-apocalyptic romance, part coming-of-age tale, Smith’s series has never been anything less than engrossing, spiced with moments of nerve-shredding tension and breathless action, and enriched by probing social commentary. Land Of Fences takes this to a whole new level, as mankind looks to rebuild after its decimation from a virus.
Streetlamps now flicker to life. There is the occasional guttural raw of a reappropriated truck. The government — whoever that is — have commandeered the airwaves. And the ragtag military has mobilised, splitting the landscape into quarantined and unquarantined zones. Order is being restored; we are witnessing the birth of a new civilisation. But it comes with a heavy price. “Siley’s” — asylum seekers are being forced into slavery to foster the development of this brave new world. Society is more divided than ever. It threatens to keep Finn and Kas apart. If they let it.
Like Marsden’s epic Tomorrow series, Mark Smith’s Winter trilogy is destined to be a classic. Land of Fences is an adrenaline-pumping finale, bursting with timely themes and lasting resonance thanks to its credible, nuanced young characters. For adolescents and adults alike, it is truly unmissable.
Simon McDonald 
Hi Simon,
I’m a bookseller in Victoria- Great Escape Books. We love your reviews and look forward to receiving them. We are launching Mark Smith’s new novel ‘Land of Fences’ next Sunday June 9 and we would love to include your awesome review in our books & events newsletter. So I’m hoping you might give us the ok to include it in it’s entirety, with you as the author and drop a link directly into your blog, so people can follow you?
Let me know your thoughts. Best Nicole
Hey Nicole — of course! If it will help bring people to the shop for the event and sell Mark’s book, I’d be thrilled.