With "If Not Us" Mark Smith joins the legion of authors confronting the unfolding catastrophe of climate change.  Some authors have chosen to set their cli-fi in climate-ravaged near-futures; the damage done, humanity left to deal with the repercussions of a ruined world. Smith's YA novel is set in the present, when there is still … Continue reading Review: If Not Us by Mark Smith

"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, … Continue reading Review: Land Of Fences by Mark Smith

The sequel to Mark Smith's The Road to Winter is a page-turner with a heart and soul, tightly packed with exquisitely rendered action and nail-biting scenes of peril, all layered with emotional authenticity. Wilder Country is an exceptional tale of young people forced to grow up too soon, take on responsibilities far beyond their purview, … Continue reading Review: Wilder Country by Mark Smith

It’s always dangerous, in my mind, coming out of the gate with a first novel in an intended young adult series, and immediately comparing it to one of the pinnacles of Australian YA: John Marsden’s Tomorrow series. But that’s precisely what Text Publishing has done with Mark Smith’s The Road to Winter. And y’know what, … Continue reading Review: The Road to Winter by Mark Smith