Piers Torday The Wild Beyond, Hachette, 10 November 2015, 416 pp., $17.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781848668485
Having not read the previous two books of this trilogy, I spent a lot of time trying to catch up on what had happened previously, but once I did, I was in. This is a big, colossal book with themes as big as they get: The future of our planet, its plants, animals and us. Kester is a young boy who has, in previous books, saved the animals, his city and now he faces his biggest challenge yet: to save what is left from a madman driven by a wild revenge to destroy everything Kester holds dear. Kester has the ability to speak to the wild and, along with his ramshackle group of unlikely friends, works to find the last remaining hope that will save, not only what is left of the planet, but make it even better. It is full of action, floods, devastated cities and even space ships destined for distant planets. It teems with issues of friendship, custodianship of earth and calls for a great rethinking of how we treat animals and nature. Highly recommended.
reviewed by Deborah Abela
