The Enemy

Charlie Higson

Jun 2010 · Sold by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

About this ebook

In this first book in a series set in post-apocalyptic London, children under the age of sixteen must battle for survival against grown-ups who succumbed to a disease that turned them into flesh-eating monsters.

In the wake of a devastating disease, everyone sixteen and older is either dead or a decomposing, brainless creature with a ravenous appetite for flesh. Teens have barricaded themselves in buildings throughout London and venture outside only when they need to scavenge for food. The group of kids living a Waitrose supermarket is beginning to run out of options. When a mysterious traveler arrives and offers them safe haven at Buckingham Palace, they begin a harrowing journey across London. But their fight is far from over-the threat from within the palace is as real as the one outside it.

Full of unexpected twists and quick-thinking heroes, The Enemy is a fast-paced, white-knuckle tale of survival in the face of unimaginable horror.

Ratings and reviews

While browsing the Play store, I saw that this was free for a limited time, so I decided to add it to my library. Having read it, I'm glad it was free. The book starts off beating the reader over the head with the idea that "grown ups" and "fathers" and "mothers" are monsters coming out of the shadows to eat children. All the while, the disease they have has no logical basis in the real world....it seemingly adapts as the author decides what he wants the "grown ups" to be able to do at that point in time. In a similar vain, the author chooses to beat us over the head with character thoughts and emotions. Rather than let us come to understand the characters, we're flat out told things like "He's the leader, but it wears on him." The story is told from any and all points of view, with jumps in and out of character's minds,. Any character you may even come to like is probably killed off uneventfully, and after a short while becomes neither surprising or meaningful. Finally, the book is more a series of interconnected events, instead of a good story with some moral or even final resolution.

The "kids are the only people left" premise originally turned me away from picking this up. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find a good book with decently unique ideas. Warning, though: the sequels incrementally drop in quality(I stopped halfway through book 3, so if 4+ are better I guess I'll stand corrected).

I was looking for a new book to read about 2 weeks ago and stumbled on this. From the description I figured I would like it. Oh boy let me tell you, I fell in love with this book and found out there as another five already out. I bought them all and couldn't put them down. I finished the 6th book today and I'm so excited to read the next one and see how it all plays out. My favorite series ever

About the author

Charlie Higson is an acclaimed writer of screenplays and novels, and also a performer and the co-creator of the British television programs The Fast Show and Bellamy's People. He is an expert on James Bond and is the author of the internationally best-selling Young Bond series. Charlie, a big fan of horror movies, is hoping to give readers many sleepless nights with the Enemy series. He lives in London. Follow him on Twitter @monstroso.