The Secret Runners of New York by Matthew Reilly

THE COMING END

When Skye Rogers and her twin brother Red move to Manhattan, rumours of a coming global apocalypse are building. But this does not stop the young elite of New York from partying without a care.

CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?

And then suddenly Skye is invited to join an exclusive gang known as the Secret Runners of New York.

But this is no ordinary clique – they have access to an underground portal that can transport them into the future. And what Skye discovers in the future is horrifying: the rumours about the coming apocalypse are true . . .

RUN! AS FAST AS YOU CAN!

As society crumbles and Skye and Red race to figure out how to use their knowledge to survive the impending annihilation, they soon discover that the chaotic end of the world is a fine time for revenge . . .

Hurrah! This week I get to review a book in my favourite sub-genre of fiction – apocalypse fiction. Hold onto your hats, folks, because once again it’s the end of the world. The unique hook for this cataclysmic tale? It’s only those pesky teenagers and their angst-ridden high school lives versus the extinction of humanity.

Our protagonist, Skye, and her brother, Red, have recently moved to New York and are the newest pupils at a super exclusive high school. The students of The Monmouth School exist in a world that is recognisable in one breath and then total alien in another. In some respects it is easy to empathise with Skye. We all suffered through the minefield of adolescence. The peer pressure and trying to fit in seem like the be all and end all. We gravitate towards like-minded individuals, seeking familiarity and reassurance. Ask any teenager and they’ll tell you the same thing. The big difference between most teenagers and Skye is that she is part of the social elite, the ridiculously wealthy. For her and her peers, the prospect of the world ending feels like a problem for those who can’t afford to deal with it.

Thinking about it, I suppose pairing high school with the end of all things is a pretty good fit. High school can be a nightmare at the best of times. When things go wrong during your teenage years you often feel like you want the earth to open up and swallow you whole. Try to picture your own teenage experiences, some of us will have to think harder than others. Now imagine trying to navigate through that with the threat of the world ending as an added bonus.

As the narrative unfolds society begins to fray around the edges, violence is becoming more common place as people begin to accept the seemingly inevitable end. Why bother to follow the rules if you won’t be held accountable?  It’s one of the things I really liked about Secret Runners. Reilly spends time fleshing out the story with detail about what is going on outside the bubble of Skye’s life. As the details of a predicted extinction level event become clearer and clearer, the thin veneer of society crumbles. Realising that the balance of power has shifted, many people from the lower classes begin to view Skye and her contemporaries as targets for their blind panic.

I’m as old as the hills so I suspect I’m probably not the target audience for The Secret Runners of New York, but I do think it acts as an ideal introduction to Reilly’s work for young adult readers. If I was trying to best describe this novel to someone else, I think it would be Cruel Intentions* meets the end of the world. That movie reference probably dates me more than anything else in this review. Cruel Intentions was released in 1999. A lot of the readers of this book are going to be younger than that. I’m always a bit jealous of young adult readers now. No, not just because they are young. I wish I had books like this when I was a teen. They act as a perfect bridge to more mature content.

I enjoyed The Secret Runners of New York. It is a solidly entertaining and, like all of Reilly’s action thrillers, the narrative is expertly paced. Well worth checking out if you are looking for an apocalyptic tale with twists and turns aplenty.

My musical recommendation has a distinctly New York flavoured vibe. A few years back there was movie about beautifully carefree teens running around New York doing increasingly dangerous dares for money. The Secret Runners of New York has a similar tone so that’s why I chose the soundtrack to Nerve by Rob Simenson.

The Secret Runners of New York is published by Hot Key Books and is available now.

*Other people who have read Secret Runners have compared the novel to something called “Gossip Girl”. I couldn’t possibly comment as I don’t know what a Gossip Girl is?