Children of the Different, by S.C. Flynn. A review

Steph P. Bianchini November 6, 2016 8 Comments

It  doesn’t happen often that I review a self-published book – not because I have anything against indie authors, but just because my time for reviewing is so limited that I need to stick to the novels I really want to read. But I gladly made an exception for Children of the Different for three reasons. One, I know the author – S.C. Flynn – and his blog of speculative fiction; two, the professionals he hired for the job (like, say, Jason Sizemore, of Apex Publications) reassured me that the quality of the book was going to be at the same level of a traditionally published novel. Three, it was a dystopia, post-apocalyptic tale, and this is definitively my cup of tea.

So, what Children of the Different is about?

“Nineteen years ago, a brain disease known as the Great Madness killed most of the world’s population. The survivors all had something different about their minds. Now, at the start of adolescence, their children enter a trance-like state known as the Changeland and emerge either with special mental powers or as cannibalistic Ferals. In the great forest of South West Western Australia, thirteen-year-old Arika and her twin brother Narrah go through the Changeland. They encounter an enemy known as the Anteater who feeds on human life. He exists both in the Changeland and in the outside world, and he wants the twins dead.
After their Changings, the twins have powers that let them fight their enemy and face their destiny on a long journey to an abandoned American military base on the north-west coast of Australia…if they can reach it before time runs out. Children of the Different is a post-apocalyptic fantasy novel set among the varied landscapes and wildlife of Western Australia.” (From the Amazon page).

There are many things I’ve liked in this story – the setting, for a start, which the author knows for being a native, the fact that it features twins (that’s a long story, but take my word for it) and the worldbuilding itself, which is accurate and well-researched. Changeland is a dangerous but enthralling place and the Ferals resulted fascinating. If anything, I would have liked to read more about them. I have also enjoyed the MCs, Narrah more than Arika, and some parts made me think of Alice in the Wonderland.  Even more important is that the novel sounds refreshing and in some aspects unique – in a genre where too many authors write the very same story and their MCs look like some sort of clones. You’ll find Children of the Different an original and well written YA fantasy, and this speaks volume about its quality. Here also lies, however, what I didn’t enjoy in this book: it is a YA fantasy -something I can’t truly appreciate, for a matter of personal taste more than anything else.

Said that, I still recommend the reading to SF-crazed people like me: the worldbuilding makes it up for YA fantasy part, I promise. And for all the others – well, this is one novel you don’t want to miss.

Children of the Different by  S.C. Flynn,  2016, self-published. Where I got it: from the author, in exchange for an honest review (thank you!)