Flood and Fire (Raiders' Ransom, Book Two)

by Emily Diamand

Overview

The Riveting Sequel to the Award-Winning RAIDERS' RANSOMShe survived the epic battle of the raiders on the rough waters that flood England. Now poor fishergirl Lilly is determined to return Lexy, the Prime Minister's kidnapped daughter, to her home. And since his father was killed in the clash, Zeph is equally determined to claim leadership of his family's clan before more savage tribes invade the marshlands. But will the electromagnetic pulse of an omnipotent computer set the world aflame and wipe out all humans so that artificial intelligence can take over the future?! It's up to the unlikely trio of children -- and their petulant, unpredictable gameboard PSAI -- to rage against the machines!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545388795
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	07/01/2011
Series:	Raiders' Ransom , #2
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

EMILY DIAMAND is a lifelong environmental activist, and her concern for the earth greatly influenced the story of RAIDERS' RANSOM, her debut novel and the winner of the inaugural London Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition. She lives with her husband and son in Yorkshire, England.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 5–8—In this follow-up to Raiders' Ransom (Scholastic, 2009), readers are plunged right back into the action as Lilly and Lexy try to escape raider territory and sail home to Lilly's fishing village. Instead, they travel to Cambridge and then to London, where a battle between the English and the Viking-like raiders is raging. Much of 23rd-century England is under water, and technology, being blamed for the breakdown of society, was banned long ago and is considered evil. Yet because of its power and rarity, Lilly's late-21st-century gaming console is an object of desire for the raiders, and Lilly's raider friend Zeph is forced to choose between his loyalty to his friends and to his Family. Readers will sympathize with his dilemma but it's the fast-moving plot and the wild-and-woolly post-technological setting that will keep the pages turning. The game console AI, a conceited and high-maintenance personality, provides invaluable assistance and comic relief, and its aid in battling a malfunctioning military computer's marauding robots results in a vivid finale against the backdrop of a flooded but still-vibrant London. Fans of the first book will be satisfied with this exciting sequel.—Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library

School Library Journal

PRAISE FOR RAIDERS' RANSOM

"Good-hearted, engaging protagonists, dramatic sea battles, a solid sense of humor, and a novel blend of medieval and futuristic technologies distinguish this notable debut."
--Publishers Weekly

"Filled with irony and buoyed by the hopes of its young protagonists, this swashbuckling tale will please a wide range of readers and lure them back for more."
--Shelf Awareness

"In her debut work, Diamand proves her fantasy chops by seamlessly weaving together two complicated storylines while vividly constructing an intriguing and entirely believable post-apocalyptic setting."
--BCCB

From the Publisher

Set in 23rd-century post-apocalyptic Lunden, this electrifying sequel to Diamand's Raiders' Ransom (2009) is a thrill ride from start to finish.

In alternating chapters, readers hear from former fisher-girl Lilly, whose mission is to return her friend Lexy to her father, the Prime Minister of England, and from raider Zeph, who is being forced to betray Lexy and Lilly in order to save all of the Angel Island raiders from a gruesome execution. Divided loyalties and cross-purposes abound as the three young people try to figure out how they and their precarious friendships can survive a world in turmoil. Even PSAI, supposedly the world's only remaining computer, winds up with an identity crisis when he meets and is downloaded by a military supercomputer. Lilly, Lexy, Zeph and PSAI will all have to make hard choices and sacrifices to survive the violent conflicts escalating around them. To create a world in which unlikely friendships like theirs can flourish, they will have to do even more. Are they up to the challenge? Alas, readers will have to wait.

The rare combination of action at breakneck speed and significant, believable character development makes this just about impossible to put down.(Science fiction. 9-14)

Kirkus Reviews