Guardian - Hardcover

London, Alex

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399165762 ISBN 13: 9780399165764

Publisher: Philomel Books, 2014

Synopsis

The pulse-pounding sequel to Proxy! Inspired by The Whipping Boy and Feed, this adrenaline-fueled thriller will appeal to fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent.

In the new world led by the Rebooters, former Proxy Syd is the figurehead of the Revolution, beloved by some and hated by others. Liam, a seventeen-year-old Rebooter, is Syd’s bodyguard and must protect him with his life. But armed Machinists aren’t the only danger.

People are falling ill—their veins show through their skin, they find it hard to speak, and sores erupt all over their bodies. Guardians, the violent enforcers of the old system, are hit first, and the government does nothing to help. The old elites fall next, and in the face of an indifferent government, Syd decides it’s up to him to find a cure . . . and what he discovers leaves him stunned.

This heart-stopping thriller is packed with action, adventure, and heroics. Guardian will leave you breathless until the final page.

A fast-paced, thrill-ride of novel full of non-stop action, heart-hammering suspense and true friendship—just as moving as it is exhilarating. Fans of Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider series, James Dashner's Maze Runner, Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking series, and Marie Lu's Legend trilogy will be swept away by this story.

Praise for PROXY

"Put down what you're doing and read this book. Right now. The complex characters, intricate world, and blistering pace are off-the-charts amazing. I fell in love with this story from the first sentence to the final, epic page. London is a force to be reckoned with." —Marie Lu, author of the Legend trilogy

"Alex London is one of the most multi-dimensional writers out there. Proxy blew me away. It's deep, thrilling, thought-provoking, and at times simultaneously maddening and uplifting. I need to have more of Syd and Knox. Proxy is one stunning read!" —Andrew Smith, author of Winger and Grasshopper Jungle

Praise for GUARDIAN

"Corrupt powers, budding romance, an epidemic and grisly action synthesize to sate sci-fi fans."--Kirkus Reviews

"Nonstop action and breakneck pace characterize this exceptional thriller. London provides his audience with an intricate plot, enriched by fine world-building and believable characters....This thought-provoking and breathtaking novel belongs in all collections serving young adults."--VOYA

About this title

About the Author

Alex London writes books for adults, children and teens. At one time a journalist who traveled the world reporting from conflict zones and refugee camps, he now is a full time novelist living in Philadelphia. You can visit him at www.calexanderlondon.com or follow him on Twitter @ca_london.

Reviews

Gr 8 Up—London creates an intricately high tech world in which the heroes find themselves on an action-packed quest to save humanity from a zombielike illness and thoroughly corrupt government. After the Jubilee and change in governments, Syd reluctantly finds himself the icon of the Reconciliation with a lovelorn bodyguard, Liam. Syd and Liam race against time and villains, all the while falling in love. This dystopian Detroit has the usual trappings of science fiction—hovercrafts, new ecosystems, gadgets—and the ideals of growing one's own food, communal property, equality, and the evil of debt. Much like Mao's Great Leap Forward (complete with a bedridden gangster leader and illegal "covetous" thoughts), people suffer while the government knowingly feeds off their misery. The message lacks subtlety: absolute power corrupts absolutely. This maxim is illustrated by the Council wittingly allowing people to die of the zombielike illness because the cure requires the rebuilding of the machine that once held them captive to corporations. The Council will destroy themselves if need be; they refuse to return to the old ways. Yet Syd and Liam are willing to fight to the death. Regrettably, Syd seems to have lost some of his moxy, and both characters are fairly two-dimensional, but Proxy (Philomel, 2012) fans will be satisfied with the constant action and the conclusion to Syd's story.—Laura Falli, McNeil High School, Austin, TX

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

1At night, they disposed of the bodies. There was no ceremony, no ritual, no remembrance.
“They’re human,” some argued.
“They were human,” said others. “Now they’re meat.”
“We have to study the infection,” said the doctor.
“We have to contain it,” said the counselor and gave her orders. “Burn the bodies.”
A work detail was tasked with the burning. One by one, in the dead of night, green uniforms with white masks hauled corpses to the pile. The corpses were webbed with black veins, their entire network of blood vessels visible through the pale skin. Dried blood obscured their faces and each had a single hole in the temple by the eyes, where the killing bolt went in. They were put down like livestock, burned like sacrifices.
As the bodies crackled, the doctor watched the flames, her face half in shadow, half dancing in firelight. “I believe there is a cure for this,” she said.
The counselor, standing beside her, nodded, but did not turn to look her way. “Your cure is worse than the disease.”
“You believe that?”
“It’s the truth. Your way is treason.”
“You’re in denial,” the doctor said. “This is going to get worse if we don’t stop it.”
“It’s a new world, Doctor,” the counselor replied. “We can’t turn back the clock.”
“Even to save people’s lives?”
“These”—the counselor gestured at the bodies—“are not people.”
“If it spreads?”
“Is it spreading?”
The doctor watched the young members of the work detail tossing the bodies on the pyre. They moved with the assurance of youth, the kind of attitude that allowed them to stare infection and death in the face and believe it would never touch them. “I don’t know.”
“It is your job to know.”
“I can hardly understand it. The blood turns against the body. Itching, burning. Then, expulsion. Half of them bleed out.”
“And the other half?”
The doctor clenched her jaw. “They haven’t bled out yet.”
“They are in pain?”
“They can’t communicate, but we have to restrain them to keep them from scratching their skin off with their fingernails.” The doctor sighed. “So, yes, they are in pain.”
“Put them out of their misery,” the counselor ordered.
“But, we can still learn—”
“Those are the orders.” The counselor walked away, two green uniforms trailing her into the jungle. The doctor took off her white smock, pulled the blue gloves from her hands with a loud synthetic snap, and stood before the flames. She watched her latest failed experiments turn to smoke and ash in the bonfire, every bit of blood boiled away, with all the information it might have contained.
She had ideas, dangerous to share; but if she didn’t find a way, she feared, this sickness would go further than any of them could imagine. She would record a message in case she failed. She hoped that someone would still be alive to receive it.

Edition details

• Publisher: Philomel Books
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0399165762
• ISBN 13: 9780399165764
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352