Synopsis
THE END OF THE WORLD started quietly enough for Tane Williams and Rebecca Richards. . . .
Tane and Rebecca aren’t sure what to make of it—a sequence of 1s and 0s, the message looks like nothing more than a random collection of alternating digits. Working to decode it, however, Tane and Rebecca discover that the message contains lottery numbers . . . lottery numbers that win the next random draw! Suddenly Tane and Rebecca are rich, but who sent the numbers? And why? More messages follow, and slowly it becomes clear—the messages are being sent back in time from Tane and Rebecca’s future. Something there has gone horribly wrong, and it’s up to them to prevent it from happening. As they follow the messages’ cryptic instructions, Tane and Rebecca begin to suspect the worst—that the very survival of the human race may be at stake.
Children's Literature
Teenagers Tane and Rebecca fight genetic engineering gone wild in this fast-paced eco-thriller. Brainy Rebecca is the first to look for messages in a series of mysterious gamma ray bursts, but Tane's solid common sense and comfort with nature—part of his Maori heritage—makes the team fairly equal . . . until Tane's big brother enters the scene. "Fatboy" has a Harley motorcycle and a brand new Maori face tattoo. Naturally, both make him irresistible to Rebecca while creating some serious sibling rivalry between the brothers. Meanwhile there is a lottery to win, a mini-submarine, and an army of macrophages disguised as Pillsbury Dough Boys on steroids to destroy. New Zealand writer Brian Falkner sets his clever story in his own backyard. Contemporary Auckland, its suburbs, and the off-shore islands beyond become attractive settings for this end-of-the-world scenario. An added bonus is that readers can also get involved in working out the computer puzzles presented within the story. Reviewer: Kathleen Karr