Book review - Piper by Meg Harper

[Mark Robson]

If I were to set an age range for this book, I would probably place it at 10+. That said, this will very much depend on the maturity of the individual, both in reading ability and sensitivity. Meg Harper surprised me somewhat with this book, as the driving factor behind the storyline is really quite gruesome, though to reveal it would be too much of a spoiler. In that respect it marks a departure from her previous work, which has always had a gentle feel about it. This story is decidedly more edgy than anything I've read of hers before.

The title alone gives away something of the plot, for this is a futuristic spin on the tale of the Pied Piper. Set (at a guess) approximately 40-50 years into the future, society has become deeply divided. The gulf between the crats and the citz is growing ever wider. Children haunt the city streets, orphaned by an unnamed disease that is sweeping through all levels of society, scrabbling to survive.

Tanith is mildly disabled, but she has an inner strength which makes an instant impact on the enigmatic boy, Crow. He has gathered a group of the waifs and strays together in a rag tag band that live in caves on the outskirts of the city. They follow him with an unthinking, unswerviing loyalty that doesn't seem natural. Tanith, however, is not so easily swayed by his charms.

Meg paints her characters well, though the setting and sense of place felt thin. There were no hints of what had happened to cause such deep class divides, no insights into recent history, nor indeed any reference to how mankind had progressed in any way from life today. That aside, the story progresses at a good pace and has enough twists along the way to ensure that once started, a reader will get swept through to the intriguing finale.

This is a book that feels ripe for a sequel, or possibly a couple of sequels. If Meg were to write another, she has me sufficiently hooked that I would seek it out. Piper is a fun, fast-paced read. The writing is tight and it flows well. What is more, I believe Meg will see her audience expand through this book, as it is likely to appeal far more to boys than anything she's written before.