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FINAL PART OF ‘THE SILVER SEQUENCE?/p>

 

Listen to me talking about the THE SILVER SEQUENCE

Millions huddle in Coldharbour, waiting for the huge and terrifying Roar.

Milo, the silver child, is the first line of the Earth’s defence. Under his wings, Helen probes the Roar’s mind, while the twins, Emily and Freda, struggle to free the mysterious Protector. Walter’s task is the hardest of all - keeping the others alive for long enough to find a weapon to defeat the Roar. Only Thomas can release that weapon - if he can finally discover the true purpose of his remarkable gift.

But a second enemy is also ranged against them. As the Roar approaches from space, her firstborn, Carnac, is crawling from the depths of the Earth. Only a small number of children, the drill-handed Unearthers, led by Tanni, stand in his way.

Read an extract from Silver World

‘He’ll never make it? I said.

It was the usual scene at the Coldharbour Barrier: crowds of young children, all hoping for a glimpse of their parents. Most didn’t stand a chance, of course - only the strongest adults were able to force their way to front of the Barrier.

‘There are too many? I warned Helen. ‘If he tries to get any closer he’ll be crushed.?/p>

‘No, he’s nearly pushed his way through.?/p>

‘Where??/p>

‘Over there, Thomas.?/p>

I saw him at last - a big man making his way to the Barrier edge.

The last few steps were the most dangerous. Thousands of other parents were jostling for position. If he slipped he’d probably be trampled to death. With great care, making sure not to shove anyone else down into Coldharbour’s well-trodden mud, he squeezed past two burly men and one frantic-looking mother.

Helen walked up as close to him as she could. She wasn’t crying, though she had been on the way here. As soon as he saw her, she manufactured a smile from somewhere and reached out her hands. At the same time, he pressed his palms against the Barrier. For a moment their fingers were so close that they were almost touching.

‘Dad??she whispered.

‘I know? he said.

Helen’s father. Until this morning, he’d been the only adult inside Coldharbour, but just after dawn he was snatched away. He’d been gathering food at one of the drop-off points when the edge had simply moved.

Only a little. Just enough to place his feet outside.

No touching was possible between them now. No talking, either. The invisible boundary that kept adults out of Coldharbour and children inside, once we arrived, didn’t allow any communication. All along the Barrier, separated families could only strive to read each others lips.

Helen, of course, being a mind-reader, was able to do far more than that.

I stayed back to give her a little privacy. She didn’t get much time with her dad, though. He was a powerfully built man, and held his ground for longer than most, but he wasn’t the only desperate parent, and was soon dragged out of sight again.

Helen remained at the Barrier edge for a while, composing herself before she returned to me.

It was hard to believe that only a few weeks had passed since all the children in the world started making their way towards Coldharbour. It wasn’t much of a place to come to - just a few miles of nondescript mud bordering the sea. That hadn’t stopped us running crazily towards it, of course. First me, jogging through the night, swinging my plastic carrier bag. Followed by five other special children. Then, once we were there, the others - every single child in the world. Millions had already squashed themselves inside Coldharbour or spilled out into the surrounding countryside. Others, from remoter places, were still on their way to us. Only Helen knew how terrible some of their journeys had become.

‘It’s not so bad once they can see Milo? she said, reading my mind. ‘They feel safer then, at least.?/p>

I glanced up, and there he was, the reason we were all huddled in this flat, desolate place: Milo - the silver child. Amazingly, I’d grown used to his gigantic body hovering over us, sometimes close to the ground, sometimes higher, but never straying from Coldharbour’s skies. His colossal bald head gleamed like a disc of light. His body was over four miles long. His wings, several times that size, extended so far into the distance that on overcast days you had no idea where the tips ended.

'McNish has an extraordinary, inventive mind, matched by his skill in translating ideas, characters and raw emotions onto the page ... Silver World offers a wholly satisfying conclusion to the trilogy ... takes the reader into uncharted territory, manipulating language in the most extraordinary way' - Guardian.

'An outstanding fantasy novel for a wide readership ... McNish's imagination is extraordinary; the atmosphere is, by turn, both exciting and chilling; colourful and compelling. An irresistible fantasy with a tremendous climax' - Carousel

'Extraordinarily inventive ... The characters are so rich and heart-warming, the suspense so gripping and intense that I couldn't out the book down. I fervently recommend this fantastic conclusion to a brilliant trilogy.  - Teen Titles

'Tense action sequences blossom into a joyous, fulfilling conclusion, but it is the imagery - lyrical, mysterious, haunting - that will linger.' The Horn Book Guide.

It's always tough finishing a series of books. The last is always the hardest to write, for lots of reasons. In this book I wanted to develop a truly unusual and hopefully intriguing alien character - The Protector. I also wanted the final transformation of children the whole series has been heading towards to be spectacular. I'd been carefully planning the changes to Helen and Thomas's gifts with this in mind from The Silver Child, but the idea of using Jenny, the young girl, as a weapon even the Roar would fear came to me during the writing of this last book. I just liked the idea of making a nice innocent girl the most terrifying weapon imaginable. Contrasts like this always fascinate me. The advantage of writing fantasy is that as long as you can make it convincing you can let your imagination run riot and do anything!