Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Publisher Unknown (1969)
Description
In a savage postnuclear world, four young fugitives attempt to overthrow the bloodthirsty rule of the Overlords with the help of Shade, their mysterious mentor.
User reviews
LibraryThing member MyopicBookworm
Much closer to straight science fiction than Garth Nix's previous "Sabriel" fantasies, this is a gripping tale set in an urban wasteland where invading aliens have eliminated all the adults. The surviving children are raised in Dormitories until they are shipped off at 14 to be physiologically and
The action is centred on an escapee who joins a group of feral children, organized into a resistance movement by an artifical intelligence called Shade whose personality is based on that of a research scientist. The high-adrenalin adventure element is underpinned by the tension between Shade and the children that he sends on missions to risk their lives garnering information and material for his attempted resistance. This tension eventually develops into a moral crisis for Shade himself.
The plot and scenario work well, though it is not entirely clear how much of the Earth is involved in the invasion: the setting is restricted to one unspecified English-speaking country, in which seven alien warlords play out their ceremonial rivalries.
The book is aimed primarily at a teenaged audience, with some elements clearly designed to appeal to the computer-game generation. Although there is no gratuitous violence, no punches are pulled concerning the unpleasantness faced by children engaged in guerilla warfare. It will probably interest anyone who has enjoyed the "Tripods" trilogy (The White Mountains etc.) by John Christopher or Predator's Gold by Philip Reeve.
MB 2-i-2010
Show More
psychologically modified as cannon fodder for live-action wargames. The action is centred on an escapee who joins a group of feral children, organized into a resistance movement by an artifical intelligence called Shade whose personality is based on that of a research scientist. The high-adrenalin adventure element is underpinned by the tension between Shade and the children that he sends on missions to risk their lives garnering information and material for his attempted resistance. This tension eventually develops into a moral crisis for Shade himself.
The plot and scenario work well, though it is not entirely clear how much of the Earth is involved in the invasion: the setting is restricted to one unspecified English-speaking country, in which seven alien warlords play out their ceremonial rivalries.
The book is aimed primarily at a teenaged audience, with some elements clearly designed to appeal to the computer-game generation. Although there is no gratuitous violence, no punches are pulled concerning the unpleasantness faced by children engaged in guerilla warfare. It will probably interest anyone who has enjoyed the "Tripods" trilogy (The White Mountains etc.) by John Christopher or Predator's Gold by Philip Reeve.
MB 2-i-2010
Show Less
LibraryThing member sara_k
I really enjoyed The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix. I was not as thrilled with The Ragwitch. I waver somewhere inbetween about Shade's Children. The world and characters of Shade's Children are very interesting: in a single day the world was turned around when all the people over the age of 14
I've thought a lot about what it is about this story that sets me on edge. It took me several days to read although it is a slim book (345 pages) and then another couple of days before I was ready to blog it. The alien human warriors are the main bad guys and their main evil is that they care nothing for the humans of our earth; to them, the children are baby animals who will one day be ready to be harvested for parts. Shade seems to be an adult human (saved as a computer program) who cares for the children and tries to save as many as he can but he has his flaws and those flaws put the compatriots at the center of the story at risk. Maybe that is it, that I want to trust Shade and I want Shade to be trustworthy but I fear that he cares as little for the children as the warriors do.
I do recommend this book. It made me uncomfortable but it wasn't poorly written and other people may not find it as offputting as I did.
Show More
disappeared and strange warriors and their servant machines started collecting children to use for replacement parts for their battle machines. It is a scenario which could support lots of stories. I've thought a lot about what it is about this story that sets me on edge. It took me several days to read although it is a slim book (345 pages) and then another couple of days before I was ready to blog it. The alien human warriors are the main bad guys and their main evil is that they care nothing for the humans of our earth; to them, the children are baby animals who will one day be ready to be harvested for parts. Shade seems to be an adult human (saved as a computer program) who cares for the children and tries to save as many as he can but he has his flaws and those flaws put the compatriots at the center of the story at risk. Maybe that is it, that I want to trust Shade and I want Shade to be trustworthy but I fear that he cares as little for the children as the warriors do.
I do recommend this book. It made me uncomfortable but it wasn't poorly written and other people may not find it as offputting as I did.
Show Less
LibraryThing member riaanw
Garth Nix has gained a reputation as a reliable author of fantasy for teenagers -- for example, the Abhorsen trilogy. Now, Shade's Children is set in a world where a mysterious event instantly wiped out every person on Earth older than 14, leaving all the children under the despotic control of the
Nix has crafted an interesting plot, though the target market ensures that some of the darker themes are never fully developed. As an adult novel, it could have been a mind-bending Lord of the Flies.
Show More
enigmatic Overlords, who may or may not be cruel aliens. The aforementioned event also unlocked useful powers in some of the children's minds -- powers used by those who have escaped the Overlords to live a precarious life outside the net while trying to learn more about their fate. Nix has crafted an interesting plot, though the target market ensures that some of the darker themes are never fully developed. As an adult novel, it could have been a mind-bending Lord of the Flies.
Show Less
LibraryThing member shes-an-actress
Fantastic book suitable for the 16+ audience.
Nix didn't dissapoint! Scary monsters and creepy situations, brilliantly described and full of imagination.
A little closer to the Abhorsen Triliogy than the Keys to the Kingdom series - the writing style sits nicely in the middle of the two.
Nix didn't dissapoint! Scary monsters and creepy situations, brilliantly described and full of imagination.
A little closer to the Abhorsen Triliogy than the Keys to the Kingdom series - the writing style sits nicely in the middle of the two.
LibraryThing member Wosret
I loved Garth Nix's Sabriel series, The Seventh Tower and The Keys to the Kingdom. This book was kind of similar, but really felt rather different. Very dark and bleak at times. I kept dwelling on the basic premise of the book: one day, everyone over 15 just vanished off the face of the earth. I
So I guess that makes it effective, right? I was just left feeling so uncomfortable by the story that I couldn't really enjoy it.
Show More
have two small children, and if that happened, they would die painful deaths due to starvation and neglect. It wasn't the only thing about this book that disturbed me.So I guess that makes it effective, right? I was just left feeling so uncomfortable by the story that I couldn't really enjoy it.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Gracie123
Great book with a terrible ending.
If only they'd worked a little bit harder on that it could have been excellent.
If only they'd worked a little bit harder on that it could have been excellent.
LibraryThing member travis_outlaw
very good. will read again.
LibraryThing member dknippling
Eh...I have some pretty high expectations of Garth Nix. This was a readable adventure book with solid characters, no problems there. Some of the world building didn't make sense when you got down to the root cause but worked fine on the surface level. However, not as good as the Abhorsen or Keys
Show More
series. Show Less
LibraryThing member EmScape
[Possible spoilers]
Sometime in the near future a phenomenon has occurred instantaneously removing all adults from the world leaving the children at the mercy of a mysterious group they refer to as Overlords. Some children escape their fate as mere body parts bred to become soldiers in the battles
Now, what I've just given you is much more explanatory than the back of the book reveals, and this information is just dribbled out throughout the story. Chapters alternate between the action of the tale and logs and records kept in Shade's computer. At first these serve to set the scene and give more information about this odd world we've been dropped into. As we progress, though, and more is revealed about the nature of Shade as well as the Overlords, action actually begins to take place in the computer world. I found some of these chapters an enhancement to the story, but quite a few, particularly in the middle, seemed as though Nix couldn't think of anything else to reveal through this device. The children seem less like characters and more devices for moving the plot forward. Shade is the most developed and dynamic, but also the least comprehensible. This is a shorter book than I'm used to from Nix, so it's possible he sacrificed some characterization in favor of a lower page count. Except for the aforementioned archive chapters, the book is almost all suspenseful, dangerous, mission-y action. These kids are in danger almost constantly, and with as much is made of how many children failed to survive similar missions in the past, this seems rather unrealistic. Of course, you wouldn't have any characterization at all if your protagonists die in the first chapter, but the author might have compensated for that by not listing the loads of previous "lost" teams.
Overall, though, the book was entertaining to read, and the complete unbelievability of the whole thing can be overlooked, particularly by younger readers. I would recommend this more for true young adults who don't tend to be as critical as I am.
Sometime in the near future a phenomenon has occurred instantaneously removing all adults from the world leaving the children at the mercy of a mysterious group they refer to as Overlords. Some children escape their fate as mere body parts bred to become soldiers in the battles
Show More
these Overlords have against each other. Their "protector" is Shade, whose personality resides in a computer and sends these children out on missions to learn more about the Overlords and possibly how to defeat them. Now, what I've just given you is much more explanatory than the back of the book reveals, and this information is just dribbled out throughout the story. Chapters alternate between the action of the tale and logs and records kept in Shade's computer. At first these serve to set the scene and give more information about this odd world we've been dropped into. As we progress, though, and more is revealed about the nature of Shade as well as the Overlords, action actually begins to take place in the computer world. I found some of these chapters an enhancement to the story, but quite a few, particularly in the middle, seemed as though Nix couldn't think of anything else to reveal through this device. The children seem less like characters and more devices for moving the plot forward. Shade is the most developed and dynamic, but also the least comprehensible. This is a shorter book than I'm used to from Nix, so it's possible he sacrificed some characterization in favor of a lower page count. Except for the aforementioned archive chapters, the book is almost all suspenseful, dangerous, mission-y action. These kids are in danger almost constantly, and with as much is made of how many children failed to survive similar missions in the past, this seems rather unrealistic. Of course, you wouldn't have any characterization at all if your protagonists die in the first chapter, but the author might have compensated for that by not listing the loads of previous "lost" teams.
Overall, though, the book was entertaining to read, and the complete unbelievability of the whole thing can be overlooked, particularly by younger readers. I would recommend this more for true young adults who don't tend to be as critical as I am.
Show Less
LibraryThing member LilyEvans
I am very interested in end of the world (dystopian, is it the word?) tales, and I found this one pretty interesting. The different types of creatures, such as Wingers, Myrmidons, Screamers, and Ferrets, were equally fascinating. I did like how the book shifted points of view every other chapter,
Show More
from a third-person point of view to a computer-generated interview or a delving deep into the mind of one of Shade’s other “children”. The characters were believable and kept me interesting, though it was unfortunate I had to spread it out in bits over the week as I didn’t have enough time in one block. It was a quick, easy read and interesting as well. There was nothing bad but nothing particularly special either. Show Less
LibraryThing member rgruberexcel
RGG: Very dark, dystopian novel. The story is compelling and the reader will like and care about the main characters. But the horrific violent treatment of children plus the lack of explanation / clarity of what is happening and why makes this a book for older readers.
LibraryThing member Claire.Warner
I'm not saying anything about the plot of the book. That has already been said by others. Shade's Children is dark, uncompromising and bittersweet. Like others, I am shocked that Garth Nix isn't heard of more as he writes beautifully.
I would recommend Shade's Children to anyone who likes grim
I would recommend Shade's Children to anyone who likes grim
Show More
futurism. Wonderful. Show Less
LibraryThing member kayceel
Gold-Eye has managed to escape the dormitories where he grew up and so has avoided the Sad Birthday in which children are 'harvested' for the rulers' creepy machine soldiers.
From blog: "Book club members powered through their post-Thanksgiving-turkey-comas to meet at the Main library November 28th
Our discussion, led by book club member Zach, ranged from "what would you do?" to problems with characterization and “what happened to that plot point?!”, but overall, most enjoyed this creepy dystopia (kayceel included).
Already read Shade's Children? Why not try some of these titles? Anything we missed?
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson.
Battle Royale by Takami Koshun
Black Hole Sun by David Macinnis Gill.
Blood Red Road by Moira Young.
The City of Ember by JeanneDuPrau.
The Diary of Pelly D by L.J. Adlington.
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
Runaways: Pride & Joy by Brian K. Vaughan.
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi.
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.
From blog: "Book club members powered through their post-Thanksgiving-turkey-comas to meet at the Main library November 28th
Show More
to discuss Garth Nix’s 1997 scifi novel Shade's Children. Set in a future where adults have disappeared and children are raised to be ‘harvested’ by evil Overlords, young Gold-eye joins up with other young teens on the run, all who follow the mysterious Shade in the hopes of gaining their freedom by destroying the Overlords.Our discussion, led by book club member Zach, ranged from "what would you do?" to problems with characterization and “what happened to that plot point?!”, but overall, most enjoyed this creepy dystopia (kayceel included).
Already read Shade's Children? Why not try some of these titles? Anything we missed?
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson.
Battle Royale by Takami Koshun
Black Hole Sun by David Macinnis Gill.
Blood Red Road by Moira Young.
The City of Ember by JeanneDuPrau.
The Diary of Pelly D by L.J. Adlington.
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
Runaways: Pride & Joy by Brian K. Vaughan.
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi.
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Claire.Warner
I'm not saying anything about the plot of the book. That has already been said by others. Shade's Children is dark, uncompromising and bittersweet. Like others, I am shocked that Garth Nix isn't heard of more as he writes beautifully.
I would recommend Shade's Children to anyone who likes grim
I would recommend Shade's Children to anyone who likes grim
Show More
futurism. Wonderful. Show Less
LibraryThing member wealhtheowwylfing
One day, everyone over the age of fourteen has vanished from the Earth, and in their place are Overlords and hideous alien creatures. The children are rounded up and trained until their "sad birthday," when an alien attaches itself to them or they are ripped apart for meat. The few children who
Show More
manage to escape live a borderline life, constantly fleeing the aliens that have overrun their world. The only ray of hope is "Shade," a personality left behind in a computer. And yet Shade has been worryingly casual about the children’s lives…Action packed and nicely dark. Show Less
LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
Although not as good as his 'Abhorsen' trilogy, "Shade's Children" reminded me a lot of many post-apocalyptic books I read as a kid - so I rather liked it.
The premise is that beings from (possibly) a parallel world have taken over Earth, eliminating everyone over fourteen, and imprisoning and
It's an interesting premise, but I felt like there were quite a few logical plot holes, I didn't find that the social attitudes of the characters matched up realistically with their given backgrounds, and there were several aspects to the whole story that I wished had been more deeply explored.
The premise is that beings from (possibly) a parallel world have taken over Earth, eliminating everyone over fourteen, and imprisoning and
Show More
raising the human children in order to use their physical parts to create Creatures with which to play wargames. However, a few children manage to escape, and some of those come under the wing of Shade - a human-created AI which has been oddly enhanced by the fields that the alien (?) Overlords generate (and which also gives some human children precognitive or other powers). Shade's stated goal is to find a way to overthrow the Overlords and restore normality to Earth - but his methods are cold and ruthless - and will his own self-interest outweigh altruism?It's an interesting premise, but I felt like there were quite a few logical plot holes, I didn't find that the social attitudes of the characters matched up realistically with their given backgrounds, and there were several aspects to the whole story that I wished had been more deeply explored.
Show Less
LibraryThing member DelightedLibrarian
For me this was an unexpected ending. Not necessarily a surprise, but that it is the only book i've read by him that ends on a philosophical downer.
LibraryThing member cindywho
This one features an improbable dystopia and non-stop adventure. Nasty nasty creatures from perhaps another dimension have made all the adults disappear and for 15 years have been raising and refashioning children to use in their war games. It's all very creepy and exciting, but never quite makes
Show More
sense. An AI named Shade has created a sanctuary for escapees from the is trying to save them, or is he? His last team of four are there to find out... Show Less
LibraryThing member rivkat
After all the adults vanished, monsters came and collected the children, to be turned into monsters who fought for the delectation of other monsters as they reached age 14. A few escapees, with the help of an artificial intelligence, are trying to fight back. The worldbuilding doesn’t make any
Show More
sense if you think about it for half a second, but the monsters are creepy, especially with their battle poetry and indifference to suffering. Show Less
LibraryThing member CurrerBell
I found those one- and two-page "interludes" between the chapters very confusing, and I think the ending was rather contrived.
LibraryThing member librarybrandy
70 pages in; giving up. The plot is either scattered or just uninteresting; I'm having a hard time feeling like I've gotten as far as the plot of the story yet, and I feel like 70 pages is enough time to have found it if it were there.
LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
In a world where death usually comes at 14, where a group of strange monsters created from the bodies of these children fight for a group of masters, some rebels try to fight. With the help of the elusive Shade who exists only as a virtual entity but his motives are suspect. Can the four friend
Show More
survive, can they find a way to defeat the masters and what happens if they do. Show Less
LibraryThing member tanaise
I wanted to like this one, as I've read (and loved) every other one of his books, but I just couldn't do it. I couldn't even finish it, I was too depressed by it.
Awards
Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award (Nominee — 2000)
Aurealis Award (Shortlist — 1997)
South Dakota Teen Choice Book Awards (Nominee — 1998)
CBCA Book of the Year (Notable Book — Older Readers — 1998)
Isinglass Teen Read Award (Nominee — 2004)
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 1998)
Original publication date
1995-07
Other editions
Shade's Children by Garth Nix (Paperback)