It is Kittiwake's dream to escape the city of Orokos - and no wonder. it is a dismal and depressing place to live. Peopled by man-eating and murderous ghosts and plagued by probability storms, which can cause irrevocable change, anyone who wants to stay alive must have their wits about them.

Rail is more astute than most. A hard-nosed thief, he proves that he has a soft heart when he takes a sickly, homeless girl called Moa under his wing. Together they steal a mysterious artefact, which Rail believes to be valuable. When he learns that the artefact can create openigs in any solid object, he realises that it can help him become the most successful thief in Orokos, but Moa has other ideas. She is convinced that there is life outside Orokos and wants to join Kittiwake in the secret town of Kilatas where hundreds of city-dwellers are preparing to make a bid for freedom. Enclosed on all sides by the sea, the only way to leave Orokos is by sailing boat but, with the deadly Skimmers patrolling the waters, two out of three of the escapes will never make it past the killing zone.

Once again, Chris Wooding has produced a well-structured, imaginative, suspenseful story for teenagers. Orokos is a convincing world and the two central characters of Rail and Moa are carefully drawn, but the inhuman golem, Vago is, perhaps, more sympathetic. in Storm Thief, Wooding explores the idea that perfect societities are unattainable , raising the question: Which is more preferable - a society that is too controlled or too chaotic? This is a relevant subject for today's teenagers as they face an increasingly Orwellian future.

Storm Thief can be enjoyed on more than one level. It is both an exciting science-fiction adventure and an intelligent, thought-provoking read.  Chris Wooding is a major talent. His 2003 novel Poison was a masterpiece.

2007-12-28