Book Reviews and More: Death Road - Jon Mayhew

Tuesday 14 September 2021

Death Road - Jon Mayhew - Teen Reads III

Death Road

Teen Reads III

Jon Mayhew

aka J.E. Mayhew

Badger Publishing

ISBN 9781781479698

eISBN 9781784642457

ASIN B00ZLX3I5K

I first encountered Jon Mayhew’s works through his adult fiction, a mystery series under the name J.E. Mayhew. I love his writing and have been tracking them all down and reading them. I found that he had a lot of Teen and Young Adult books under this name. And that he has another awesome series under the pen name of Edwin Torr. This is one of 4 that Mayhew wrote for Badger Publishing. The description of the book is:

“Perfect for pupils with a low reading age of 8 to 9, but a high interest age of 12 to 15, our Teen Reads will have readers on the edge of their seats. Just the right level of challenging vocabulary and plot-lines make these books highly accessible, drawing readers into exciting worlds whilst simultaneously developing their reading skills. In the year 2320 the Great Disaster happened. A nuclear war destroyed all the main towns and cities of the world. The water dried up and the world became one big desert. Then a plague came. This is the world Omak lives in.”

But I would state that it is perfect for anyone who loves dystopian. In many ways it feels like it could be a side story in the Mad Max Universe. Or part of the Death Lands series by James Axler when I was a late teen I loved these books as they were first being published. And know that readers of that series will love this book. This book also has a counterpart, I believe a continuation called Death Wheels. But I have not been able to track that one down. And to be honest many of the Badger books that appear in a collection with this one look like great reads as well.

The characters in this story are excellent. In this story you will find yourself cheering on Omak and later even his rival Silva Dacosta. There is an amazing twist in the story. It is well written. Short stories or novella’s are an art form unto themselves. Mayhew is a master, tight writing, great pace, an excellent story.

I am thankful I tracked this one down. Even if it lead me to 2 other Mayhew books I was unaware of. It will have readers of all ages on the edge of their seats.

Books as J.E. Mayhew:

DCI William Blake Series:

0.5 Tyger Tyger

1.0 A Poison Tree

2.0 Fearful Symmetry

3.0 The Bones of the Dead

4.0 Cruelty Has A Human Heart

5.0 All the Lies

6.0 Death's Cold Hand

7.0 No Time For Sorrow

8.0 Dark Visions of Torment

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