Wednesday, 29 September 2021

Death Wheels - Jon Mayhew - Teen Reads V

Death Wheels
Teen Reads V
ISBN 9781784646196


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:

“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. Welcome to Omak's world. Omak rescues an old man from a pack o ravenous snappers. The old man gives Omak a map as a reward. It's a map to unlimited petrol and oil- a dream come true in Omak's desert world. But do dreams come true anymore? Is it more likely to be a nightmare?”

This story continues with characters from Death Road and is set some moths after that story. I started of that earlier story 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. 

The characters in this story are excellent. In this story you will find yourself cheering on Omak and later even his be impressed with his concern for Silva Dacosta. There is an interesting twist in the story. One that a seasoned reader could foresee, but Mayhew handled it masterfully. The story is well written. Short stories or novella’s are an art form unto themselves. Mayhew is a master, tight writing, great pace, another excellent story. And to be honest one that leaves you wanting more of Omak and Silva’s stories.

This book is available in print format, and  PDF from the publisher. And Can be purchased with a classroom license. This one is part of Teen Reads V from Badger. But unlike Death Road there does not appear to be a standard eBook edition through other vendors. 

I am thankful I tracked this one down from the publisher. And the 2 other Mayhew books I was unaware of from Badger. This story will have readers of all ages on the edge of their seats. Another excellent story from Mayhew’s pen!  

Books as J.E. Mayhew:
DCI William Blake Series:

Books as Jon Mayhew:
The Spybrarian

Monster Odyssey Series:
1.0 The Eye of Neptune
2.0 The Wrath of the Lizard Lord
3.0 The Curse of the Ice Serpent
4.0 The Venom of the Scorpion

Mortlock Series:
2.0 The Demon Collector
3.0 The Bonehill Curse

Collins Big Cat Series:
The Merchant of Venice: Band 16/Sapphire
Hamlet: Band 18/Pearl
Romeo and Juliet: Band 18/Pearl
Macbeth: Band 18/Pearl

Contributed to:
Beyond the Book: A Collection of Short Stories
Storycraft: How To Teach Creative Writing
Criminal Shorts: UK Crime Book Club Anthology
Make Doves Not War - Forward

Books as Edwin Torr:
Dead Means Dead Series
1.0 Demons - 2017
1.3 Cotton Candy - 2017
1.9 Remurdered - 2017
2.0 Angel Hunter - 2017
2.5 Cold Caller - 2017
3.0 Jigsaw Girl - 2018




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