The Night House Files (1) - The Deadsoul Project

What a roller coaster of a book! The Dead Soul Project is an exciting, page-turning, science fiction thriller featuring the main characters, youngsters, Kyle and Lauren Dempsey, battling against the monstrous results of a supposed alien virus in their housing development, Alpine Heights.

Back in the late 1970s the residents were attacked and transformed into horrific people-eating creatures. Their story is written in the present tense as the siblings need to save themselves before they meet a nasty end. With no parents left to protect them, they have to rely on their courage and cleverness to keep one step ahead of the monsters.

The action is fast-paced and the narrative pulls no punches in the descriptions of the transformations from human to horrific. Dan Smith, the author, uses a clever technique whereby the progress of the story is interrupted by the interleaving of present day classified files; interviews and reports from the survivors and interested parties. This increases the tension as the reader discovers more questions than answers the further they read.

The final twist is a surprise and leaves you curious to know if there will be any resolution in the next book in the series, The Wintermoor Lights, or will we be left guessing like one of the current day growing group of conspiracy theorists?

Once again, Barrington Stoke has published a gripping, exciting story, which will prove popular amongst older children and teens (note the mention of injury and death, particularly to the creatures). The dyslexia-friendly font and formatting enables readers of all abilities to access this great story and the illustrations by Luke Brookes are worthy of any classic Sci Fi publication with terror pictured as clearly as it is in the sentences. Highly recommend - it will be a featured read in our school library!

192 pages / Reviewed by Ruth Cornish, school librarian

Suggested Reading Age 11+