Mortal Chaos by Matt Dickinson

Longlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2013

Mortal Chaos by Matt Dickinson
Buy Mortal Chaos by Matt Dickinson at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Teens
Reviewer: Nigethan Sathiyalingam
Summary: A dynamic adventure that gives you chaotically intertwined storylines, and thrills throughout. The blurb of my review copy sums it up as The book Jack Bauer would have read as a teenager – I can't really beat that.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 286	Date: February 2012
Publisher: Oxford University Press
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-0192757135
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Mortal Chaos is a powerful name, and it's perfectly apt for a book that describes a day in the lives of many characters, some from different countries, some adults and some children, some set for a typical mundane day while for others the day will be the definition of chaos. As the narrative rapidly alternates between the stories of these varied characters, it soon becomes apparent that they are all connected. How, you would think, could the day of a jockey, an airline pilot, a mountain climber on Everest, two boys exploring a forest, a boy in Africa, a thief, a gambler, a television crew, and an insane man with murder in his mind, all be connected? They don't know each other but the lives of all of these characters on this fateful day, depends on the actions of each other. Some will find themselves in life-threatening situations, while others will inadvertently end up causing them!

The author immediately makes you aware of how seemingly insignificant events from the perspective of one character can have huge impacts on others. For example, when a jockey cuts in front of a car in order to get to his race on time, he doesn't consider it to be a big deal to the other driver. But the other driver is an airline pilot, Tina, who consequently doesn't get to work on time, causing disruption to many people. For Tina, it is just a matter of professional pride, but for one of her passengers the delay is much more serious, as his daughter is forced to wait a while longer on the peak of the mountain she has climbed, to call him and share her success; the little longer she stays on the peak is enough to put her in the middle of a storm that makes her (already difficult) climb back down, a lot more dangerous. This is one of many connections that are brought to existence by the actions of each individual character, and the author does a great job of conveying them.

Enjoyment comes not only from the tension of the various precarious predicaments of the characters, but the excitement of predicting the underlying connections between the different storylines. The rapidly alternating narrative makes for a compelling and very fast-paced read; there simply isn't time for you to get bored, as so much is happening at the same time. I found it to be a thrilling ride, with an unexpected conclusion that hammered home the fascinating concept of the story.

Considering the size of the ensemble of characters, and the relative shortness of the book itself, the author does reasonably well with characterisation. Despite the limited time spent on providing background on the characters, the author manages to make them distinguishable. Although they tend to veer towards the one-dimensional, I actually found myself caring for some of the characters; Kuni, the determined Japanese girl climbing Mount Everest, and the young African boy Bakili, who is desperately trying to save the few remaining crops of his impoverished family from baboons, turned vicious by hunger, were particularly compelling.

I understand the author's motivation for keeping the length of the book reasonably short; spending more time on building up characters might have slowed down the pacing and lessened the intensity of the story. However, I think that more character development and fleshing out of the backgrounds of the various personalities would have helped the characters feel a lot more interesting and real. If more of a chance to really connect with the characters had been provided, the conclusion could've been so much more intense and meaningful.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag. We also have a review of Mortal Chaos: Deep Oblivion by Matt Dickinson.

Monsters of Men (Chaos Walking) by Patrick Ness, which also features an alternating narrative, is the conclusion to a brilliantly original series, which I would highly recommend to those looking for intense reads. Danger Zone: The Devil's Breath by David Gilman is another piece of high-octane fiction that those who enjoy Mortal Chaos might find entertaining.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Mortal Chaos by Matt Dickinson at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Mortal Chaos by Matt Dickinson at Amazon.com.

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