BZRK
by Michael Grant
Egmont
2012
386 pages
visit BZRK's webpage
Disturbing, distressing, gritty, grimy, and grim, BZRK is like no other book. This creepy page-turner will shock even the most jaded reader. The author says, "This is my promise: You have never read anything like BZRK" (letter included with the book mailing). He's right--this book is an amazing and compelling thrill-ride that will grab you up and not let go!
The good guys--BZRK--a secret organization fighting for humanity's freedom and right to choose--and the bad guys--evil conjoined twins Benjamin and Charles Armstrong, American billionaires who run Armstong Fancy Gifts Corporation and secretly are planning world domination through nanobot technology are in a race for world power. The twins are grotesque fanatics who believe the entire world's population should be "one." They believe people are unhappy and need someone to guide them and keep them safe from themselves.
Sadie and Noah are two teens thrown together and trained by Vincent, the best fighter BZRK has. Noah goes along to settle the score--his older brother worked for BZRK but something terrifying happened and now he's a raving madman. Sadie's brother and father were killed in an airplane crash at the hands of the Armstrong twins. The two are now a team that BZRK has big plans for.
The plot takes place at the macro level--the human level, or our reality, and in the nano level where nanobots (Armstrong Corporation) and biots (invented by Sadie's father for medical use) battle each other "down in the meat."
When the twins decide to take out powerful heads of state of the world's strongest countries, Sadie and Noah are put into action without training. Their biots are designed using gene splicing and before they can even practice using them, they are in an intense and bloody battle with Armstong's twitchers.
This book is not a light read; it's intense, bloody, grotesque, dark, and chilling. In a world gone wrong, it's hard to tell who the good guys really are. Can the good be called "good" if they are murderers? And what if the bad guys are right? Maybe humanity does need saving.
Readers who liked Brain Jack and Little Brother will enjoy this compelling read. It is not for the light hearted or squeamish. It is bloody and gross, and when the fighting happens "down in the meat," readers may feel a little queasy.
Highly, highly recommended for reluctant readers grades 9-up. Language, violence, terrorism, mature situations.
FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.
