Flight of the Fantail

“Flight of the Fantail” is a sci- fi, horror survival story with a New Zealand setting. The story starts with a bus full of high school students going on trip to a national park. When the bus crashes in a remote place a group of the teenagers survive the tragedy but their phones don’t work and one of them is badly injured. The bus has crashed in a zone of land owned by the Seddon Corporation who will not allow search and rescue to look for the crash victims. As the days pass strange things start to happen to the survivors of the crash – the Seddon Corporation are hiding something in this mysterious zone. I enjoyed the way the author portrayed the different teenage characters and the survival aspects of the story. The short chapters make it easy to read. However I found the ending rather unbelievable but I think this book by a New Zealand author will appeal to many readers. An e-book version is available here

Title: Flight of the Fantail

Author(s): Steph Matuku

Publisher: Huia

ISBN: 9781775503521

RRP: $30

Format: Paperback

Date of Publication: October 2018

Ages: 14 years and older

Reviewer’s name: Jayne Downes, Library Manager, Kaikorai Valley College, Otago

How highly are you recommending this book? Recommended

First sentence: The old bus swung around a tight bend on the winding mountain road, and the class erupted into thrilled shrieks and raucous laughter.

You can buy this book here