Changes

But that all changes when the Tonton soldiers arrive, abduct Lugh, and kill Pa. Saba finds herself on a quest to rescue him and it will take her through the ruined world left by the Wreckers (that'll be us). She'll endure life as a slave cage-fighter, try and fail to shake off the resented Emmi, fall in with a band of Amazonian women rebels, and see the cost of drug addiction at the closest of quarters. Spikey, quick to judge, full of bravado, she'll also avoid love of every kind until she begins to learn that it's the only thing that can save her - any of us.

I've given ''Blood Red Road'' five stars - this is because it ticks all my favourite boxes: dystopian setting; future catastrophe; pared-down writing; the flashes of sweetness life gives you, no matter how harsh your environment. I love pretty, poetic things in ugly, violent surroundings. They give me hope. But I admit the book isn't perfect. Lugh, the object of the quest, remains pretty much a cipher, and I would like to have seen him fleshed out, even in his absence. Some of the supporting cast are a little bit two-dimensional and the final sequence loses a little bit of momentum through several mini-climaxes rather than one big one.

My thanks to the good people at Marion Lloyd for sending the book.