Brother in the Land

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Swindles' best novel in my opinion - Rated
This is a harrowing read for teenagers, but thankfully never becomes overtly disturbing. i read this when i was 12 and loved it.
The after-effects of a nuclear war are depicted realisically- from the radiation sickness and birth defects, to the terrible struggle to survive. The main character's love for Kim and the kindness of other humans adds light to an otherwise relentlessly grim story.
I would have to say this is not the most original story- at the time such post-apocalypse fiction was common. However, "Brother in the Land" stands out as a very well writen example of cold-war fiction for teenagers.

In my all time top ten - Rated
This is a fabulous book. I've read it time and time again with classes and always got something new out of it. It has a moving ending that always has me on the verge of tears, and half the kids too. I love the stunned silence you get in class when you have read the final chapters. It has so many themes to discuss.

The Holy Grail - Rated
Forgive the hyperbole of the title, but I have searched for this book for about 6 years since first reading it as a teenager and then forgetting the title. All I can tell you is that I was not dissapointed. This is a phenomenal emotionally-charged novel which altered my perceptions of life and death irrevocably. This is a book for anyone who questions society, human nature or the will to survive. I am a graduate of English Literature, and I can honestly claim this as my favourite ever book.

I urge parents to buy this for their children, and to borrow it when they've finished it! As a prior reviewer noted (much to my delight), this book is a proscribed text in certain English courses. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to study this for weeks on end - personally, the day it finally arrived was spent consuming every page. I read it again a week or so later, and was still moved, shocked and inspired by it. This harrowing account of a child becoming a man through the greatest of tragedies, and the human spirit's continuation in even the bleakest circumstances shall remain with me for the rest of my life.

Thank you Robert Swindells!

A book that will move you - Rated
I read this book in my english class, it was absulutely TREMENDOUS! When i looked at the front cover i thought it would be a futuristic spin-off of carries war, but its not! Danny is one of the many survivers of the nuclear bomb and so is his dad and little brother, but sadly his mother died. He meets kim, a girl his age. But then things start to go wrong, they are many people such as Goths, Purple's and spacers. Its a wonderful book and should be read by most people. It makes you think "what if this did happen?". I also think it would make a perfect ANIME/MANGA film. I also do drama as a hobby and i would be absolutely speechless if i got to play a part of the "Brother in the Land" play. 10 thumbs up!

it's the end of the world as we know it - Rated
A bleak vision of post apocalypse Britain. As usual, Swindells writes for teenagers without pulling any punches: is it better to survive a nuclear war or die without knowing what hit you? This is a thoroughly realistic view of society after the blast, told through the eyes of a teenage survivor, Danny. A classic love story set against the bleakest of backdrops, I would recommend this novel to anyone (adult or teenager) who wants a riveting read. However, beware, the re-write has an unconvincing happy ending - what were you thinking of, emasculating a classic?