Silver

Silver 

by Chris Wooding

Synopsis:

The final exam is survival.Without warning, a horrifying infection spreads across school grounds, and a group of students with little in common will find themselves barricaded in a classroom, fighting for their lives.
Some will live.
Some will die.
And then it will get even worse.
Fast-paced and frightening, Silver is a tale set on the fringes of science and horror — a story about the struggle to survive in the face of impossible odds.

My thoughts:

Paul arrives half way through the school year at Mortingham Academy after his parents are killed in a plane crash.  Paul, not wanting to deal with anything or anyone, keeps to himself for the most part until two students are bitten by a strange silver beetle with computer chip like markings. The school nurse sends Paul out into a thunderstorm to get help as the two students get worse but Paul quickly discovers that there is no power so no help and the beetles aren’t the only silver monsters on campus. The infection quickly spreads turning both people and animals into aggressive silver machines and as more are infected they start to show more intelligence and begin working as a team.  Paul along with a single teacher and a handful of students barricaded themselves in a science block and try desperate to survive the infected attacks as well as come up some kind of escape plan in what appears to be a completely hopeless situation. Silver is told by several different characters, each with their very own distinct voice and personality.  The English boarding school all alone on the countryside is the perfect creepy setting for this novel add in a night with a storm raging, a horde of crazed monsters, and no hope of outside help it seems like it’s the end of the world and the suspense is all consuming.  Wooding has created a fast-paced zombie-like survival story that both science fiction and horror fans will love.  Once the fight begins readers will not be able to put down this engaging read.