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Children Of The Furnace Paperback – September 23, 2017

by Brin Murray (Author)

4.6 32 ratings

Book 1 of 2: Children Of The Furnace

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Truth died in the fires. Only through courage can it be born again. Under the iron rule of the Revelayshun, one boy discovers the truth… ‘Ty promised my ma he’d bring me up right. Bring him up to hear the rhythm beat, she said, and to feel the heartsblood warm. Not Strong – not in their way – but strong in the ways of the heart.’ When the Revelayshun murders his pa, Wil discovers through savage inquisition that he’s marked as a Heater, one of the old-time heretics who burned up the world. But Wil holds the key to a secret. Sekkerland’s Shame, the Atrocity, is a great lie – and the Revelayshun will use fire, blood and death to hide the truth. Dark, powerful and heartbreaking, Children Of The Furnace compels with a uniquely stunning world and one of the greatest characters you’ll ever be afraid for…

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (September 23, 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 255 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1549765531
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1549765537
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.64 x 9 inches

Customer Reviews:
4.6 32 ratings

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Brin Murray

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I'm a teacher, scientist and writer. I teach at a rural school and kind-of farm in one of the most beautiful places on earth - the top of the South Island, New Zealand. We've just sold off a bunch of feral sheep so we can have a crack at carbon sequestration for real – a no-brainer when you've got a bit of land and that's what your books are about. And your sheep are crazy wild anyway.

I've got three children, two dogs and a partner who spends around half his time at sea.

Children Of The Furnace was my first book and the critical reception was absolutely amazing – and then it was a finalist in the New Zealand Book Awards 2019! It was fantastic to go to a red carpet event in Wellington and have that kind of recognition.

Both Children Of The Furnace and Crosstrees, the second in the series, have been published through CP Books NZ and are on Amazon.

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4.6 out of 5

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Kilby Blades

an orphaned young boy who is unwittingly captured and placed into a colony of other "heaters" like him to be groomed into a life of warrior-slavery ...

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2018

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This worthy post-apocalyptic dystopia follows Wil, an orphaned young boy who is unwittingly captured and placed into a colony of other "heaters" like him to be groomed into a life of warrior-slavery under an oppressive regime. In the early parts of the book, Murray paints a vivid picture of Wil's bleak, new world and follows him as he adjusts to the senseless brutality suffered by other young boys in their exclusively-male colony as they are bullied into submission. As in all great stories of this genre, a revolution is brewing, and the uneducated but full-of-heart Wil finds himself a key player. His role has as much to do with his ideological objection to the regime's wicked ways as it does about secrets regarding his parentage.

What I loved about this book was that its secondary characters were masterfully strong. The slightly-older teenage boy who is in charge of the younger boys in Wil's unit is a fascinating adversary-turned-ally. The arrival of a unit of nurses who tend to the long-empty infirmary marks the first sightings of women in years. In Wil's case, he's never seen a girl and Murray gives us a satisfying romantic sub-plot.

It's hard to say much more without giving a lot away. What I'll say is that I haven't liked a story like this so much since I read The Hunger Games. Near the beginning of the book, I found the voice (in Wil's simple dialect) a bit hard to get past, but I got used to it and was very glad I stuck with the book. The later parts of the book are truly nail-biting. Five stars.

Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2018

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The world is in the depths of global warming catastrophe. The equatorial regions (The Furnace) are so hot as to be uninhabitable. Fourteen-year-old Wil Shirwud lives with his adoptive father in a logging camp in the far north. He never thought much about the significance of the flame tattoo on his forehead that he received at birth. But, one day Wil’s father is murdered by religio-political fanatics and Wil is spirited away to a concentration camp-like school for “re-education.” Now, branded as a “Heater” because of his tattoo, Wil must somehow survive the brutal life in the school. The truth about the death of his parents and the mysterious midwife who birthed him—he realizes—are the keys to a truth that could free his land from the grip of religious tyranny.

The book is excellent. Character development of the three main players is outstanding—especially Wil. The plot kept me engaged through to the end, which was very satisfying. The author alters much of the language in this future world from 2018 English. Some might find this annoying, but I found it gave a strong flavor of alien-ness to the story. Wil’s speech was difficult, too, but it was a constant reminder of how ignorant he was (coming from a logging camp without schools) and how different he was from the other boys at the school—and Leah. This only made his education and new awareness of the mess his world is in more acute. Highly recommended!

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Sara Crawford

Fast-paced dystopian YA written in a unique style

Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2018

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I read this book in two days. It's such a fast-paced, action-packed, emotional read. Murray has a unique writing style that may take some a minute to adjust to, but if you are able to just go with it, I guarantee you will get into this book if you like YA dystopian books. I highly enjoyed reading this one.

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Mr. F. Parker

Plot, Pace and Character Development Worthy of a Master Craftsman

Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2017

I received a free copy of this book from the author and I am very pleased to have done so. Sometimes it is good to step outside your usual genre of reading and try something different.
This novel is fairly obviously aimed at a teen/young adult readership. I read somewhere recently that many adults enjoy such works, witness the success of Harry Potter so there's no shame in a septuagenarian straying into territory more suited to his grand daughter. And then there is the fact that fifty years ago my favorite reading included post-apocalyptic tales. Back then the worlds that writers like Brian Aldiss, and many others, created had been devastated by nuclear war, the threat of which was ever present. Now the most terrifying circumstance we face is global warming.
The premise for this novel is that the Northern ice cap has melted and there is a conflict between 'Heaters' and 'Sekkers'. The latter being short for sekkerstraiters (sequestraters) all of whom are actively engaged in various activities aimed at removing carbon from the atmosphere. 'Heaters', of course, are people believed to sympathize with the old ways.
Much of the action takes place in a youth prison camp, or reformatory, where young dissidents are sent for 'reducayshun' (re-education), reminiscent of Stalin's gulags. The inmates are forced to work at the sequestration projects in which failure to meet an almost un-achievable quota is brutally punished. When Wil is brought to this establishment his attempts to resist bring him into direct conflict with the captain of 'Squadboys', the youths placed in authority over the weaker, younger boys.
Meanwhile a teenage girl from a well educated background is assigned to assist a female doctor at the same institution. It is not a spoiler to say that these two team up, that is predictable from the moment she first appears. It is, however, the only predictable thing about this excellent piece of writing.
The plot twists and turns in ways that grip the reader. The characters reveal unexpected complexities, way beyond the stereotypes that might be implied by the preceding two paragraphs. As someone who has no doubt about the reality of the global warming threat I was concerned at the way in which 'Sekkers' were being painted as evil whilst 'Heaters' came across as underdogs wrongly blamed for the mysterious past 'Atrocity'. To tell you how my mind was set at rest on that score would be to spoil the story so I will not. Suffice to say that, like so many real events of our past, from the Spanish Inquisition to the holocaust and those Russian gulags, the regime relies on a gross misrepresentation and over simplification of a complex reality in order to subjugate the people and stamp out any attempt to contradict the official version of the truth.
Some of the depictions of brutal punishments are definitely not for the squeamish, as is the description of the climactic battle. But the pace, Wil's character development and the portrayal of his inner conflicts could not have been handled better. I dare to compare this to the works of Margaret Attwood for the convincing way that Sekkerland, and the forces of the 'Revalayshun' that control it, are realized. Certainly this is one of the best books I've read in 2017, and I've read some very good ones. Congratulations MS Murray and thank you for the opportunity to witness your craftsmanship. I can't wait to read the sequel.

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Francis Mont

I recommend it for readers who have not seen and heard it all.

Reviewed in Canada on November 16, 2018

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I don’t remember reading a book since “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, or Orwell’s 1984 that I hated reading this much and still unable to put it down. I didn’t hate it because it’s badly written, rather the contrary – it is an extremely well written book on a horrible subject. Had I not made a commitment to read it, I would have put it down, after the first 50 pages, and stashed it away in some dark and hidden corner where I would never find it again. I am too old to read about that much evil and sadism graphically described – I have seen (and even read) plenty by now. However, I am supposed to review it from the perspective of the intended audience, people a lot younger, less cynical and much more innocent than I am. They need to know these things to peel off the sugar coating our politicians lather on ugly things in our lives. For that reason I recommend it for readers who have not seen and heard it all.

Angela I

A cracking read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 23, 2017

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This is a cracking read and I even stayed up late to finish it. I've read quite a few young adult dystopian world novels and this is the first one since the Hunger Games that has gripped me almost right from the start. I say almost because, at first, you have to get used to the use of some phonetic type language, but once the plot gets going you almost don't notice that anymore. It is actually a clever device to emphasize that the main protagonist, Wil, has been brought up in a small isolated community and has no formal education.

The story wrenches Wil, an orphan, from this isolated but happy existence into a brutal violent work camp where children are almost starved and forced to work under a quasi-religious tyranny where some of the adults and older youths positively revel in doling out hideously cruel punishments. Wil is singled out for being a "Heater", a group the religious elite blame for the current state of the world, despite him never having heard the term before. Wil is an innocent in this new world, but finds his own inner strength to endure the humiliations and punishments and in doing so others also start to change and question the regime.

The author does not reveal too much of this world to us, but we are lead to believe that some apocalyptic climate change has resulted in the only the northern and the southern parts of the globe being habitable and the vast central belt being too hot. Hence the "Heaters": they were responsible for the climate disaster.

While Wil battles to survive in the north, the second point of view character starts her journey in the south. Leah comes across as pretty, spoilt, cunning and intelligent. She too is an orphan, and travels north to the same work camp where she meets Wil and the other key characters where their stories intertwine.

The complexity of both the world and the characters together with the fast pace of the story draw the reader into the book. Despite the violence portrayed, some of the characters' humanity and sheer resilience (and remember these are only children) makes you cheer them on against the brutal sickening adult world. The end of the book leaves you wanting more, as there are many unresolved questions.

An exciting novel from this author: great writing, believable characters, an interesting depiction of a world gone wrong, and a fantastic imagination. Hopefully there will be a book two...

3 people found this helpful

Vivienne Townsend

Compelling read!!!!

Reviewed in Australia on October 23, 2017

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The way in which the story develops is very well constructed. I found the dialect a little strange at first but quickly got used to it. The main characters are well depicted and bring different strengths that work together well – the sum is greater than the parts. I felt myself drawn into this difficult and violent world, rooting for the good guys and admiring their determination and strength of spirit. It is a wholly believable world where human nature and the fight between good and evil drives what happens. Thoroughly enjoyable!

MR GARY A THEWLIS

Recommended

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 3, 2017

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Bought this on a whim for a holiday read. Never heard of the author before. Took a few pages to draw me in but once it did I was hooked. Loved it, it was definitely a page-turner. Looking forward to the next instalment.

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