Scan By Walter Jury And S. E Fine ARC Review


SCAN (Scan series: Book One)
Written By S. E Fine and Walter Jury
Expected Publication 01 / 05 / 2014
336 Pages
Thank you to Stacey from Putnam for sending me a copy all the way from the U.S
Add to Goodreads
Tate and his father don’t exactly get along. As Tate sees it, his father has unreasonably high expectations for Tate to be the best, at everything. Tate finally learns what he’s being prepared for when he steals one of his dad’s odd tech inventions and mercenaries ambush the school, killing his father in the process and sending Tate on the run from aliens who look just like humans.

Even with all he knows like how to defend himself with useful tools made out of bubblegum, Tate fears he’s still inadequate. With the help of his girlfriend and estranged mother, all Tate can really do is keep moving and ensure his father’s invention stays out of the hands of his pursuers and that his father didn’t die in vain. A riveting, fast-paced adventure, Scan is a clever alien thriller with muscle and heart.
Tate isn't your average eighteen year old, he's a modern day MacGyver, he's fast, quick on his feet and training for the end of the world... Or so it seems. Each day is the same mundane routine, his father telling him to toughen up, to train and eat his healthy packaged meals. Never break from his strict diet and not to allow himself to be distracted by girlfriend Christina. It's just Tate and his father now, after his mother left them both four years ago. The Archer family name carries responsibility, but it isn't until Tate breaks into his father's workshop and steals one of his inventions, that Tate is about to find out just who the Archer family is.

It looks like an ordinary scanner, a wand that omits either a blue or red light when waved over your body. Tate assumes that it's just another gadget and the colours are to signify what sex you are, he's a blue and girlfriend Christina a red. But it isn't until he takes the scanner to school when all hell breaks loose. Boys scan as reds, girls as blue and there doesn't seem to be any pattern. Even teacher Mister Lamb seems curious about the new toy, which could be a weapon for all Tate knows. Tate's father is in the office, demanding the return of the scanner when the sirens start blaring through the city, the police move into the school and begin firing, taking hostages in an attempt to reach Tate and his father. Grabbing Christina and fleeing the carnage is the only option for survival, and as the three escape the school.

The scanner is the remnants of alien technology, their race simply known as the H2. The H2 appear human, they walk amongst us without knowing they have descended from an alien race and the scanner is the only tool in which we can tell them apart. As humans and H2 alike are determined to capture the scanner, Tate may not know who to trust, but he's determined to keep the scanner from falling into the wrong hands. He now knows why his father pushed him to train, to maintain his health and fight, the Archer family name and the fate of the world may just depend on it.

I loved Scan. From the first chapter, it throws the reader straight into an adventure of outerworldly proportions. An explosive mix of science fiction, adventure and romance, you'll barely have time to catch your breath. Sarah Fine and Walter Jury have written a seamless storyline, which flows beautifully. It's action packed from cover to cover and Tate is a tough and intellectual hero in which readers can relate. Tate's life has never been his own, his father plans his training, meals and friends and in typical teenager fashion, Tate resents his life being mapped out for him. But when Tate is on the run, he realises why his father was strict and unforgiving, he was training him for the fight of his life.

This isn't your typical humans verses aliens or good verses evil. The villains aren't obvious in Scan, and like Tate, readers won't know who to trust. The aliens are known as the H2, and they've lived amongst us for over four hundred years. They look and sound like humans, so without the scanner, it's impossible to tell. They've interbred, so now most of the world shares some form of H2 genetics, apart from a group of fifty families who are pure and have kept the alien race a secret, until Tate takes the scanner to school and jeopardizes what they've fought so hard to protect. The storyline isn't heavy science fiction, the mixture of adventure and romance keep it fun, fast and highly entertaining. It ends on a slight cliffhanger and I can't wait to find out where the authors take Burn, the second release in the Scan series.

5 comments

  1. Oh gosh! I'm SO glad you liked it! I have this one on my really-want-list, buuuut, I'm waiting till it comes out. :) I'm love the cover! I love the blurb! And now I'm beyond excited to read it!! Eek!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Cait, I loved it! Go on enter, you know you want to. There may not be any paperback ARC's available in Australia for a while, if any. I was lucky enough to have two sent from Putnam in the U.S. The only downside is that now I have to wait until 2015 to see what happens to Tate.

      Delete
  2. Another alien book to add to my list. I might need to wait until Burn is released. Cliffhangers isn't good for me. Great review, Kelly!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Dre.
      The cliffhanger isn't life or death, thank goodness, but more so that it'll leave you in suspense. I think you'll like this one, I'm only sorry that I didn't get around to reading it sooner.

      Delete
  3. Sounds fantastic, I need to add this to my TBR. I haven't read many alien books but this one sounds decent!

    ReplyDelete

© Diva Booknerd. Design by Fearne.