AustLit

'In 1986 there was a nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, in what was then the Soviet Union. The area, over two thousand square kilometres, was evacuated and sealed, closed off from the world by a massive wall. But 149 schoolkids are left behind, forgotten. Over time, they learn how to survive, and slowly they build a society for themselves despite the dangers - radiation, wolves, and winter - of the Zone. Twenty years after the Evacuation, a helicopter from the other side of the Wall appears, with a mysterious woman at the controls. That encounter sparks a chain of events which takes one of the Children, the hunter Isaak, back to the past, to the day of the Evacuation - and towards a confrontation which threatens the future of the Zone itself.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'In a not-too-distant Australia, an authoritarian Green government has taken power, and has ruled for a decade on the premise of dealing with “the emergency”. Turner, former cop, former convict, sets out for Canberra with a radical mission: assassinate the Prime Minister. Travelling through the ruined landscape, drawn onwards by a growing obsession, he pieces together the story of the country and the people. And what he finds is startling, incredible ... and frightening.' (Publication summary)

'Over the two centuries since his appointment, commentators have been as surprised at the choice of Arthur Phillip as some were at the time (the First Lord of the Admiralty, to mention only the most distinguished critic). But was it really so surprising? What did the Home Office and the Admiralty expect of a man who was to navigate a fleet to the antipodes, and when he got it there unload its cargo of unregenerate criminals and forge them into some sort of a working colony? Apart from the necessary seamanship, they needed a man with a cool head who understood men and how to control them, a man capable of governing himself, possessed of calm and understanding and a thorough grasp of reality, with complete loyalty to the Crown and Government and a determination to plan and carry through an enterprise unlike any other within living memory. Fortunately, there were one or two men at the Admiralty who understood that Arthur Phillip possessed all these credentials. This new biography covers Phillip's whole life, but has a particular focus on his selection for the role of Governor, the preparation of the first fleet, the journey from England, the establishment of the colony and Phillip's governorship. Covers Phillip's whole life, but has a particular focus on his selection of the role of Governor, the preparation of the first fleet, the journey from England, the establishment of the colony and Phillip's governorship.'(Publication summary)