The Enemy

By: Charlie Higson

Narrated by: Paul Whitehouse

Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

A brand-new heart-stopping audiobook from Charlie Higson, author of the best-selling Young Bond series, read by Paul Whitehouse - the most exciting thing you'll hear all year.

They'll chase you. They'll rip you open. They'll feed on you....

When the sickness came, every parent, policeman, politician - every adult - fell ill. The lucky ones died. The others are crazed, confused and hungry.

Only children under 14 remain whole, and they're fighting to survive. Now there are rumours of a safe place to hide. And so a gang of children begin their quest across London, where all through the city - down alleyways, in deserted houses, underground - the grown-ups lie in wait. But can they make it there alive?

©2009 Charlie Higson (P)2009 Penguin Audio

Lord of the Flies meets Zombies

I had no idea that this book even existed until my 15-year old daughter brought a physical copy home and told us how good the first ten chapters had been. She gave us a simple overview, and seeing as both my wife and I enjoy a good zombie book, decided to see if Higson's books were available through Audible. To our dismay, only this first in his series is currently available in audio format, but we figured we'd give his origin story a try anyway.

We found this to be a new twist on zombie lore. Leaving children to fend for themselves in the midst of adult conversion into sick and twisted monsters that roam the London streets proved to be a good backdrop for his story.

The characters are fleshed out well (no pun intended) and you find yourself rooting for them as they have to navigate from one creepy and dangerous situation to another throughout the course of the story, and Higson does an admirable job of capturing tween/teen angst and particular brand of defiance that causes conflicts that might not exist for adults. Of course, I found myself on more than one occasion having flashbacks to the original Lord of the Flies story and wish that some of the antagonistic behaviors some of the kids have toward one another felt more original, but it doesn't diminish the overall arc of the story and the reader's investment with the kids.

The book ends with a couple of great setups for the sequals that I'm eager to follow-up with, but for now, I'm going to have to have to resort to buying the printed copies as no audiobooks exist (yet - I hope) for the other four in the series.

On a side note, Paul Whitehouse's reading of The Enemy was stellar and really added some authentic British feel (and accent) to the situation, and kept us riveted. My daughter listened after she finished reading her copy of the book and also said that she wished she'd listened instead as the narrator gave such a good performance and made each kid unique and identifiable.

All I can say is:hurry up Audible and get those others made! :)

Good choice for narration for a wonderful book

What did you love best about The Enemy?

As a teen fiction, this was a very engaging book that had a good story and interesting characters.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I've liked all of the major characters, but I think Ollie is the most complex since we are not given too much about him. I think the intersection between characters is well written and keeps the story moving.

What does Paul Whitehouse bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The speed and excitement of his British accent adds a great deal to the story since it takes place in London. He works with the dialogue well and changes some of the text to suit the dialogue.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Not sure, but I think this would make an excellent movie. I would definitely like to see the story on screen.

Any additional comments?

My daughter is reading the book now and it's all I can do not to give away the story. We can't wait to start the next book.

We need the full series

I like the series but y’all only have the first entry. Please add the rest

One of the best books

I truly recommend this book to everyone i just wanted more of it ending was sooo good and last chapter was not that understandable but it was the ending this book required i heard there are more of the series and From now spoiler alert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dont kepp reading this review next lines will be spoilers. So i wish that sam would see his sister but he got a great ending too. I love this book and i will be reading more series of it!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💜💜💜💜💜💜💗💗💗💗💟

the reader was really pleasant to listen to.

I really enjoyed the way the readers voice was and the way he voiced some of the kids.

Great book! But where are the others?

A scary concept for many children would be losing their parents to some horrible disease, but what if that disease made them want to eat you?
Charlie Higson captures the way life would be in a world ruled by children while falling apart. The ups and downs in this novel are perfectly placed, and he switches between groups and scenes with well placed cliff hangers.
I definitely recommend this read to any teen who likes a good Zombie/Survival story that isn't riddled with teen romance and vampires.
However, there are several other books in this series that I would love to listen too. Where are they?

Why is it alone?

Kind of irritated there's only one. Wouldn't of bought it if I knew the others weren't narrated too. I really enjoyed these when i was younger

Loved this book!

like Lord of the Rings, resident evil, walking dead and Lord of the flies all in one.

5 Stars for gripping story fabulous narrator

My 10 year old niece recommended this book and so glad she did, it was gripping . I am so cross the whole series is not on Audible!

one of my favorites

love the book wish there was the whole series to listen to. the narration was really good and on part with the harry potter narration I think