Futuretrack 5

Got to agree with the guys above- I read this first in my early teens and it has travelled with me since. How many times have I read it? Ten? Twenty? It's comforting, in the way that a favourite novel is; disturbing; it's dystopic vision is still unnervingly true to life. Maybe not everyone would take to this book, but I for one will always want to ride a bke like Mitzi!

Like, I daresay, a lot of people, I first read this book when I was about 11-12. I've kept coming back to it ever since (I'm now in my mid-twenties) and it reveals new layers every time I read it. It's superbly written, darkly funny, fast-paced, and thought provoking. The characters are facinating and the way Westall gradually reveals the Big Picture is just masterful. A classic.

Robert Westall is one of this century's greatest writers for young adults, and this, in my opinion, is his very best book (although "Devil on the Road" comes a close second - they're very similar in style). An SF classic which eschews the normal spacecraft and explosions for complex political and social ideas. There have been genuinely few adult SF novels published in the last thirty years which compare to this novel's intelligence and dark humour. I read this first when I was 13 and have re-read it more times than I can remember... Simply put, my battered yellowing copy of this is very dear to me, and I suspect, will always stay that way.

This book is the first that I have ever read cover-to-cover, in one sitting. Perhaps that enhanced its impact. Westall has put together a fine story, well before its time, which is an excellent read as well as informative and perceptive in its comments on technology and society. If you can get a copy, its well worth reading. If you've already read it, take another look. Time hasn't dulled its message.

I couldnt agree more with the guy from Ireland.. I read the book when i was the same age as he was, and REALLY loved it. Robert Westall had a keen eye as to what the future held. And it`s still good!