First of a series, this teen SF novel is set in the very near future.

A couple of years previously, the city of London was suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world. The public reason was because of a coordinated series of terrorist attacks. Since then, no one enters or leaves London. A military force called Choppers patrols the streets looking for survivors for "experiments" (think Nazi Germany).

Jack and his sister, Emily (their parents were in London at the time), and a couple of friends undertake a harrowing, mostly underground, journey into London. They have help from Rosemary, who has come out of London, specifically to be their guide. She is a healer, with some "unique" abilities. Rosemary's reason is because is because Jack and Emily's mother is also a healer, with "unique" abilities of her own. Dad's abilities are a lot more destructive; he has become a leader of the "bad guys." Maybe Jack and Emily can change his mind.

During the journey into London, the group battles a pack of wild dogs in an underground tunnel; everyone survives. The rest of the world was told that London has become a toxic wasteland. It's deserted, with large parts of the city in ruins, but it's not toxic. The group walks over a hastily filled-in mass grave, with bones sticking out. Jack and Emily have a happy reunion with their mother; the reunion with their father is not so happy. Jack tries his best to convince Dad to join them and fight their way out of London. Does it work? Are Jack, Emily and their friends now trapped in London?

This is a very good and very dystopian tale. I guess that I liked the society-building a little bit more than the actual story. I am sure that teens will like the whole novel. Yes, it's worth reading. ( )

"The Hunger Games meets The X-Men in an exciting post-apocalyptic debut."

You know, I almost put this book aside after the first few chapters. The beginning is kind of slow and begins two years after the tragic events in London. There are news blurbs from the time of the disaster at the beginning of each chapter which give a bit of background about what occurred. Otherwise I felt kind of lost, looking at my surroundings wondering 'Where am I, and how did I get here?'. I'm glad I stuck around though because the story does get more interesting once the group starts their journey to London.

There are five main characters:

• Jack - lost his parents; traveling with his younger sister, Emily
• Emily - seems to be okay as long as she's with Jack; always using her video camera
• Sparky - lost his brother, but his parents don't seem to care
• Jenna - lost no one and is supporting her friends; something happened to her father after he was caught and then released from London
• Lucy-Anne - lost her family and doesn't seem right in the head; Jack's girlfriend(?)

They are all going to London to find out the truth, what the government has been covering up. There really wasn't much background on each character and I didn't really connect to them. How did they meet? Why are they friends?

My favorite parts of the story involved the 'Irregulars' and the 'Superiors', people that have developed new abilities such as healing or mind-control. I wish there had been more about them and their powers. Like many first books in a series (trilogy?), London Eye seems like one long set-up story that ends right as the story is really getting started.

I'll be reading the sequel, Reaper's Legacy, and hoping some of my questions will be answered. *fingers crossed* I'm curious enough to want to see what happens next.

3 stars ( )

I spotted this book at the library. It started out great, then got a bit confusing. London and its citizens have been affected by a catastrophic event which has devasted the city. People have been changed, not only psychologically, but physically in that some of them have "powers",such as healing. The city is in ruins and its citizen kept captive, most in hiding.

Overall,I enjoyed the book. It was confusing, then slow to read, but did pick up. Being the first in a series, I will probably look for the next book. ( )

Unusual and different ( )

Wanting something different, I picked up this story wanting an adventure. Instead, I got a story that really didn't capture me the way I expected it too.

The plot of the book really confuse me in the beginning. Things weren't really explained to the reader and I was lost for a few chapters. I found myself re-reading passages just to make sure that I didn't miss anything. I decided to keep going, hoping it get better. It did, but it still left me with lots of questions. I did continue reading but found myself getting well a little tired of feeling lost.

Half-way through the book is gets better. Finally things are coming together and I'm finally getting the picture. I like the idea of people's chemistry/DNA changing due to some catastrophic event. It's like some stayed the same and other just were changed completely. The twist with the main characters Jack and what happen to his parents is the highlight of the book. It had me wanting to know why such a drastic change???

Of course by now you know that my gripe is that the book is really slow and hard to understand in the beginning. After a while, the reader is able to get it and the ending is quite good for such a slow beginning.

London Eye is a good book with potential. I can see that the ending is really good, that it is something I want to read more of just cause I need to know what happens next. Hopefully the next book will fulfill my adventure. ( )