Long ago, in a galaxy far away ... No, no, not that galaxy, this other galaxy with the planet Jorn in it ... humans attempted to colonise Jorn's surface but discovered it to be dangerous. Instead, they built the towers of Cumulus City hovering high above the toxic pollen. And they somehow also discovered the secret of triple-coated marshmallow ice-cream and scrapple-cherry tarts .. But I digress.

Hero Regan has been treated as 'special' all her life, most infuriatingly of all by her mother. She's tired of it. It's not as though she's dangerous or something just because of a few voices in her head, is it? And with Fink, her telepathic 600 kilogram companion to protect her, she's hardly likely to be harmed by others - surely.

If she could one day work ground side on the planet she could live on her own terms, but to do that she'd have to show her mettle by winning illegal, dangerous barrier races. If her mother found out about such races, she'd send Fink to the dreaded Farm from where he might not return. Anyway you can't race without a team, and for a team you need to have at least one friend in your life. Then Hero meets Norah, also on the outer due to her own 'specialness', and her adder companion, Horace. They're experienced racers. Hero grabs the chance.

Readers of all ages will recognise Hero's sullen standoffs with her mother and Norah's attempts to cause no upset to her dads. But soon keeping the racing secret from their parents - and the police- becomes just one of their difficulties. Why is the City computer Librarian intervening in Hero's life with hints of old conspiracies and even blackmailing her? Why did her mother not tell her that she had an uncle and what was he really up to? What is happening to her mind when pent up emotions come off her in waves? Hero's behaviour exasperates her minders and often the reader too; and it causes a rift with Norah. She pushes on seeking answers but each one has a cost and seems to make things worse. (Note to parents: if you're going to ground your child, don't let her roam free in your genetics-splicing lab doing experiments.)

This exciting science fiction tale throws you into a plausible world but does not bog you down in technical descriptions. After a few lines that give you the idea, you're off again, racing among the sky-towers and hoping there are no blue-outs, dodging the minders (and who are they working for, really?), avoiding the hostile cliques at the school, arguing with parents, getting frustrated with the canny Librarian, and hoping Fink can fight off the giant roaches in the tunnels. Along the way we also look at the possibilities that genetic engineering could give rise to: what choices will humanity one day, or even now, accept as 'good', and how much of it could turn out to be disastrous.

That said, I really want a ruc-pard of my own. ( )

I had a great time reading Hero and am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. It was full of action, intrigue, with a fantastic cast of characters and creatures. LOOOOOVVVVE Fink, and the amazing world the author created. I never knew what to expect and did not want to put the book down. ( )

Hero is a the debut novel of Australian author Belinda Crawford. Crawford has created a fast paced science fiction story, set in a unique world that many adults and teens are going to love.

The novel is set on the planet Jorn. Humans have colonised this planet only to discover that a pollen on the planet is toxic to them. The human population survives in cloud cities.

Hero Regan is a young girl who is “special” – a title that she loathes. She hears voices and has been treated all her life as if she were mentally ill and in need of medicating. Her mother keeps her away from the public and locked up on their estate with a bevy of minders.

As a young teen, Hero objects strenuously to this and does everything in her power to make the lives of her minders miserable and escape. It helps that she is a bit of technological genius and can hack into their equivalent of computers with ease.

When Hero finally convinces her mother to send her to school in Cumulus City, the real fun begins. She’s not been taking her meds, the voices she hears return with a vengeance and soon her odd behaviour makes her the brunt of bullies and brings her to the attention of some very dangerous people. Running for her life, Hero learns that she is part of an age old conspiracy begun by the founding colonists…

But I’m not going to give you spoilers! You’ll have to read it...

In creating Hero, Crawford has tapped into a genuine teen voice. Hero’s character, her attitudes, comments and actions make her seem real and this is one of the things that immediately stuck me about the book. You’re not always going to like her and she has a lot to learn as the book progresses, but that’s part of making an interesting character.

Another of my favourite elements in Crawford’s novel is that of the companion / guardian animals. The settlers have genetically modified a lot of the flora and fauna to aid their survival and the children each have their own animal companion. Hero’s is a 600kg ruc-pard named Fink. Fink is perfect - alternating between consoling friend and ice cream eating buddy to deadly protector. (I want a ruc-pard!)

Animals with such roles are something that appear repeatedly in fantasy novels and I think that dedicated fantasy fans will actually enjoy Hero even though it’s science fiction. On that note, I wouldn’t rate this as “hard” science fiction. Crawford has made up a series of names and terminology, that I think most readers will find understandable rather than a barrier to reading. (Although having said that I do watch a lot of science fiction, rather than read it, so maybe my judgement is affected by this.)

Crawford’s writing is a perfect balance of description and action and the story set up is relatively quick and rollicks along once it gets going. You are not going to fall asleep during long, lush, descriptive paragraphs waxing lyrical about the world she has made. There is enough scene setting, description and atmospherics in her writing for the reader to clearly visualise the place as if it were a movie playing before them. The action sequences - from illegal races with their companion animals, running from one group of people who want to kill her to another who want to capture her, to shoot outs, police chases, a AI bent on either helping them or destroying them and explosions throughout - place you right in the moment and race along holding you in the grip of this story right to the end.

The plot is not overly complicated. Thematically it deals with several deeper issues, beginning a teen’s need to experience the world, grow and make mistakes and learn on their own, the way we treat those who are designated mentally ill, the morality of a few individuals deciding the future of an entire race – individual freedoms vs the greater good.

The plot does twist and turn a little as the story progresses and leaves the reader with a final twist at the end leading on to the next book.

I’m pretty sure the wait for the next book will be worth it!

Five Stars. ( )

Ok, so now I really want my own ruc-pard, and I already have far too many fur-babies to take care of. Thanks Belinda. Also, I want a turn at one of those Twilight street races. Seriously, this book has some really in-depth world building behind it that I loved sinking my teeth into. I've missed reading such pure sci-fi lately, and I wish a little (holographic) birdy would lead me into a mystery this exciting! ( )