OK, with my own new book Crawlers coming in April I’m obviously biased(!) but I think 2010 is going to go down as a great year for thrilling new young people’s literature – particularly if you like stories that come in a series. Not “only” has our very own Barry Hutchison’s Invisible Fiends: Mr Mumbles just been unleashed at last (and to hear how awesome we at TBM all think that is check here, here and here) – but I’ve just read two more brand new series openers that I think are also HUGELY promising.

First up, MONSTER REPUBLIC, by Ben Horton. Unsurprisingly my initial reaction on hearing the title was “What? The monsters have a republic now??” But I soon realised my mistake and I’m glad I did: this book is FUN.

The last thing unlucky Cameron Reilly remembers is a school trip to a nuclear power station, then a dreadful explosion. Now he has woken up in a laboratory to find that his life as he knew it has gone. The flesh of his ravaged body has been stitched back together with bodyparts from his dead schoolmates (at one point he’s memorably described as a ‘walking school reunion’). But as if that wasn’t bad enough, Cameron’s now a cyborg – an experimental military prototype mixture of human and machine.

MONSTER REPUBLIC is a hugely entertaining action romp, full of widescreen Terminator-style servo-assisted smackdowns and a pleasing streak of evil-minded humour. It’s a satisfying self-contained read, but like any great series opener it also raises questions. Who is the mysterious and sadistic Dr Lazarus Fry? How will Cameron and the ragtag band of escaped mutants he meets team up to stop him? How does Cameron manage to wash himself in the mornings without shorting out and exploding in a shower of sparks? I look forward to discovering the answers to all these and more as the series continues – and so will you.

Next up, WITCHFINDER by William Hussey…

The first book DAWN OF THE DEMONTIDE isn’t out ’til March, with two more to follow after that, but I’m telling you right now folks, this will be a series to savour. William Hussey cut his authorial teeth writing horror for adults. He’s got a master’s eye for the minutiae of fear: the quickened pulse, the hairs’ bristle, and the way – in moments of purest terror – that time seems to slow to a stop. And, do you like witches? Golems? Ancient conspiracies? Demons, including one with a girl’s head on a giant spider’s body and, even scarier, one that’s taken the form of a magician’s cabinet? …Um, ok, you don’t have to answer that! But if you like stories that are weird and frightening as well as fast and thrilling (I know I do) then WITCHFINDER is for you. Don’t just take my word for it: click here and hear the author read from the opening scene.

Invisible Fiends. Monster Republic. Witchfinder. Any one of these three could be the best new series of the year – and it’s only February!

Happy Reading.

Sam